HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT - China's Clandestine Tiger Trade - Environmental Investigation Agency
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HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT China's Clandestine Tiger Trade
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS CONTENTS
This report was written by Environmental
Investigation Agency.
EIA would like to thank the Rufford Foundation, 1 SUMMARY
the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, Ernest
Kleinwort Charitable Trust and Save Wild Tigers for
their support in making this work possible. 3 INTRODUCTION
Special thanks to our colleagues “on the frontline”
in tiger range countries for their information,
advice and inspiration.
5 LEGAL CONTEXT
EIA uses IBM i2® intelligence analysis software.
6 INVESTIGATION FINDINGS
Report design by:
www.designsolutions.me.uk
12 TIGER FARMING
February 2013
13 PREVIOUS EXPOSÉS
17 STIMULATING POACHING OF WILD ASIAN BIG CATS
20 MIXED MESSAGES
24 SOUTH-EAST ASIA TIGER FARMS
25 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
26 APPENDICES
1) TABLE OF LAWS AND REGULATIONS RELATING TO TIGERS IN CHINA
2) TIGER FARMING TIMELINE
ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTIGATION AGENCY (EIA)
62/63 Upper Street, London N1 0NY, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7354 7960
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7354 7961
email: ukinfo@eia-international.org
www.eia-international.org
EIA US
P.O.Box 53343
Washington DC 20009 USA
Tel: +1 202 483 6621
© Michael Vickers/www.tigersintheforest.co.uk
Fax: +1 202 986 8626
email: usinfo@eia-international.org
www.eia-global.org
Front cover image © Robin Hamilton
All images © EIA unless otherwise specified
SUMMARY
Undercover investigations and a review of available
Chinese laws have revealed that while China banned
tiger bone trade for medicinal uses in 1993, it has
encouraged the growth of the captive-breeding of tigers
to supply a quietly expanding legal domestic trade in
tiger skins. This Government-authorised trade spurs the
poaching of wild tigers and undermines the international
ban on tiger trade agreed by the majority of the world
through the UN Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species (CITES). The lack of clarity over the
use of bone from captive-bred tigers to make wine has
further stimulated trade and demand.
I) BACKGROUND domestication and utilisation of
wildlife for so-called “conservation”
l The world is operating under a as well as for economic growth. Thus,
misunderstanding of China’s intentions under such a system, “utilisation” or
where tigers are concerned. commercial sale of certain products
derived from captive-bred endangered
l Having ratified the UN Convention on species, including tigers, is legal. For
International Trade in Endangered example, the Environmental
Species (CITES), China is subject to Investigation Agency (EIA) has
CITES requirements. CITES strictly uncovered the commercial sale of
prohibits international commercial luxury tiger skin rugs, which are made
trade in tiger parts and derivatives with skins sourced from captive-bred
and, recognising the threats posed by tigers with the express authorisation of
growing captive tiger populations, the SFA.
also calls for:
- domestic trade prohibitions; II) TIGER SKINS
- the consolidation and destruction l In the past 10 years, regulatory systems
of stockpiles of tiger parts and have been introduced to allow the
products; commercial sale of skins of captive-bred
tigers, prepared as luxury skin rugs for
- assurance that tiger parts and home décor.
derivatives from captive-bred tigers
do not enter legal or illegal trade. l New EIA research and undercover
investigations document the sale of
l Contrary to CITES requirements, China captive-bred tiger skins at 1.5 to
has a massive captive tiger population three times the price of skins of wild
and is allowing a legal trade in tiger tigers, leopards and snow leopards,
parts sourced from captive-bred tigers. making the skins of wild animals a
- Under favourable policies, as well as cheaper option for consumers.
with support and funding from the - At least 10 tiger skin rugs were sold
State Forestry Administration (SFA) in the first half of 2012, by only two
of China, the captive tiger population companies. Potentially, hundreds more
in China has grown from fewer than may have been traded, given the large
20 in 1986 to between 5,000-6,000 in number of companies licensed to
2013, spread across up to 200 ’farms’ process wildlife.
and ’zoos‘. China’s wild tiger population
has fallen from 4,000 in the late l EIA investigations in 2012 also show that
1940s to approximately 40-50 animals. the smuggling of skins of wild tigers and
other Asian big cats continues, with
- China’s wildlife and agricultural laws skins from India and Nepal for sale in
and policies promote the breeding, established trade hotspots in China.
1
- During just several days, EIA IV) CONCLUSIONS AND
investigators were offered three
fresh tiger skins, one leopard skin, RECOMMENDATIONS
one snow leopard skin and big cat l Wild Asian big cats are being
bones, teeth and claws. poached to supply the market
demand stimulated by China’s legal
domestic trade in skins of captive-
III) TIGER BONE bred tigers at a time when the
international community has agreed
l A 1993 State Council order in China that demand reduction is essential to
banned the use of tiger bone for save wild tigers.
medicinal purposes and the SFA has l The parts of more than 5,400 Asian
stated it has a strict ban on use of big cats have been seized since 2000;
tiger bone; however, traders have INTERPOL’s rule of thumb is that
told EIA investigators about the seized contraband represents
continued use of tiger bone. approximately 10 per cent of actual
trade.
l Despite the ban, tiger bones sourced l Contrary to the understanding of the
from captive-bred tigers are not being international community, evidence
destroyed, leading to what is likely to suggests that commercial use of tiger
be a massive stockpile and consumer bones continues.
assumptions that trade is legal or
will soon be legal. l Promotion and facilitation of trade
in captive-bred tiger parts puts China
l Tonics made by soaking tiger bones in non-compliance with CITES
requirements and undermines
in wine are being produced and Premier Wen Jiabao’s commitments
marketed despite the apparent 1993 to end tiger trade.
ban, with traders referencing a
“secret” Government notification l China is defying the will of the
issued in 2005. international community to end
demand for tiger parts and products,
- In 2012 EIA identified a company and to end the breeding of tigers for
trade in parts and products.
using this method to produce “Real
BELOW: Tiger Wine”, which does not list tiger l The new Government in China has an
EIA investigators were offered wild bone as an ingredient and returns opportunity to change the course of
and captive bred tiger skins for the bones to the stockpile to be the wild tiger’s fate. Current pro-use
sale in China in 2012. available for audit and inspection. policies are being championed by only
a handful of officials in a couple of
Government departments.
l The National People’s Congress could
ensure that:
- laws are amended to end all trade,
in all parts and products of tigers
and other Asian big cats, from
all sources;
- stockpiles of tiger parts and
products are consolidated
and destroyed;
- clear messages are sent to tiger
breeders and the industry that the
objective is to end all demand
and trade.
l Policies in China are directly
stimulating demand and poaching,
and the problem of tiger ‘farming’
and trade is spreading to Thailand,
Laos and Vietnam.
l EIA urges Parties to the 16th
Conference of the Parties to CITES
(Bangkok, March 2013) to note this
report and impose all effective measures,
including punitive, to stop the trade
in tiger parts sourced from captive-
bred tigers.
l A failure to act indicates an implicit
acceptance of a legal trade in the
skins of captive-bred tigers, the
beginning of a slippery slope towards
accepting a legal trade in the bones
of captive-bred tigers, and ultimately
extinction of tigers in the wild.
