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Close Tiger Farms and Stop Illegal Tiger Trade Online
Truong Tan Sang
President of Vietnam
Conservationists allege that Vietnam's 11 registered tiger farms are fronts for a thriving illegal market in tiger parts, highly prized for purported, if unproven, medicinal qualities.
The illegal wildlife trade is worth an estimated $8 billion to $10 billion per year in Southeast Asia alone and includes tigers, rhinos and other lesser-known animals.
The conservationists say the loosely regulated farms are used to "launder" illegally caught wild tigers, which they say are mixed in with stocks of legitimately bred animals, and that??products from their carcasses are later sold on the black market.
The conservation group WWF this week ranked Vietnam as the worst country for wildlife crime in its first such survey of how well 23 countries in Asia and Africa protect rhinos, tigers and elephants.?? The Switzerland-based group focused its report released Monday on countries where the threatened animals live in the wild or are traded or consumed. Vietnam's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a written request for comment on the WWF report.
Captive tigers now appear to be a "substantial proportion" of the world's illegal tiger trade. Tiger bone paste _ which some Vietnamese say is an effective pain killer _ can fetch a few hundred dollars per ounce ($1,000 per 100 grams) on the black market.
The global population of wild tigers has dropped precipitously over the last century, from about 100,000 to fewer than 3,500. According to the wildlife advocacy group TRAFFIC, at least 200 tiger carcasses were seized from the illegal trade worldwide last year.
Vietnam is one of 13 countries with wild tigers, but they number less than 50 in Vietnamese territory, according to government figures.
Wildlife advocates say Vietnam's tiger farms have high mortality rates and cannot possibly sustain their reported populations without sourcing smuggled tigers, which they say often enter the country via its mountainous border with Laos _ a country ranked the third worst offender on WWF's wildlife crime report.
Sincerely,
President of Vietnam
Conservationists allege that Vietnam's 11 registered tiger farms are fronts for a thriving illegal market in tiger parts, highly prized for purported, if unproven, medicinal qualities.
The illegal wildlife trade is worth an estimated $8 billion to $10 billion per year in Southeast Asia alone and includes tigers, rhinos and other lesser-known animals.
The conservationists say the loosely regulated farms are used to "launder" illegally caught wild tigers, which they say are mixed in with stocks of legitimately bred animals, and that??products from their carcasses are later sold on the black market.
The conservation group WWF this week ranked Vietnam as the worst country for wildlife crime in its first such survey of how well 23 countries in Asia and Africa protect rhinos, tigers and elephants.?? The Switzerland-based group focused its report released Monday on countries where the threatened animals live in the wild or are traded or consumed. Vietnam's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a written request for comment on the WWF report.
Captive tigers now appear to be a "substantial proportion" of the world's illegal tiger trade. Tiger bone paste _ which some Vietnamese say is an effective pain killer _ can fetch a few hundred dollars per ounce ($1,000 per 100 grams) on the black market.
The global population of wild tigers has dropped precipitously over the last century, from about 100,000 to fewer than 3,500. According to the wildlife advocacy group TRAFFIC, at least 200 tiger carcasses were seized from the illegal trade worldwide last year.
Vietnam is one of 13 countries with wild tigers, but they number less than 50 in Vietnamese territory, according to government figures.
Wildlife advocates say Vietnam's tiger farms have high mortality rates and cannot possibly sustain their reported populations without sourcing smuggled tigers, which they say often enter the country via its mountainous border with Laos _ a country ranked the third worst offender on WWF's wildlife crime report.
Sincerely,
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