Conservationists Welcome U.S. Commitment To Oppose Reopeningof China Tiger Trade

[Guest guest]

Original Message Source: Ms. Belinda Wright, OBE

Executive Director, Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI)

 

News Statement

May 4, 2007

International Tiger Coalition

 

 

Conservationists Welcome U.S. Commitment

To Oppose Reopening of China Tiger Trade

 

 

Washington D.C., USA: Tiger conservationists welcome the announcement

Thursday that the Bush Administration will work to oppose the lifting

of China's domestic ban on tiger trade.

 

The Administration told Congress yesterday that it would actively

work to keep China's 14-year-old ban in place at next month's meeting

of 171 nations at the Convention on the International Trade of

Endangered Species (CITES) came yesterday. Todd Willens, head of the

U.S. CITES delegation, testified in front of the House Subcommittee

on Natural Resources that the United States would work to persuade

China not to lift the ban. The Chinese government is expected to try

to make its case for resuming trade to the international community at

CITES.

 

" It is critical that the United States and other important partners

of China speak up for tigers at the CITES conference in June, " said

Judy Mills of the International Tiger Coalition. " It is even more

important that countries with wild tigers, such as India, let China

know how important its trade ban is for survival of their tigers. "

 

Wealthy, well-connected investors behind " tiger farms " in China that

breed tigers for profit are pressuring the Chinese government to lift

its successful ban on the trade of tiger parts. These investors are

stockpiling tiger carcasses in the hopes that they can overturn the

ban and rekindle demand for tiger bone medicine and other products

made from tigers, which have been in decline since the 1993 ban went

into effect.

 

The International Tiger Coalition is an alliance of 30 organizations

representing more that 100 organizations across the globe united

under the common aim of stopping trade in tiger parts and products

from all sources. Members include conservationists, animal welfare

groups, traditional Chinese medicine organizations and zoos.

 

For further information please contact:

 

Judy Mills

Campaign Against Tiger Trafficking (CATT)

Save The Tiger Fund

1120 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 900

Washington, DC 20036 USA

Tel: 1-202-857-5160

Fax: 1-202-857-0162

Email: judy.mills

www.savethetigerfund.org/CATT

 

Belinda Wright, OBE

Executive Director, Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI)

S-25 Panchsheel Park, New Delhi 110017, India

Tel: (Int+ 91.11) 4163.5920 & 4163.5921

Fax: (Int+ 91.11) 4163.5924

E-mail: wpsi

Website: www.wpsi-india.org