Protect All Tigers from Illegal Trade

Bangkok, Thailand – Parts of more than 1400 tigers have been seized across Asia in the past 13 years, according to TRAFFIC’s latest analysis of confiscations, which includes new data for 2010-2012. Reduced to Skin and Bones Revisited finds that parts of at least 1425 tigers had been seized across all but one of the 13 tiger range countries between 2000 and 2012. For Cambodia alone, no seizures were recorded at all during the period.

A total of 654 seizures of tiger parts ranging from skin to bones, to teeth, claws and skulls took place during this period, an average of 110 tigers killed for trade per year. Help The International Tiger Coalition and Big Cat Rescue tighten regulations to protect captive tigers in the U.S. and prevent increased demand for tiger products that put wild populations at risk.

top 5 Indian hotspots for illegal tiger trade

http://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/delhi-among-top-indian-hotspots-for-illegal-tiger-trade-20652.html

Sign the petition to Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack asking them to use their authority to close existing loopholes in the permitting and monitoring of captive tigers in the U.SAt present, there is currently no way to determine how many captive tigers are in the U.S., where they are, who owns them, or what happens to them when they die. This makes them an easy target for black market sales, stimulating demand for tiger products and further theatening wild populations by putting them at increased risk of poaching. Sign The petition asking the U.S. government to close the existing loopholes and require registration and monitoring of all captive tigers.

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Dear Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra


We the undersigned urge you to strengthen regulation of captive tigers in Thiland and Bangkok to help ensure the survival of the roughly 3,200 tigers remaining in the wild. An estimated 5,000 tigers exist in captivity in the U.S., and loopholes in the current regulations create openings for exploitation of these animals in illegal trade. Any influx of supply onto the black market can stimulate demand for tigers and tiger products, further threatening already-dwindling wild populations. The current patchwork of federal and state regulations has implications not only for wild tigers, but also for the standard of care for captive tigers and for related human safety.

The number of tigers remaining in the wild continues to decline, and experts agree that the single largest threat to their survival is illegal hunting and trade. On the black market a tiger is worth 10 times more dead than alive. Parts from wild tigers are preferred over parts from captive tigers in traditional medicines and therefore fetch the highest prices. Any increase in demand caused by any sourcing of tiger parts (including U.S. domestic, captive-bred tigers) could threaten the conservation of wild tigers.

We urge you to use your authority to address critical flaws in the United States' management of its captive tiger population, particularly in relation to monitoring and reporting, and the laws and regulations governing ownership. Left unaddressed, these flaws could have global trade implications, allowing a channel for U.S. tigers to flow into international trade, and thereby perpetuating the illegal market for tiger parts and further threatening wild tiger populations. Specifically, I request that you take the following steps:

1) The U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service should remove the exemption for "generic" tigers under the Captive-Bred Wildlife registration system. FWS should immediately promulgate new regulations requiring persons and facilities holding tigers to annually report their year-end inventory and activities conducted with tigers. By removing the "generic" tiger exemption, FWS will be better able to track the U.S. captive tiger population and ensure it does not contribute to illegal trade.

2) The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's Animal Care program should require annual reporting of numbers of tigers owned, births, mortality, and transfer or sale, by persons or facilities that are USDA licensed to exhibit, breed or trade live captive tigers. At present, there is no requirement to report, which makes it impossible to accurately determine how many tigers are being kept in USDA facilities or what is happening to their bodies and parts when they die or are killed. In the absence of the collection of such information, these animals are vulnerable to illegal trade, as well as to abuse and exploitation. Such reporting requirements would also reduce the risk to the general public from unsafe handling of these potentially lethal animals.

Again, We urge you to use your authority to adjust the relevant federal regulations as outlined above in order to safeguard wild tiger populations for future generations, to promote the public safety, and to protect captive tigers from abuse and neglect.



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