India’s Tiger Numbers Are Lower
Yet China Will Ask to Reopen Trade in Tiger Parts at CITES meeting
India's recent survey of its tiger population is showing a nearly 65% decrease. But at the same time China is asking CITES members to reopen trade in tiger parts.
India will soon complete a new survey of its endangered tiger (Panthera tigris) population and preliminary results are showing that the 3,500 tigers estimated during the 2001 count may now be down to 1,200 or even fewer. This is especially worrying as India has long been known for having nearly half the world’s wild tiger population.
Ironically, at the same time, China will be sending tiger farm owners to the CITES meeting, being held June 2-15, 2007 to request a reopening of international trade in tiger parts, using the argument that tigers from their breeding farms can be used to repopulate the wild and that legal trade will end tiger poaching problems.
The Tiger Survey in India
The present Indian survey is not yet complete but the Wildlife Institute of India and the Indian government have released some preliminary information. Most of it is not good news. Ranthambore, scene of a recent poaching increase has only 32 tigers left and in Madhya Pradesh, once a stronghold for these endangered animals, numbers have crashed from an estimated 700 to only 265. The one beacon of light so far is the Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve where the population is estimated at 112 and considered stable.
The 2001 survey has been regularly questioned, with conservationists claiming that the numbers were unrealistically high. That survey only documented footprints to estimate tiger numbers. The newer survey is being done using trip action cameras to get photos of animals, as well as droppings which can be used for DNA testing, to augment footprint samples. And much larger team of surveyors is also in place so it is expected to be a more accurate count.
Chinese Proposal to Trade Tiger Parts Internationally
The Chinese request to CITES members may appear logical at first glance. But the tigers on the farms are domesticated and would not survive in the wild and no work has been done to determine their genetic background so they may not be suitable for a reintroduction project. Having been in captivity long term leads to questions of the diseases they might have been exposed to which should not be introduced into wild populations.
But most importantly, trade in endangered animal parts may actually result in increased poaching It is less expensive to kill a wild tiger than to raise one in captivity. When the ivory trade was banned, elephant poaching dropped precipitously as the price of tusks went down on the black market.
Ensuring that the parts being sold are legal is an expensive and time consuming process, one that is easily undermined.
Most conservation organizations have already voiced their objection to this proposal and the US delegation to CITES has said they will work to dissuade China from their plan. The Chinese have made 2 trips to India to try to gain support for their plan but the Indian government has not made a position statement yet.