2
Amur Tiger, Lutka © WCS
INTRODUCTION
New research by the Environmental The skins of wild tigers and other
Investigation Agency (EIA) shows that Asian big cats continue to be illegally
the Government of China allows legal trafficked to established trade hotspots
domestic trade in the parts and products in China, and since 2006 the primary
of captive-bred tigers, creating confusion consumers have been the business,
among consumers, stimulating demand military and political elite.
and driving the poaching of wild tigers
and other Asian big cats. Loopholes in the regulatory system
allow the laundering of illegally acquired
This runs contrary to the impression specimens, and there are overlaps
held by the international community, between those involved in handling
the United Nations and fellow tiger captive-bred and wild-sourced skins.
range countries that tiger trade has Parallel to this legal trade, thousands
been banned in China since 1993. of wild Asian big cats have died. It is
clear that trade in captive-bred tigers
However, the international community has not alleviated pressure on wild
seems to have overestimated the animals but has instead stimulated
scope of China’s ban by assuming it demand and poaching.
encompassed all parts and products
of all tigers, wild and captive-bred. A lack of clarity over the use captive-bred
tiger bones has created an environment
It is time for a reality check. China’s of confusion in which tiger bone wine is
national policy and laws, dating being produced and marketed. With
back to the 1980s, encourage the 5,000-6,000 tigers in captivity there is
domestication and utilisation of a growing ‘bank’ of bones stockpiled
wildlife, including tigers. Regulations by private tiger breeders and owners.
introduced in the past 10 years Instead of being destroyed, skin and
facilitate the commercial trade in bone stockpiles are being registered
skins of captive-bred tigers. and labelled, further fuelling speculation
of future trade.
Tiger skin rugs made from captive-bred
tigers can be up to three times the price At present, law and policy in China
of those prepared from wild tigers and makes it clear there is no intention to
several times that of leopards and snow end the domestication of tigers or use of
leopards. The use of big cat skin rugs their parts and products. This defies the
as luxury home décor has been actively will of the international community that
promoted and is now a fashionable tigers should not be bred for trade in
symbol of social status. Skins are often their parts and products, and undermines
given as prestigious gifts or bribes and Premier Wen Jiabao’s commitment to
are seen as an investment. end tiger trade and work with fellow
3
Tiger Range Countries to double the illegal. A handful of dedicated police
wild tiger population by the next year officers are seizing parts of butchered
of the tiger in 2022. tigers and arresting those involved but
a lack of support further along the
It doesn’t have to be this way. With a enforcement chain means few have been
new Government forming in China, there punished, and tiger farmers with the
is an opportunity to update laws and right connections continue to operate.
policies to value live tigers and other
Asian big cats in the wild over the value It is past time for transparency around
of their body parts. the status of trade in parts and products
of captive-bred tigers. Governments of
Legislative change would bring China countries concerned about the survival
into compliance with UN agreements of wild tigers and other Asian big cats
and in harmony with the efforts of other must not shrink from calling for full
Tiger Range Countries, donor govern- disclosure and meaningful action under
ments and non-government organisa- CITES to end all tiger trade and to end
tions (NGOs) working to save the the breeding of tigers for trade in their
remaining 3,500 wild tigers and to end parts and products.
demand for tiger parts and products.
A failure to act indicates an implicit
Other countries with tiger ‘farms’, such endorsement of a legal trade in the
BELOW: as Thailand, Laos and Vietnam are skins of captive-bred tigers, and the
Demand for tigers skins as watching to see what China can get beginning of a slippery slope towards
luxury home décor is a growing away with. Trade in captive-bred tiger accepting a legal trade in the bones of
threat to wild tigers. parts in and between those countries is captive-bred tigers.
© WWF Pavel Fomenko (21st Century Tiger)
4
LEGAL CONTEXT
INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS A series of regulations sets out the BELOW:
administrative processes to implement EIA followed the paper trail
International trade in parts and products the law, including domestication and online to find companies that
of tigers and other endangered Asian breeding operations and the sale of were licensed to process and
big cats is prohibited under CITES. wildlife products of Grade I nationally sell parts of captive bred
Tigers, leopards, snow leopards, clouded protected species (See Appendix I).8 wildlife, including tiger.
leopards and Asiatic lions have been
listed on Appendix I of CITES since the In 1993, the State Council of China
1970s with the exception of the Siberian issued an order to prohibit the use,
tiger, added in 1987. manufacture, sale, import and export of
medicines derived from tiger bone and
In 1993, recognising that domestic trade rhino horn, and products claiming to
was driving the poaching of wild tiger contain these.9
populations, CITES passed a resolution
that, inter alia, called for domestic trade In 2003, the State Forestry
prohibitions and the consolidation and Administration (SFA) and the State
destruction of stockpiles. Administration for Industry and
Commerce (SAIC) announced a pilot
Since then, Parties have recognised project to allow the marking and
that the same threats from trade apply utilisation of wildlife products.10
equally to other Appendix I Asian big Subsequent notifications have set out
cats, and that tiger ‘farming’ and details of implementation and labelling,
domestic trade in captive-bred tiger and name the companies awarded
parts and products is a threat to the licences to breed wildlife, process and Translation:
chances of wild tiger recovery. sell parts and products.11 SFA’s notification allows
Xiafeng Animal Specimen
Moving with the times, these threats According to traders EIA has met, the Factory to produce and
have been reflected in CITES debates deaths of tigers in facilities licensed to trade taxidermies, including
and captured in the relevant resolution breed or keep tigers are registered with tigers, from 2005.
and, more recently, in a decision that the SFA. Licensed traders may apply for
tigers should not be bred for trade SFA approval to buy the skins of those
(including domestic trade) in their registered animals. Once the skin has
parts and products. been turned into a rug or taxidermy
specimen, licensees provide the
paperwork and photographs to the
RELEVANT LAWS IN CHINA SFA and acquire a permit in return.
