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| The tiger’s future just got brighter, while the leopard’s worsened after Convention on the Trade of Endangered Species meetings in the Netherlands. |
During recently concluded meetings in The Hague, the Netherlands, the 171 participating countries at the 14th CITES (Convention on the Trade of Endangered Species) decided to formally reject the raising of captive tigers for trade in tiger parts and urged China to phase out its large-scale commercial tiger farms. Farms that raise tigers to support wild tiger populations were acceptable.
Tiger farmers in China, with about 5,000 live captive tigers and a stockpile of dead tigers, had been asking the Chinese government to lift a 14-year domestic ban on the trade of tiger parts.
“The future of tigers just got a lot brighter with this significant decision,” said Crawford Allan, director of Traffic North America, a group that monitors trade of wildlife and wildlife products. “All agree that we cannot take the slightest risk by changing policies that could further endanger the tiger further. The next step is to hold an emergency tiger trade summit to establish real measures to stop the poaching and trade of tigers.”
Moreover, the CITES Secretariat reported it has asked the Chinese government to investigate a tiger farm believed to be illegally selling tiger meat.
In other CITES news, participants approved new leopard export quotas that doubled Mozambique’s quota to 120 leopards for skins and/or trophies but limited Uganda’s quota to 28. Uganda had sought a quota of 50.
In all, the treaty allows leopard (Panthera pardus) hunting in 12 African countries, for a total of 2,648 leopards per year.