(CN) Trafficking tiger bones is buying death for the species

[Guest guest]

Trafficking of tiger bones is buying death for the species

Los Angeles Times

By Ching-Ching Ni, Times Staff Writer

September 1, 2006

 

Crackdown Is Urged on the Trading of Tiger Parts in China

 

BEIJING — Despite an official ban, the trafficking of tiger bones in China,

particularly for use in traditional medicine and health tonics, remains

robust and poses a serious threat to the endangered species, international

conservationists said Thursday.

 

A recent study said about 5,000 wild tigers are left in the world. The tiger

population in China reportedly has dwindled to less than 50, largely because

of poaching, habitat loss and commercial exploitation, animal experts said.

 

Illegal trading in tiger parts " undermines the positive steps the Chinese

government has taken over the years to protect the endangered animal, " said

Hua Ning, a representative of the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

 

Since 1993, the Chinese government has banned all domestic trade in tiger

parts.

 

Without the ban, animal rights groups say, the tigers might have declined at

a much faster pace.

 

Today, Beijing will begin enforcing a stronger regulation to combat illegal

trade in wildlife and to help the country implement an international

agreement to protect endangered species.

 

A recent investigation by the China Youth Daily found that at least one

tiger farm in southwestern China ran a thriving business selling tiger bone

wine. The report describes an underground brewery with hundreds of vats

large enough to hold whole tiger carcasses.

 

The wine is believed by some to have medicinal powers, including the ability

to cure rheumatism, invigorate men and give women better skin.

 

The wine is reportedly sold at regional outlets and the local airport for

about $100 a bottle.

 

Its price and rarity make it a prized gift by some Chinese looking to build

business or government connections.

 

The brewer, Xiong Sen Wine Industries Limited Co., based in Guangxi

province, told the China Youth Daily that it was part of the Guilin Xiong

Sen Tiger and Bear Farm, which said it had the largest breeding ground in

China with a captive population of more than 1,100 tigers.

 

The company reported sales of 200,000 bottles a year, with distributors in

other parts of the country.

 

The carcasses used in making the wine come from farm-raised animals that

died in captivity, the farm managers said.

 

The managers told Chinese media that they had been granted permission by the

State Forestry Administration to use tiger parts.

 

That statement raised concern among conservation groups that current laws

were not being enforced and that the ban on the trading of tiger parts might

be lifted.

 

Since few people can distinguish between the bones of a wild tiger and a

captive one, conservationists worry that any legalized trade in tiger parts

could encourage the poaching of wild tigers.

 

" Any resumption in legal domestic trade of tiger parts could be the final

act that drives the tiger toward extinction, " Susan Lieberman, director of

the World Wildlife Fund's Global Species Program, said in a statement.

 

" We call upon the Chinese government to retain and reinforce its important

1993 ban. "

 

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-tigers1sep01,1,5443314.s\

tory?coll=la-news-a_section