World Bank Debunks Tiger Farming Benefits
Jul 22nd, 2009 by wwftravel
© Vladimir Filonov / WWF-Canon
Experimenting with tiger farming is too risky and could drive wild tigers further toward extinction, the World Bank recently said at a key international wildlife trade meeting.
WWF endorsed the World Bank’s call for countries to ban tiger farming because of the uncertainty that it will have for the long-term conservation of wild tigers. WWF is working on every front to save wild tigers and stop the sale of tiger products, from patrolling the forests where tigers live to galvanizing international law enforcement, to going after smuggling syndicates. Hard-fought bans on tiger trade have significantly reduced the killing of wild tigers for their skins and bones.
Yet, commercial facilities—these so-called “tiger farms”—in China that have bred more than 5,000 tigers in captivity for the purpose of reigniting trade in tiger products are a growing threat. The facilities’ owners are pressuring Chinese authorities to lift the country’s highly successful 16-year ban and let them legally sell tiger products.
The world’s tiger population has decreased by about 95 percent since 1900—only around 4,000 tigers remain in the wild.
Join WWF in search of tigers during our Wildlife of India tour, March 5-21, 2010.