As long as a skin is accompanied by
Under the 1989 Law of the People’s such a permit it can be sold.
Republic of China (PRC) on the
Protection of Wildlife (amended in In 2005, the SFA, SAIC, Ministry of
2004), the sale and purchase of Grade I Health, State Food and Drug
nationally protected species,1 including Administration and the State
tiger (Panthera tigris), leopard (Panthera Administration of Traditional Chinese
pardus), snow leopard (Panthera uncia), Medicine issued Notification 2005
clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) and No 139. The full content of this
Asiatic lion2 (Panthera leo persica), notification is not available but the
without a permit is prohibited.3 If sale, title states that it enables the pilot
purchase or utilisation is necessary for use of captive-bred tiger bone and
scientific research, domestication and the reduction of use of leopard bone.
breeding, exhibition or other special It is not clear what exemptions to
purpose, approval must be obtained the 1993 State Council order this
from the relevant department under the notification provides, or whether it
State Council.4 was subsequently withdrawn.
Translation:
The law clearly states it is Government The accompanying association chart SFA's notification in 2007
policy to encourage the domestication on pages 14-15 summarises the allows China Wildlife
and breeding of wildlife species for relationships described above, Conservation Association
utilisation5, and that a licence to breed including the relevant Government affiliated Wildlife Rescue
can be obtained from the relevant licenses issued to businesses and Centre in Qinhuangdao to
department under the State Council.6 facilities, including those visited by produce and trade crafts
Further, those who have such license EIA in 2007 and 2012. Many of these containing skins and bones
to breed can then sell the specimens or facilities, flagged orange, have of national specially
products thereof to “purchasing units” previously been the subject of NGO protected wildlife species.
designated by the Government.7 and media exposés.
5
INVESTIGATION FINDINGS
ABOVE: FOLLOWING THE LUXURY TIGER SKIN
In 2012, EIA investigators
obtained first hand evidence of PAPER TRAIL RUGS FOR SALE
skins of captive bred tigers
EIA’s investigation began by following Between May 2012 and January 2013,
being offered for sale,
the paper trail available through the EIA undertook a series of investigations
accompanied by permits issued to document the legal sale of
SFA website. Documents there gave
by the China State Forestry captive-bred tiger parts and products.
details of the national “wildlife
Administration, SFA. Investigators met with SFA-licensed
utilisation and marking system”
launched in January 2003 by the traders; two in particular regularly
SFA and SAIC. Subsequent SFA process skins of captive-bred tigers into
notifications list at least 150 high quality rugs, which they can sell if
companies licensed to process and/or the finished items are accompanied by
Government permits.
sell parts and products of wildlife,
including Grade I nationally protected Xiafeng Animal Specimen Factory, in
species, including tigers. Chaohu, Anhui Province, had two skins,
one ready for purchase and a second, a
The following is a snapshot of this white tiger, being processed. The owner,
trade. EIA met with two companies who has been in this business since
legally selling tiger skins. With 200 2004, said he had sold five rugs in the
facilities licensed to keep over 5,000 first half of 2012 and was expecting to
“ Once we get the tigers in captivity and over 100 receive more skins before the end of
skins, even before companies registered under the the year.
“wildlife utilisation and marking
making them, they ystem”, it is likely that many more Local government records online confirm
skins are sold each year. The SFA he had permission to process at least
will all already be nine skins in 2012 and has processed at
can provide clarity as to how many of
reserved … Anyone the companies registered under the least a further 11 tiger skins and one
leopard skin since 2009, although more
“wildlife utilisation and marking
can buy. There are system” have been issued with permits
records may be available than EIA has
been able to access. Records indicate
so many wealthy to process skins, and how many skins the skins come from zoos across the
have been processed. country.12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17
guys, some can sell
it again.” The findings also report on a company The manager of the taxidermy workshop
engaged in the manufacture of tiger at Qinhuangdao Wildlife Rescue Centre
bone wine, which was identified (established by the China Wildlife
Staff at Qinhuangdao during the course of the skin trade Conservation Association, a national
Wildlife Rescue Centre investigation. non-profit organisation affiliated to the
6
SFA) in Beidaihe, Hebei Province, ABUSE OF THE LEGAL
showed investigators a pile of skins
waiting to be processed for a university. TRADE SYSTEM
However, most tiger skins are sold to
wealthy individuals rather than for The domestic skin trade regulation system
educational or scientific purposes; five is flawed and traders described ways in
tiger skin rugs were sold in the first which it can provide a cover for black
half of 2012 to individuals seeking market activities, including the re-use of
luxury home décor. permits and falsification of origins.
He also confirmed that “anyone” can buy That the legal market offers a means
these skins from the Centre. This shows to launder illegally acquired tiger
that the legal trade in tiger skin rugs is specimens was evidenced by the tiger
not restricted to scientific or educational BELOW:
carcass in the freezer at Xiafeng Animal
purposes but is growing through a Specimen Factory. The owner takes Permit for Xiafeng’s tiger skin,
lucrative commercial retail market. delivery of the entire tiger carcass shown on page 6
from the zoos with which he has an
As with Xiafeng Animal Specimen BOTTOM:
Factory, the prices quoted for captive- agreement; he explained that since
no-one is paying attention to the bones These skins are destined for a
bred tiger skins were 1.5 to three times university, but the staff of the
higher than for wild tiger skins, and he can sell them too. Given the serious
several times higher than the skins of penalties, he will not sell them on the Qinhuangdao Wildlife Rescue
wild leopard and snow leopard offered open market himself, but he has regular Centre claimed they had sold five
to EIA investigators in July 2012 in buyers in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province who tiger skins as rugs to individuals
Lhasa, TAR, Linxia, Gansu Province buy from him. in the first half of 2012.
and Xining, Qinghai Province. This
legal trade is clearly not alleviating
pressure on wild tigers and other
Asian big cats.
The owner of Xiafeng Animal Specimen
Factory said the establishment of a
taxidermy industry had been proactively
encouraged by the SFA, stating that a
few years previously a senior SFA
official had complained that not enough
was being done to make the most of the
tigers dying in captivity; promoting the
taxidermy process and industry.
Active promotion of the taxidermy
industry also featured in a Qinhuangdao
Wildlife Rescue Centre brochure, which
stated that the use of taxidermy items
as luxury home décor is an increasingly
fashionable way to demonstrate
higher status.
