It's The Year Of The Tiger - And Poachers Around Asia Are All Ready To Cash In - SMH

[hatrack]

Oh, and FUCK Chinese traditional medicine.

RANTHAMBORE, Rajasthan: India's wild tigers already compete for survival with nearly 1.2 billion people. But conservationists warn that a new threat looms - the Chinese New Year.

February 14 marks the start of the Year of the Tiger and there are fears this will fuel the illicit trade in the body parts of India's magnificent big cats. Demand for tiger parts for use in traditional Chinese medicines has contributed to a decline in Indian tiger numbers.

Now a report by a British non-government organisation, the Environmental Investigation Agency, says tiger-skin dealers in China are expecting higher profits because ''everyone will want a tiger skin'' next year. ''Traders were aware of the scarcity of wild tigers and of the forthcoming Chinese Year of the Tiger and view this as an opportunity to increase profits,'' the report says.

Conservationists have accused China of not doing enough to stamp out trade in tiger parts and the Indian Environment Minister, Jairam Ramesh, has made no secret of his concern, stating that the new year posed a ''threat to tigers in India''. In August, he asked China for more help in cracking down on the trade in tiger parts.

EDIT

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/poachers-set-to-cash-in-on-year-of-the-tiger-20091217-l027.html

[Lorien]

1. The shallowness and greed of human beings never ceases to astound. nt

[FedUpWithIt All]

2. What Lorien said.

x(