India opposes - or does it? China plan to start selling tiger parts

17 May, 2007
New Delhi

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India opposes - or does it? China plan to start selling tiger parts

17 May, 2007

NEW DELHI: India has strongly protested China's plans to breed tigers for their body parts saying that it could devastate the rapidly dwindling wild population of the endangered species.

In their meeting with an eight-member Chinese delegation of State Forestry Administration (SFA) led by Li Yucai, Environment Ministry officials made it clear that the lifting of ban on trade in Tiger parts would take a toll on the its population by encouraging poaching.

The delegation has been seeking Indian support in its plans to lift the ban on trade in tiger products.

"They said that they feel the ban on trade would not help in conserving the big cats. However we have made them clear our mind that we disagree with them," said Rajesh Gopal, head of Project Tiger, who also attended the meeting.

He said India would strongly oppose China's stand in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species meeting in Amsterdam next month.

Gopal said the Chinese favoured breeding tigers to preserve the species and felt that conserving tigers in their natural habitat was not effective.

"China's tiger captive breeding facilities have done well in their goal to breed the big cats, but a costly and potentially dangerous surplus is now evident," Samir Sinha of Traffic India said.

Backpedalling on the Ban ?? : On May 29 a top Indian ministry of environment official, Secretary, Ministry of the Environment and Forests Mr Prodipto Ghosh, suddenly said New Delhi may support China’s lifting of the ban if the Chinese authorities ‘’eliminate pressures for sourcing tiger body parts from the wild’’ through a labeling scheme which guarantees that products are only from farmed tigers; and inform the public that wild tiger products are no better than those of farmed animals.