This echoes statements made by traders
selling wild tiger, leopard and snow
leopard skins, and is also reflected in
the way wild skins are now prepared
and trafficked, with head and paws
intact for taxidermy; until 2006, less
care was taken as skins were also used
to decorate traditional costumes.
Skins are also offered as prestigious
gifts and bribes and are increasingly, as
with ivory and rhino horn carvings, and
pre-1993 tiger bone wine, seen as an
investment; commodities among the new
asset classes.18
It is clear that legal trade is sustaining
a perception that tiger skin rugs are
valuable, thereby perpetuating demand
and stimulating the poaching of wild
tigers. In 2012, over the course of just
several days, EIA investigators were
offered the fresh skins of wild Asian big
cats - three tigers, one leopard and one
snow leopard.
7
“ … because when ILLICIT RE-USE OF PERMITS Further, he went on to offer a
substantial discount on the skin if
we pay, we pay for FOR ADDITIONAL TIGER SKINS purchased without the permit, describing
a process whereby the buyer would take
the whole tiger.... The only identifying feature connecting the permit with the skin to ensure it
there is no record the tiger skin rugs for sale with the could be safely transported and then
accompanying permits is a photo of the return it for a refund and so enable the
of the bones….” skin on the back of the permit. The taxidermist to fraudulently re-use the
owner of Xiafeng Animal Specimen permit for other skins. He suggested
Owner of Xiafeng Factory explained that he photographs this had been done before.
the processed skin and sends it with the
paperwork to the SFA, which in turn
issues a laminated and stamped permit LEGAL AND ILLEGAL SKINS
bearing the photo. ENTER SAME MARKET
However, the photo is so small that Skins of wild and captive-bred tigers are
there is no way the stripe patterns of the feeding into the same consumer demand
photo can be matched with those of the for luxury home décor, and there is
skin for sale, presenting opportunities overlap between those involved in the
for the same permit to be used for legal and illegal trade. The owner of
different skins. Indeed, it seemed that Xiafeng Animal Specimen Factory claims
this was the case with the specimen he he does not buy wild tiger skins himself.
was showing us. However, he claimed to have processed
two skins originally from India and
While the permit stated it was issued purchased in the Tibet Autonomous
in 2011 for a tiger skin sourced from Region (TAR), including one he
Nanjing Pearl Spring Zoo, during the processed on behalf of a local deputy
course of the conversation it became governor who had received it as a gift.
clear this may not be the case; the
owner changed his mind twice about Likewise, traders in known hotspots for
where the tiger came from and then illegal tiger and other Asian big cat
claimed it had died in March 2012. skins, such as Linxia in Gansu Province
Pressed, he warned EIA to ask no more and Lhasa in TAR, confirm that the
questions on this issue: “No, you don't skins of wild Asian big cats coming from
BELOW: ask about that. The certificate is here, and India and Nepal are destined for the
Carcass of the tiger shown you don't need to know more. It’s like you luxury home décor market, which is also
on page 6 in the freezer ask a child trafficker, who does the child evident from the way they are processed
at Xiafeng. belong to …”. (see page 19). Buyers come from all
over the country and one trader in
Linxia, known to EIA as an illegal
trader since 2006, uses a third party in
Hebei Province to ‘fine tan’ wild-sourced
tiger, leopard and snow leopard skins on
behalf of a buyer in Inner Mongolia.
The photo on this permit is too
small to accurately identify
the skin it accompanies.
8THE TIGER BONE WINE TRADE The owner of Beijing
Longying’s ambition is
Beijing Longying Trading Ltd (also to have 500 tigers.
known as Beijing Longfuteng Fauna and
Flora Ltd) is one of the few companies
that has the license to breed wildlife
(including tigers), the license to process
their parts and products, and the license
to sell.
The owner claimed he was a co-founder
of the State-founded Hengdaohezi Big
Cat Breeding Centre, China’s first tiger
farm, before going into private business
importing and exporting wildlife. He
claimed two of the tigers he had bred
himself were gifted by the Government
of China to South Korea in 1994, to
mark the visit of then-President Jiang
Zemin. He also said he had arranged to
import 100 tigers from Sri Racha, in
Thailand, to Sanya Love World, in
Hainan Island, in 2002. He is a
successful crocodile farmer and also
the co-author (with Hengdaohezi Big
Cat Breeding Centre and Northeast
Forestry University) of a research
paper on the chemical content of that tiger breeders were petitioning the
Siberian tiger bones.19 SFA to repeal the 1993 State Council
ban on the use of tiger bone.20 He added
While crocodiles appear to be his main that the only two facilities to meet the
business, he also had samples of “bone ‘500’ requirement are Xiongsen Bear
strengthening wine” produced by and Tiger Village and the Harbin
wineries associated with the Xiongsen Siberian Tiger Park.
Bear and Tiger Village, in Guangxi
Province, and the Harbin Siberian “Now there is an internal notification …
Tiger Park, in Heilongjiang Province. when the number of the bred tiger reaches
Both are licensed under the 2003 500, if you get some special permission,
wildlife utilisation and marking scheme you can sell the tiger bones to assigned
and the owner of Beijing Longying medicine-making factories and the products
insisted it was made using tiger bones will be directly circulated in hospitals. For
but, because of the 1993 State Council instance, if a patient is in a hospital for
order, the wineries are unable to say so arthritis treatment, he will get a bottle of
on the ingredients. the bone wine.”
He currently has eight tigers at his He calculates a breeding operation
compound on the outskirts of Beijing with 200 tigresses could potentially
and two in a park in Sanya, on Hainan produce 600 cubs each year, and that
Island, but his long-term goal is to raise it would be “very easy to naturally get
500 tigers; his business plan to achieve rid of 100-200 every year.”
this includes seeking investors while
also generating income from ticket sales These revelations fly in the face of
to visitors and selling tiger skins to repeated assertions by the SFA, at
“private collections”. various CITES and Global Tiger
Initiative meetings, that the ABOVE:
When asked why the figure of 500, he Government is committed to a 1993 Harbin and Xiongsen both have
explained that an official notification State Council Order prohibiting the permits to produce “bone
circulated in 2005, regarding the sale use of tiger bone for medicine. strengthening wine”, which is
of captive-bred tiger bone to designated labelled in Latin as containing
medicinal manufacturers authorised EIA investigators searched online for
lion. It is marketed however, as
to supply hospitals with tiger bone Government notifications pertaining to
having been made using tiger.
wine, stipulated that only operations the use of captive-bred tiger bone and
with 500 tigers or more could apply found records of Notification 2005
for permission. No 139, which “enables the pilot use of
captive-bred tiger bone for medicine and
He described it as a “secret” and the reduction of the use of leopard bone.”
