The frequency and volume of seizures offer a glimpse of rampant poaching and trading in tiger parts that takes place in and through the country. [break]
TRAFFIC, a joint program of World Wildlife Fund and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, said in the report “Reduced to Skin and Bones” that between January 2000 and April 2010, Nepal reported the third highest number of tiger part seizures in the world, behind India and China.
During the period, Nepal reported 39 seizures, representing between 113 to 130 tigers. India reported 276 seizures, the highest for any country in the period, representing between 469 and 533 tigers, while China reported 40 seizures, representing between 116 to 124 tigers.
In total, parts of between 1,069 to 1,220 tigers were seized in 11 of 13 tiger range countries during the period.
“With parts of potentially more than 100 wild tigers actually seized each year, one can only speculate the true number of animals being plundered,” Pauline Verheij, joint TRAFFIC and WWF Tiger Trade Program Manager and an author of the report, said.
Global hotspot
The report mentions Nepal as a global hotspot in illicit tiger trade. Other hotspots are the India-Myanmar, Malaysia-Thailand, Myanmar-China and Russia-China borders. The report also notes an apparent increase in the number of seizures in Indonesia, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam.
“Clearly, enforcement efforts to date are either ineffective or an insufficient deterrent,” said Mike Baltzer, leader of WWF´s Tiger Alive Initiative. “Not only must the risk of getting caught increase significantly, but seizures and arrests must also be followed up by swift prosecution and adequate sentencing, reflecting the seriousness of crimes against tigers,” he added.
Tiger parts in trade
Tiger parts reported in the trade range from complete skins, skeletons, even whole animals including live ones, bones, meat, claws, teeth, skulls, penises and other body parts. They are used for a variety of purposes including decoration, as medicines and good luck charms.
The steep decline in the number of tigers is not caused by illicit trade alone. Habitat loss, encroachment and excessive poaching of key prey species are also other contributing factors.
There were around 100,000 wild tigers 100 years ago. Today, only 3,200 of them are believed to be in the wild.
Highest seizures for 2000-2010
India-276
China-40
Nepal-39
Hotspots for illicit trade
Nepal
India-Myanmar
Malaysia-Thailand
Myanmar-China
Russia-China
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