China not to lift ban on trade in tiger parts

The Asian Age , Friday, June 01, 2007
Correspondent : PTI
Beijing, May 31: Stunned by vigorous protests, including from Indian conservationists, China has decided not to lift a 14-year-old ban on trade in tiger parts.

Chinese forestry officials said the government will maintain the ban on trade of all tiger derivatives despite intense lobbying from commercial groups to lift the ban.

The Chinese government remains committed to the policy, introduced in 1993 to wipe out the market for traditional medicines made from tigers, spokesperson for the State Forestry Administration (SFA), Liu Xiongying, said.

"China will strengthen the crackdown on illegal trade of tiger parts and forge cooperation with other countries to protect tiger habitats," Mr Liu was quoted as saying by China Daily.

Mr Liu was responding to a recent report that some businesses have been lobbying the government to allow domestic trade of captive-bred tiger parts for use in traditional medicine and their skins for clothing.

Calls from within China to remove the ban have grown louder in recent months, causing many international groups to voice their concerns that legalising the trade of tiger bone for medicinal purposes would stimulate demand for tiger products and increase illegal poaching of the animal in the wild.

Any lifting or easing of the current ban on trade in tigers in China would spell disaster for the endangered species, Mr Liu said.

"Any lifting of the ban would lead to an increase in demand for these products, which in turn would result in more poaching of wild tiger populations," said Steven Broad, executive director of the Trade Records Analysis of Flora and Fauna in Commerce (Traffic), in a recent report.

"The resumption of this trade would be highly damaging to China’s wild tiger conservation efforts and the international reputation of the country," Mr Broad said.

The report said the ban has virtually eliminated the domestic market for tiger products in traditional medicines. (PTI)

 
SOURCE : The Asian Age,Friday, June 01, 2007
 


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