“internal” notification, not widely
distributed because of the international
outcry at the time; news broke in 2005
9“QUANZHEN HUJIU”, SANHONG’S
“REAL TIGER WINE”
Sanhong’s plan states the wine is made
from tiger bone and other controlled
wildlife parts, including pangolin scales
and caterpillar fungus (Cordyceps
sinensis). The recipe for Sanhong’s “Real
Tiger Wine”, prepared with technical
guidance from the Hunan Academy of
Chinese Medicine, is detailed in the
report, the tiger bone requirements are
as follows:
“… According to relevant technical parameters,
160 kilograms of tiger bones may produce
3 tons [sic] of tiger bone stock. One
kilogram of tiger bone wine contains 2 to 4
grams of tiger bone stock. Based on an
average of 3 grams per kilogram, 800 tons
[sic] of tiger bone wine require 2,400
kilograms of tiger bone stock, supplied by
around 128 kilograms of tiger bones.”
The report goes into enormous detail
about consumer attitudes and
demographics, brand positioning,
marketing, competition, production
ABOVE: processes, sourcing of raw tiger bone
Sanhong’s website describes NOTIFICATION 2005 No 139 (including establishing a tiger-breeding
“real tiger wine” and operation) and financing. The company’s
provides images of the wine Found on the website of a local motivation appears two-fold – the need
manufacturing facility.
Shanghai government department,21 the to prepare an honest product to compete
Notification appears to have been issued with fake products that bring down the
by the SFA, SAIC, Ministry of Health, name of traditional medicine, and the
State Food and Drug Administration and need to capitalise on the Government’s
the State Administration of Traditional policy to use wildlife:
Chinese Medicine.
“The Chinese Government, by referring to
The same text appears in a list of the open protection measures of African
relevant laws governing the elephants, has set forth a humanistic
administration of medicines at the approach for the development-based
Taizhou Hospital, in Zhejiang Province,22 protection policy, where the wildlife supply
and in a “feasibility study report” by is replaced by captive-breeding. Under the
the Hunan Sanhong Biotechnology Government’s guidance and strict permit
Company, in Changsha, Hunan Province, management, this project is therefore
a member of the CWCA. The report and specifically established for the valuable
business plan were prepared in 2005 utilisation of tiger bone resources, satisfaction
and describe the “great market potential” of the public’s demand for tiger bone wine
for tiger bone wine. Accordingly, it sets and funding additions to the Government’s
out the production and marketing animal protection endeavours.”
strategy for a projected annual output of
800 tonnes of Quanzhen Hujiu, “Real Critically, the feasibility report sets out
Tiger Wine”, worth an estimated RMB the legal basis upon which the entire
1b / US$160m.23 project rests, and specifically refers to
Notification 2005, No 139.
Notification 2005 Unlike other SFA notices, the content of
Notification 2005 No 139 is not publicly The report goes further, specifying
No 139 – available, so it is not known what additional Government policy promoting
exemptions it stipulates that might the use of captive-bred tiger bone.
“…enables the pilot allow restricted manufacture and use
of tiger bone wine. EIA has, however, “Our Government has established a clear
use of captive bred documented the impact of the protection and development strategy for
tiger bone for Notification, which has prompted the rare flora and fauna (please refer to:
Sanhong Biotechnology Company to Animal Protection Order No. [2005]93) ...
medicine and the invest millions to put the feasibility The Real Tiger Wine provides a feasible
reduction of the use report plans, extracts below, into path where the development of utilising
practice to produce a range of “Real the value of tiger carcass helps serve the
of leopard bone.” Tiger Wine”. protection purposes.”
10FROM PLANNING TO PRODUCTION contain a piece of bone. Sanhong’s
production methods involve soaking
EIA has obtained independent tiger bones in vats of wine to make a
confirmation that Sanhong has gone ‘stock’ that is mixed with other ingredients.
into production of a range of “Real Tiger
Wine” products. Manufacturing occurs Bones are used for a maximum of three
near Changsha, where the owners also batches before being returned to the
have a taxidermy workshop (Changsha stockpile of legally acquired captive-bred
Sanzhen Animal Artistic Specimens tiger bone, ensuring it is available for
Company) licensed to process tiger skin24, 25 official auditing.
and a small breeding centre with six
tigers.26 Along with the fact the bone is from
captive-bred tigers, and the possibility
Local government officials are well that Notification 2005 No139 limits
aware of production and, in 2011, a distribution, this could explain why
Sanhong and others believe they can BELOW:
local Changsha government website A bottle of Sanhong “Real Tiger
announced that the Sanzhen Animal sell “bone strengthening wine” made using
Wine” manufactured in 2012.
Taxidermy Company had started tiger bone. The SFA would have to
production of tiger bone wine in 2009, provide clarity on this since the content of
the Notification is not publicly available. BOTTOM:
quoting the company’s reported Distributing agent, Beilan, claims
investment of nearly RMB 40m/ in this marketing power point
US$6m.27 In addition, in 2011 a post on Whatever the legal situation, the
practices at Sanhong and, possibly, presentation available online, that
a Ministry of Commerce website advertises they supply Sanhong’s “Real Tiger
wildlife taxidermy services and tiger other wineries suggest tiger bone is
bone wine, providing contact details for being used for commercial purposes Wine” to high ranking officials and
the owner of Sanzhen and Sanhong.28 before being sealed and stockpiled. private members clubs.
The products are not for sale at the
premises and may not be found in
regular retail outlets. A few instance of Translation:
online sales have been documented,29, 30, 31 20th August 2012
but otherwise distribution is via regional
agents who market to elite clients
and, according to one Beijing-based
distributor, Beilan, this includes
guesthouses and restaurants catering
to high-ranking officials.32
As with other tiger wines, the word
‘tiger’ does not appear in the ingredients,
even though the use of tiger bone in the
manufacturing process is the main
marketing message distinguishing it
from other bone-strengthening wines.
