Illegal tiger trade kills 1,000 in a decade: study
More than 1,000 tigers have been killed in the past decade to fuel the illegal trade in parts of the endangered big cats, a report by a wildlife monitoring group said Tuesday.
India, China and Nepal ranked highest in the number of seizures of tiger parts but the trade has spiked recently in Southeast Asian nations, British-based Traffic International said.
Complete skins, skeletons, claws, skulls and penises were among the most common items seized, while officials had also found whole animals — both live and dead, it added.
“With parts of potentially more than 100 wild tigers actually seized each year, one can only speculate what the true numbers of animals are being plundered,” said Pauline Verheij, one of the authors of the report.
From January 2000 to April 2010 parts of between 1,069 and 1,220 tigers were seized in 11 of the 13 countries where tigers live in the wild, the report said.
India, home to half the world’s tigers, had by far the highest number of seizures of tiger parts. The 276 raids uncovered parts from 533 tigers.
China had the second highest with 40 raids, followed by Nepal on 39.
But the report said there was a growing number of parts seized in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. Myanmar’s borders with India and China were a major hotspot, as were the Malaysia-Thailand frontier and the Russia-China border.
Tiger parts are used in many cultures for decoration, traditional medicines and good luck charms.
Mike Baltzer, leader of the environmental group WWF, said the report “demonstrates that illegal tiger trade continues despite considerable and repeated efforts to curtail it by many governments and organisations.”
The WWF warned last month that tigers could become extinct within 12 years, with the number of the big cats worldwide plunging 97 percent from its peak to around just 3,200 today.
Russia is scheduled to host a “summit” of the 13 so-called tiger-range countries in Saint Petersburg on Nov 21-24.
Source: http://news.malaysia.msn.com/top-stories/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4448833
This is so saddening! 1000 beautiful beings killed in a span of 10 years. That is like a tiger every 3 days!!!! Shameful for those who kill them and equally as shameful for those who eat or partake in any of this poor mighty animal’s “produce”
I am sick to my stomach thinking about how we as the so called “civilized” ones can be so deluded!!!!
I pray for the poor lives that are lost that may they take good rebirth into the Dharma and find pure teachers! Om Droom Soha!
Thank you for informing me on the problem with people slaughtering tigers. It is so unfair to the tiger. When they are murdered, they are not even used properly but why still kill them in the first place. They do not harm the humans then why would humans want to harm them.
I am very sure Tigers will be extinct very soon. Tiger parts are very popular among the people in the world. The parts are being used for decorations etc. The skin are used for rugs while organ parts are used for medicinal purposes. Even the tooth can be used for relieving toothaches. I remember my grandmother used to keep a tiger’s tooth in the house. Whenever anyone in the house has a toothache she will out the tiger tooth and scrapped out a little bit from the tooth mix the scrappings with water and let us drink. She said it will relieve the pain. It somehow works. Maybe the tiger’s tooth may have contain mineral substances which helps.
We need to teach people to EMPATHIZE more – imagine that they are the tiger, being hunted; killed unneccesarily, worse, for fun – in the name of game-hunting! Would these people like to be game-hunted? It’s difficult, if not impossible, for us to fight these tiger killers physically; perhaps TRANSFORM their heart~mind; there are seeds of compassion in their mindstreams. Tell them stories; show them pictures, movies of the tender moments of animal behaviour( which may even surpass human behaviour, hahaha! ). [ Rinpochela has been doing that through his blog ]! Okay, tell them to read ‘Calvin and Hobbes’ every day – i think Hobbes’ so adorable, and sometimes wise! Never mind if they do not change immediately ~ lets help them plant the seeds! Thank you, Rinpochela, for the valuable(and so constant) reminders, to keep our little seed moisturized!
Such killings are common and have been going on for decades, particularly in China, India, Nepal and Cambodhia purely for tiger parts, traditional medications and others. As of date, countless of summitses had been held the world over, but nothing congrete has been found to end such trade and the killings of tigers. As Mike Baltzer, the leader of the Environmental Group WWF has reiterated “The report demonstrates that illegal tiger trade continues despite considerable and repeated efforts to curtail it by many governments and organisations.” So before the big cats worldwide would plunge into extinction, let world leaders be blessed with sincere great compassion to be able to get together to seriously stop this ruthless illegal trade once and for all. PLEASE HELP SAVE THE POOR, HELPLESS AND HOPELESS TIGERS !!!! THANK YOU.