Every year around 150 tigers are seized in the illegal trade. This is shown in a new report by the organization Traffic with the support of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
Every part of the tiger is sold in the illegal trade. According to the report, tiger parts have been confiscated from over 3,000 tigers in 50 countries during the period January-June this year. Most seizures are made in India, China and Indonesia.
More and more products from captive-bred tigers are being confiscated, according to WWF. Thailand and Vietnam are the countries with the highest percentage of seized tiger parts from tiger farms with 81 and 67 percent respectively.
The most common item confiscated is tiger skin.
“The countries in Southeast Asia need to do everything possible to protect their wild tigers while also grappling with tiger farms that supply the illegal trade in tigers. Strong measures are required by the governments to reduce the pressure on the wild tiger populations,” says Louise Carlsson, tiger expert at WWF Sweden , in a press release.
In some parts of the world, products from the tiger are considered to be able to prevent and cure diseases, writes WWF.