This could be explained by the fact that,
unlike traditional and clinical medicines,
the finished product doesn’t actually
11TIGER ‘FARMING’
ABOVE: WHERE ARE THE CAPTIVE there are, where they are, the status
Tigers at the Xiongsen Bear and of stockpiles and intentions regarding
Tiger Village, one of China’s
TIGERS COMING FROM? what to do with those stocks, has
largest tiger ‘farms’. gone unanswered.40
There is a perception that all tiger
‘farms’ are huge, industrial-scale Despite official requests from CITES,41
speed-breeding operations for hundreds the Government of China has not provided
of animals; in reality, the majority of any information on the exact number of
operations involved are small enterprises
tigers, where they are kept, the volume
and in many cases may not even be
of stockpiled skins and bones or their
breeding tigers but merely keep them.
purpose. Although the SFA insists
China reportedly has 200 facilities33 facilities and stockpiles are tightly
licensed to keep 5,000-6,000 tigers,34 controlled to prevent illegal trade, it has
a population and an industry that has not been transparent over how much
grown rapidly in the past two decades has entered legal trade.
(see Appendix 2). Starting with fewer
than 20 tigers in one facility in 1986 According to official records,12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17
(35), annual estimated breeding the Xiafeng taxidermists obtained 13
rates ranged from 200 new cubs a tiger skins from Nanjing Pearl Spring
year in 199936 to 800 new cubs a year Zoo between 2011-12, and a further
in 2006.37 seven tiger skins and one leopard skin
from Hefei Wild Animal Park, Tongling
Even after CITES adopted a decision in City Zoo, Pang Park Zoo, Yangzhou
2007 that tigers should not be bred for Zoo and Huaibei City Garden Zoo.
trade in their parts and products, the
SFA reported an increase of 1,000 tigers Several other facilities have been
by 2010 taking them to 6,000.38 This has documented by national and
dropped to “over 5,000” in 2012.39 international journalists and
A request from CITES to provide more NGOs as involved in the tiger bone
specific information on how many tigers wine business.
12PREVIOUS EXPOSÉS
© Belinda Wright WPSI
TIGER BONE WINE
l The two biggest tiger-breeding facilities in China,
with more than 1,000 tigers each, have been
documented trading tiger bone wine on several
occasions – Xiongsen Bear and Tiger Village42, 43, 44, 45
and the Harbin Siberian Tiger Park.46, 47
l In February 2006, bottles of ‘healthy bone wine’
made from tiger bones were on sale at Shanghai
Wild Animal Park.48
l In December 2007, an investigation into the death of
a Siberian tiger at Three Gorges Forest Wild Animal
World revealed an on-site tiger bone winery.49
Other zoos, such as Dalian Forest Zoo,50 Nanning
Zoo51 and many more have also been exposed for
illegal operations.
l In January 2008, Shenzhen Wildlife Park reportedly
operated a ‘tiger bone wine processing centre’ with ABOVE:
bottles sold to visitors.52 Freezer full of tiger carcasses
at the Xiongsen Bear and
Tiger Village, 2007, and
l Shenyang Zoo, in Liaoning Province, was reportedly Xiongsen’s “bone-strengthening
openly selling tiger skeletons for “drug wine” in wine” marketed in a tiger
1987, when prices were being driven up by the shaped bottle.
shortage of tiger bones,53 but staff reported in 2005
that sales of tiger bone were an “open secret”
and the wines were mainly consumed by forestry
authorities and police.54 The facility hit the headlines
in 2010 when it was found to be starving tigers to
make tiger bone wine.55
l In February 2012, a manager at Nanjing Pearl Spring
Zoo revealed to journalists that it produced tiger
bone wine primarily for consumption by
Government officials.56
1314
®
i2 CHARTThis chart summarises the relationships described in this report. Facilities flagged
orange have previously been the subject of NGO/media tiger exposés
15PREVIOUS EXPOSÉS (CONTINUED)
TIGER BONE WINE FOR SALE AT QINHUANGDAO WILD
ANIMAL PARK AND WILDLIFE RESCUE CENTRE
In 2007, EIA documented the sale of a brand of tiger Also in 2007, EIA found a different brand of tiger bone
bone wine, Beidacang Tiger Bone Wine, at the wine, reportedly made by the neighbouring Qinhuangdao
Qinhuangdao Wild Animal Park, adjacent to the Wildlife Rescue Centre, documented for sale online.60
Qinhuangdao Wildlife Rescue Centre.57 The manager of
the park’s retail outlet showed investigators a copy of Details were provided to the SFA in 2007, and provincial
the permit issued in 2004 by the SFA to allow the use forest police officials subsequently announced in the
media the specific date and time of an inspection of
of tigers that had died of natural causes on the the facility to ensure there was no illegal trade (an
premises. The permit stated: “tiger skins can be made enforcement strategy that seems self-defeating).61
into specimens and bones can be made into wine ... the The SFA has not provided any feedback about the
remainder of the tiger is to be voluntarily and properly inspection nor the permit’s validity.
taken care of”.
In 2012, there were no obvious signs of tiger bone wine
A leaflet distributed with the wine states: ‘Currently, the for sale at either Qinhuangdao Wild Animal Park or the
wildlife park has Government permission to carry out Wildlife Rescue Centre. According to staff, there are six
plans to soak tiger bones in wine. Beidacang Wine or seven “sets of bones”, presumably skeletons, sealed
Factory was appointed to extract the sap through in freezers. The sealing process is filmed and the bones
long-term soaking of tiger bones in vats, after which it off-limits and subject to inspection. Staff said if the
is filtered and packaged to produce Tiger Wine [sic]’. freezer seals are broken the Rescue Centre would lose
EIA found the same wine for sale at Badaling Safari Park its permission to operate.
near Beijing, also documented by TRAFFIC.58, 59
They also revealed that some tiger bones from animals
dying on the premises were being steeped in wine, in
secured containers, to protect them from “going off”.
This wine is reportedly available to guests at the
discretion of the Centre’s Director.
Beidacang tiger wine, on the other hand, still appears
to be widely available online,62, 63, 64, 65, 66 adding to the
general lack of clarity as to what is and is not allowed
for sale, creating confusion among consumers.
LEFT AND BELOW:
There was no satisfactory answer over
the legality of the Beidacang Tiger
Wine , which was offered for sale at
Qinhuangdao Wildlife Park in 2007.
