New Delhi: It may be difficult to sight a tiger in the wild but its skin is openly for display and sale in neighbouring Tibet. Despite the international outcry against vanishing tigers in India, the sale of tiger parts has only gone up in that country. Undercover wildlife conservationists have exposed the claims of China that it is cracking down on wildlife trade from India.
"Nothing has changed since 2005, when we last went into Tibet to investigate tiger trade. Tiger, leopard, snow leopard and otter skins are openly sold in markets of Lhasa, Nagchu, Kanding, Litang, Songpan and Linxia. Poaching and tanning marks on the skin were clear evidence that it has been sourced from India recently," said Nitin Desai, wildlife conservationist with the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) who went into the region last month.
The tanning bore marks of turmeric, curd and alum which are commonly used by poachers here. The tag marks also bore iron stains which is used only in India. The quality of skin and the folds also bore testimony that these were sourced from India. Ironically, China has death penalty for those convicted under wildlife crime. Two people have been convicted so far, but there is no change.
"There is evidence that a very organised syndicate is operating with the connivance of Chinese officials. Buyers are not Tibetans but businessmen and tourists from mainland China," WPSI director Belinda Wright said.
The team came with a shocking picture where a Government tourist office is housed in a tent made of 108 tiger skins. "It was evident that some of the skins were affixed only recently," Desai said.
The team also found that practitioners of traditional Chinese medicines wanted to keep away from use of tiger parts, but "a section of Government officials were keen on keeping the trade alive," WPSI activists alleged.
India, Nepal and China are all signatories to the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, but these countries appear to have no will to enforce these laws, activists felt.
