IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Hemley, G.; Mills, J.A. | |
| The beginning of the end of tigers in trade? | |
| 1999 Book Chapter | |
While experts generally agree that loss of habitat and prey are the most important long-term threats to the tiger's survival, poaching for trade of tiger body parts, particularly bones for use in traditional medicines, is now considered by many to be the most immediate danger to the world's remaining wild tiger populations. Because of its illegal nature, the trade is difficult to quantify. However, import and export statistics and anecdotal evidence compiled in the late 1980s and early 11990s suggest a significant increase in seizures of tiger bone and other products during this period, as well as a growing commerce, particularly in East Asia, of manufactured tiger medicines. Although the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) decided in 1975 to ban international commercial trade in all tigers and their parts except the Amur tiger, this protection did little to stop the illicit commerce. International trade continued at significant rates even after CITES banned trade in all tigers and their parts in 1987. What sustained trade in tiger parts despite an international ban? Why were laws so slow to stop this trade? Answers to these questions are critical to the development of a comprehensive tiger conservation strategy. While tiger conservation efforts have until now focused largely on protecting tigers and their habitat, they must also take into account the dynamics of black market commerce and the socio-economic issues inherent in human demands for medicine. |
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