16STIMULATING POACHING
OF WILD ASIAN BIG CATS
© Elliott Neep
In 2012, EIA investigators were This is evident not just from the way in
offered the fresh skins of three tigers, which skins are prepared, with intact
one leopard and one snow leopard along heads and paws, but also from what
with big cat bones, teeth and claws traders in Lhasa in TAR, Linxia in
during several days in well-known trade Gansu Province and Xining in Qinghai
hotspots in China. All had been sourced Province have said about their
from the wild. customers from China. One persistent
trader in Linxia, whom EIA has
EIA analysis of seizure records and documented trading in wild Asian big cat
market observations indicates that since skins from 2006-12, has told investigators
2000, over 5,400 Asian big cats have on two separate occasions about a
died for the trade and more than 90 per regular buyer in Inner Mongolia who BELOW:
cent of these were destined for markets purchases them for home furnishing. For every tiger poached, at
in China.67, 68 Contrary to pro-trade lobby least four leopards are killed.
assertions running a legal trade in the Interestingly, this buyer often requests In 2012, EIA was offered fresh
skins of captive-bred tigers for nearly that the skins he buys are diverted via skin and bone of leopard and
10 years has not stopped the poaching professional taxidermists in Hebei snow leopard in China.
of wild tigers and other Asian big cats. Province. EIA confirmed this with the
middleman in Hebei, and this national
The demand for luxury home décor criminal network further illustrates
promoted by SFA policy is precisely the overlap between the trade in
what the skins of wild tigers, leopards captive-bred tiger skins and those of
and snow leopards are being used for. wild Asian big cats. Full details of this
In 2004, EIA documented traders in the network were passed to the relevant
TAR describing Chinese demand for authorities in 2012.
tiger skin as home furnishings.69
Following the collapse of the demand It is no surprise that the skins of wild
among Tibetans in 2006, traders Asian big cats are feeding into the
trafficking skins from India and Nepal luxury home décor market; as has
simply shifted them onto the home previously been argued,71 with
décor market, catering to the Chinese transnational criminal networks
business, political and military elite moving small consignments of contraband
who wanted taxidermy specimens for across the porous trans-Himalayan
themselves or as a prestigious gift to borders, it is cheaper to kill and trade
bosses and officials.70 wild tigers than to raise them in
17captivity, process them professionally, how his relationship with Government
pay permit fees and trade them in a officials has enabled him to avoid
legal market. Moreover, it is the wild prosecution. He is aware he has been
tiger that is most desired for its bones. the subject of a previous media exposé
It is not an uncommon belief among and his only concern was that the
Chinese traditional medicine consumers investigators were not undercover
that wild products have greater potency journalists. He also gets advance warning
than farmed.72 of official inspections, but so does the
entire Province since the Forestry Bureau
The SFA has claimed at international announces in the media its intention to
meetings that this international illegal undertake inspections, rendering
trade in skins of wild Asian big cats has enforcement little more than cosmetic.76
been effectively deterred. It is true that
trade in hotspots such as Lhasa, Linxia In addition, investigators also found
and Xining is not nearly as open as it traders not previously encountered in
was up until 2006 but it has not been Lhasa and Xining. They visited retail
deterred, it’s just gone underground. outlets selling other wildlife parts and
products, or products manufactured in
In May 2012, Indian officials sounded India or Nepal. In Lhasa, one trader
the alarm when informant networks proactively asked investigators if they
reported that traders had put down a were looking for something more
deposit and “commissioned” 25 tiger “special” and arranged a private viewing
skins.73 In just over a month in 2013, of two fresh tiger skins at a residence.
two tigers and nine leopards have died Likewise, in Xining investigators were
for trade in India;74 seven tiger skins taken to a residence, shown a full snow
and bones weighing the equivalent of leopard skin and skull, and told more
14 tigers were seized in Nepal en route were available.
to China.75
While none of the traders with illegal
As recently as July 2012, EIA Asian big cat products for sale openly
documented known criminals continuing displayed Asian big cat skins, some in
to operate, sourcing stock in the border Linxia openly displayed leopard skulls.
ABOVE: areas with India in Ali County in the The more clandestine nature of the trade
Since 2006, this persistent trader
TAR, or travelling to Nepal and India to means it is impossible to ascertain the
has offered EIA investigators three
choose Asian big cat parts and products scope or scale of trade based solely on
from established associates and arrange observational market surveys, and the
tiger skins and many leopard and
carriage across the border by foot, pack practice of publicly announcing official
snow leopard skins.
animal and vehicle. inspections in advance means market
inspections are unlikely to generate
One persistent offender in Linxia has information since traders ensure their
described on three separate occasions shops are clean.
18INTERNATIONAL ILLEGAL Further, the proportion of leopards in
trade compared to tigers highlights the
TRADE IN ASIAN BIG CATS importance of robust and timely official
reporting on all Asian big cats (covered
International trade in parts and under CITES Res. Conf. 12.5).
derivatives of Appendix I Asian big cats
is prohibited under CITES. Since 2000, In addition to big cat numbers identified
at least 5,559 Asian big cats have been through seizures, since 2000 a total of
intercepted in trade; this is based on 887 whole skins have been documented
seizures of skins, carcasses and live for sale by EIA, the Wildlife Protection
big cats. Bones and skeletons have been Society of India (WPSI) (461 skins)
discounted to avoid double counting.68, 77 TRAFFIC and other NGOs and journalists
(426 skins).77 This figure does not include
This represents the deaths of at least the number of traditional costumes
1,031 tigers, 4,189 leopards, 152 snow decorated with tiger and leopard skins,
leopards, 26 clouded leopards and 17 often entire skins, documented and in
Asiatic lions; as per the INTERPOL rule of use and trade in 2005-06.
thumb, contraband seized is about 10 per
cent of what is being trafficked.79 It is important to note that, despite
being a criminal activity, trading does
Additionally, 136 live tigers, four live not necessarily take place in the same
leopards, two live snow leopards and two locations as seizures. For example,
live clouded leopards have been seized, as a source country and with good
either being kept illegally or in trade. records, India understandably
contributes a significant proportion of
More than 90 per cent of the total was big cats (66 per cent) to this overall
destined for markets in China – taking figure. However, documentation of
into account intelligence surrounding the trading occurs in often persistent
incidents in India, Nepal, Burma, Russia markets outside of India, such as
and China, and historical information on border towns, in China and TAR,
markets and trafficking routes. where law enforcement actions are
not correspondingly reflected.
While there are relatively good records
of incidences of tiger and leopard trade
across Asia, there is little if any official
information regarding the trade of snow
leopards and clouded leopards, despite
quantities documented for sale by NGOs.
