Home>News Center>Life
         
 

China tiger trade would doom species: WWF
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-09-26 10:19

A reopening of Chinese business in tiger parts could doom the species to extinction and undermine efforts to curb other illegal wildlife trade, the Worldwide Fund for Nature warned on Monday.


South China tiger cubs "Madonna"  and "Tiger Woods"  fly to South Africa to learn how to survive in the wild at a training centre in Philippolis, Free State. [newsphoto]

Tiger organs, teeth, bones and penises fetch high prices on the black market, where they are used in traditional Chinese medicines to treat ailments like rheumatism. In other parts of Asia, the bones are considered an aphrodisiac.

China banned domestic trade in all tigers and tiger parts in 1993, but is considering re-opening the business based on farm-bred, captive animals.

But that would send a signal that it is acceptable to buy tiger parts which would threaten wild tiger populations, experts in the wildlife trade said.

"We're afraid that poachers living near the world's last populations of tigers may kill them to supply illegal markets that are likely to develop alongside any new legal ones," Susan Lieberman, head of WWF's Global Species Programme, said in a statement.

"This could be the final act that drives the tiger towards extinction."

International trade in all tigers and tiger products is banned under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

But the global illegal wildlife trade is worth about $8 billion a year, according to the U.S.-based Wildlife Conservation Society, and illegal sales of pelts of tigers and other rare big cats have been surging in Tibetan regions of western China.

"In the past few years there has been a revitalisation of wearing traditional clothing, partly due to officials wearing such things are events and being broadcast in the media," Samuel Lee, a Hong Kong-based official with wildlife trade monitoring group TRAFFIC, told Reuters.

Tiger skins sold for anything between $2,500 and $25,000, Lee said.

The WWF said it was not clear how soon a re-opening of the tiger trade in China might happen, but speculated officials were being pressure by business interests.

"One would guess there is a lobby from tiger farms for profits," said Joanna Benn, of the WWF's Species Programme.

The world's tigers are at a record low, numbering at an estimated 5,000-7,000, down from more than 100,000 in the 19th century.

Chinese state media said last year that native South China tigers, among the rarest of the world's five remaining tiger subspecies, were on the verge of extinction in the wild with less than 30 alive.

The Siberian tiger, native to northern China, southern Russia and parts of North Korea, is also on the brink, with only a few hundred believed to be living outside captivity.

Earlier this month, state media reported a restaurant in northeast China had been shut by police after claiming to serve dishes made with tiger meat taken from animals in the nearby Hengdaohezi Siberian tiger park, China's largest centre for breeding the animals.

After he was arrested by police, the restaurant owner confessed the alleged tiger flesh was actually donkey meat spiked with tiger urine.



To love your breasts
Cheung wants to quit entertainment
Popular Talking Roses
  Today's Top News     Top Life News
 

Rate measures to help banks reduce risks

 

   
 

HK legislators start historic mainland visit

 

   
 

Damrey smashes into South China

 

   
 

China, India set for fresh border talks

 

   
 

China sees economy growing 9.2 pct in 2005

 

   
 

China Open: Chinese duo fail to make history

 

   
  China tiger trade would doom species: WWF
   
  Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher wed: reports
   
  Fidelity agreement: last resort for wedlock ethics?
   
  'Super Girl' tickets aid charity
   
  So long, 'MM,' 'PK,' and 'konglong'
   
  Shanghai publishes guide to spot beggars
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  Related Stories  
   
Research aims to send tigers back to wild
   
Lion-tiger cubs in Hainan
   
Solar car "Suntiger VI" drives along the road
   
Surgery on tiger to remove tumor
   
Doctors say tiger's tumour op successful
   
Eatery told 'urine' breach of the law
   
Tiger eager to meet his new mate
  Feature  
  Could China's richest be the tax cheaters?  
Advertisement
         
主站蜘蛛池模板: 国产色婷婷精品免费视频| av无码aV天天aV天天爽| 三大高傲校花被调教成好文| 一卡二卡三卡在线| 97久久天天综合色天天综合色hd| 5555国产在线观看精品| 久草视频在线网| 肉柳高嫁03集在线播放| 特黄aaaaaaaaa及毛片| 最近中文字幕2018| 成人无遮挡裸免费视频在线观看| 大香伊人久久精品一区二区 | 日本精品久久久久中文字幕| 成人无码免费一区二区三区| 大香网伊人久久综合观看| 国产新疆成人a一片在线观看| 四虎8848精品永久在线观看| 亚洲精品视频观看| 久久国产精品99国产精| www.夜夜操.com| 黑人大战亚洲人精品一区| 真实的和子乱拍免费视频| 果冻传媒mv在线| 好看的国产精彩视频| 国产真实乱对白精彩| 免费网站看V片在线18禁无码| 国产单亲乱l仑视频在线观看| 国产成人无码一区二区三区在线| 国产一区二区三区国产精品| 亚洲综合色成在线播放| 久久精品国产99久久久| 99久久精品九九亚洲精品| 药店打针1_标清| 欧美性猛交xxxx乱大交蜜桃| 拍拍拍无档又黄又爽视频| 国产精品国产三级国快看| 午夜爽爽爽男女免费观看hd | 免费观看成人毛片| 久久老色鬼天天综合网观看| www成人免费观看网站| 青青草原亚洲视频|