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Locked away, fate sealed.© HSI/Teresa Telecky |
On May 8th, ABC's 20/20 aired a segment that provided the viewpoint of some who believe that the way to save tigers is to farm them, kill them, and sell their parts into trade. HSI and The Humane Society of the United States reject this view.
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Ask the Chinese embassy to enforce China's ban on domestic trade in tiger parts and shut down these farms.
Outside the U.S.? Find your Chinese embassy's contact information here and write to them directly. |
Today, fewer than 4,000 tigers exist in the wild, down from 100,000 a century ago. The main threat to tigers is poaching to supply the illegal trade in tiger parts which are used in traditional Chinese medicine and, in the case of skins, as decorations and clothing. Although such killing and trade are illegal, tigers are not well protected and laws are not fully implemented and enforced.
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No life for a top predator.© HSI/Teresa Telecky |
China is the main destination for farmed tiger products. In 1993, China outlawed domestic trade in tiger parts and products and took other measures to disuade use of tiger for medicinal purposes. However, at the same time, China has permitted people to set up industrialized tiger farms where tigers are churned out and killed once they grow to adult size. China turns a blind eye at the sale of products—such as tiger bone wine—from the farms. The farms are owned by wealthy business people who want to see a return on their investment. They are pressuring the Chinese government to rescind the domestic tiger trade ban.
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| Concrete and bars.© HSI/Teresa Telecky |
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Meanwhile, products from the farms keep the demand for tiger parts as medicine simmering. This demand is met, in part, by tigers poached in the wild. Wild tiger parts will always be more profitable than farmed tiger parts. It is far cheaper to kill a wild tiger than to rear one in captivity: The price of a bullet is far less than the $4,000 to $10,000 required to raise a tiger in confinement. Tiger consumers also prefer wild tiger parts.
The key to stopping the poaching of wild tigers is to eliminate the market completely and once and for all. China must close down tiger farms and enforce its domestic tiger trade ban.
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