Sale of Sumatran tiger body parts leading to extinction
Wednesday, 13 Feb 2008 15:11
Only 400 Sumatran tigers are believed to still be in existence
International laws aimed at protecting endangered tiger are failing, a report has claimed.
Only 400 Sumatran tigers are left in the world and a wildlife monitoring network has claimed that the trade of their body parts in Indonesia is increasing the animals' decline.
The report by TRAFFIC claims that despite a national law against trading in body parts, tiger teeth, claws, skin, whiskers and bones are openly for sale.
A survey across 28 towns in Sumatra in 2006 found that at least 23 tigers had been killed to supply products to retail outlets.
Ten per cent of 326 retailers were found to be selling tiger body parts.
While the number of tigers killed has dropped from 52 in 1999-2000, Julia Ng, one of the report's authors, said the problem was in no way decreasing.
"Sadly, the decline in availability appears to be due to the dwindling number of tigers left in the wild," she said.
"It doesn't take a mathematician to work out that the Sumatran tiger will disappear like the Javan and Bali tigers if the poaching and trade continues."
Director of WWF International's species programme Susan Lieberman added: "Successive surveys continue to show that Sumatran tigers are being sold body part by body part into extinction."
"This is an enforcement crisis. If Indonesian authorities need enforcement help for the international community they should ask for it. If not, they should demonstrate they are taking enforcement seriously."
TRAFFIC is a joint programme of the WWF and the World Conservation Union.