FIGURE 1
Tigers intercepted in trade, 2000-2013
Including where likely from captive sources (selected countries only)
Source: EIA analysis of seizure data 67, 68
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
2000
2008
2002
2004
2005
2006
2009
2003
2007
(Until end
2012
2001
2010
2013
January)
2011
TIGER: Likely wild TIGER: Likely captive source (live and carcasses,
(all countries) specific incidents in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia)
19© Robin Hamilton
MIXED MESSAGES
ABOVE: HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT CITES (CoP14), SFA statements became
The international community has increasingly refined. It stressed it is
long recognised the threat posed How did we get to the situation where committed to ending illegal trade and
by tiger farming to the survival international commitments and national that the 1993 State Council order has
of wild tigers. action plans have been based on the not been repealed: “We seek to assure
assumption that there is a full tiger parties that China will not bring any
trade ban in the largest historical change in its existing policy on domestic
consumer of tiger parts and products? use of tiger bone unless it can be
demonstrated to have positive effect on
Documents circulated at CITES indicate conservation of wild tigers internationally.” 84
that by 1996, reference was increasingly
made to a generic domestic trade At the same time, there were increasing
ban in China and it appears to have references to a domestic policy of
become common assumption that the labelling and registering skins for likely
1993 domestic trade ban applied to all future use (see Appendix 2). Also, in
tiger parts and products, when in fact the Secretariat’s report to CoP14 on a
it only applied to use of tiger bone recent mission to China, it was
in medicines. confirmed that the 1993 State Council
order “relates solely to tiger bones or
At a CITES Standing Committee in tiger bone products.”85 Shortly after
December 1996, the China delegation is CoP14, the SFA issued a notification
quoted as stating: “China had banned all declaring skins of captive-bred tigers.
internal trade in tiger parts and products”. 81 and leopards as being of “legal origin”.86
This prompted direct questions, in
“… China has one The CITES Tiger Technical Missions, numerous international forums and in
which visited China in 1999 reported: bilateral dialogue, as to the status of a
of the strictest “In 1993, a State Council Order banned legal trade in captive-bred tiger skins.
domestic trade bans internal and international trade in rhinoceros
and tiger parts and derivatives.” 82 As recently as May 2012, at a
in the world, enacted “Stocktaking Conference” of the Global
A timeline of relevant statements, Tiger Recovery Programme in India,
in 1993, which quotes and events is included as EIA asked the Chinese delegation if the
prohibits hunting, Appendix 2 to this report. Government allows the domestic sale of
captive-bred tiger skins. The delegation
sale, purchase and In 2005, news of a re-opening of tiger stated the use of such skins is allowed
use of Tigers and trade in China sparked national and for educational or scientific purposes,
international discussions and by 2007, and reiterated that China has a domestic
Tiger products”.83 at the 14th Conference of the Parties to trade prohibition on the use and sale of
20tiger bone in medicines. This response Fellow Tiger Range Countries combating
does not answer our question. the poaching of their tigers for trade in
China would have at least understood
The SFA has neither denied it allows a the conservation landscape in which
legal domestic trade in captive-bred they were operating under the Global
tiger skins nor openly declared it to the Tiger Initiative. Key enforcement
international community. To the tiger’s authorities and donor governments
detriment, this lack of transparency has and conservation charities investing in
not been adequately challenged, and enforcement and demand-reduction
against the backdrop of this deception could have evaluated strategies in light ABOVE:
the demand for and trade in tigers skins of a parallel legal trade. Even the lobby
Across the Tibetan plateau skins
for luxury home décor has sustained a groups advocating ‘tiger farming’ as a
were burned as demand crashed
market for the skins of wild tigers and conservation solution have based their
in 2006.
other Asian big cats. theories on there being no legal trade in
tiger parts and products in China.
Another misleading and disingenuous BELOW:
tactic employed by officials in China, It is clear, however, that it is not just Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao calls
apparently ignoring the evidence over a matter of implementing national for an end to tiger trade at the
the continued use and demand for skins regulations and laws; the very officials St Petersburg International Tiger
of wild tigers and other Asian big cats tasked with protecting the tiger have Forum in 2010.
for luxury home décor and taxidermy, proactively issued statements
has been that when discussing the illustrating there is no intention to end
illegal skin trade the default response the use of tiger parts. This only further
has been to refer to the sensitivities of confuses consumers and gives hope to
addressing cultural demand for skins industry, providing a possible
among Tibetans; however, this is no explanation as to why China’s
longer valid. Until 2006, skins were captive-bred tiger population has grown
used to decorate traditional costumes tremendously – they are “banking on
but, following targeted outreach by extinction”88 of the wild tiger while
religious leaders, Tibetans burned their sitting on growing stockpiles.
skins and the demand and market has
declined significantly. In 2007, at the height of international
debate over the lifting of the domestic
It has clearly suited the Government of trade ban on the use of tiger bone, the
China to divert attention from the trade then SFA Deputy Director was quoted in
and demand for Asian big cat skins as a the media saying he was opposed to the
luxury status symbol and home décor. ban89 and that: “The ban won’t be there
It has had ample opportunity to inform forever, given the strong voices from tiger
the international community of its farmers, experts and society.” 90
extant licensing system, the scale of
legal trade, the volume of tiger and l In 2009, a senior SFA official in the
eopard parts and derivatives in stockpiles China CITES Management Authority
and the purposes of such stockpiles, but wrote in a national magazine explaining
has chosen instead to deliberately ignore why China could not legally implement
specific and direct questions posed by the 2007 CITES decision calling for the
CITES and EIA. This is not compliant phase-out of operations breeding tigers
with the resolutions and decisions of for trade in parts and products. He
CITES, either in letter or spirit. stated that he thought tigers should be
bred for trade in parts and products, his
This policy and attitude also undermines main argument being that a legal trade
the statement by Chinese Premier Wen would alleviate pressure on wild tigers.
Jiabao when he shared a platform with His emphasis was on demand for tiger
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin bone used as medicine; at no point did
and other Tiger Range Countries leaders he acknowledge the impact of the legal
at the St Petersburg International Tiger trade in tiger skins on wild tigers and
Forum in 2010, convened to launch the other Asian big cats.91
Global Tiger Recovery Programme to
double the wild tiger population by Ironically, at CITES Standing
2022. Premier Wen stressed: “Countries Committee in 2012, during discussions
should enforce more stringent legal and from the floor on tiger trade, an official
administrative instruments, and severely from the SFA’s Wildlife Conservation
crack down on tiger poaching and the trade Department acknowledged that merely
in, and smuggling of, tiger products”.87 discussing a market for tiger parts will
stimulate poaching.92
Had the SFA clearly informed the
international community about the legal
domestic trade in tiger parts, discussions
over changes in national law and policy
could have been launched a lot sooner.
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