Trade in tiger parts; CITES asks China to submit report

Archna Jyoti

New Delhi, Aug 25 (PTI) India's efforts to save tigers
has received a major boost with a global forum asking
tiger-farming states like China to submit a report by October
on steps taken to restrict trade in big cat parts.

This is for the first time that the Convention of
International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Secretariat
in Geneva has issued such a notification calling on relevant
parties to report within a timeframe on steps taken by them to
stop trade in tiger parts.

"It is a major development. The ruling undoubtedly
puts a serious question mark on the fate of at least 5000
tigers currently in Chinese breeding farms as it has to now
specify the steps taken to restrict farming in order to
sustain tiger population in the wild. Other countries like
Vietnam which are engaged in tiger farming will also have to
report," sources said.

It also means that they will now be forced to restrict
issuing new permits for breeding, develop a time-bound
strategic plan to stop commercial breeding and disposal of
stockpiles of tiger parts, they explained.

Underlining the ecological and cultural importance of
saving striped cats in the wild at the meeting of 171 members
of CITES, India and others had sought scrutiny of tiger
farming in China and other such nations engaged in trade in
tiger parts.

On its part, India submitted a status report of the
steps it was taking to control wildlife crime in the country
such as setting up Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, special
tiger protection force and enhancing funds to save its 1,400
big cats in the wild, said Samir Sinha, head of Traffic India,
an international wildlife trade monitoring network.

The ruling is the outcome of India's proposal for
setting benchmarks to review progress on restrictions on trade
in tiger parts.

The CITES, an international agreement between
governments on conservation of flora and fauna, had endorsed
the proposal much to the dismay of China.

Traffic has also called for a new reporting system on
tigers in general, similar to the programme launched for
rhinos, a senior official from National Tiger Conservation
Authority (NTCA) said.

At the CITES meeting, World Bank said that "Given the
unpredictability of the market environment along with the fact
that there are only 3,500 tigers in the wild across the world,
there is no room for experimentation." PTI AJ
PMR