Tigers have lost 40% of their habitat in the last 10 years!
Despite recent reports that the wild tiger population has actually increased, there are many reasons tigers still need our help. I recently had a chance to speak with John Platt, who has been writing extensively about endangered wildlife in his Extinction Countdown series. Listen to to this Green Divas Heart Wildlife podcast to hear what he has to say about tigers, then read on for more…
According to John Platt, the main reasons we still need to worry about tigers include habitat loss, a miscalculation of subspecies, poachers, genetics, politics and consumer demand. Wait, what consumer demand!? I was stunned to learn about the use of tiger bits for “medicinal” reasons. In his article, 6 Reasons Why We Should Still Worry About Tigers, he says,
Tigers are big business. The sale of tiger skins, bones, claws, whiskers, and other body parts rakes in millions of dollars a year and drives the poaching of wild animals, as well as the massive commercial tiger-breeding industry in China. As many as 5,000 tigers live on Chinese farms, where their bodies often end up fermenting in vats to be turned into expensive tiger-bone wine.
This was shocking to me. I had no idea. Sometimes I like the rock I live under… These kinds of things just baffle and disturb me to no end. Tiger farms!? {shakes her head}
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The other astonishing thing I learned during my discussion with John has to do with the over 5,000 tigers living in captivity here in the United States. These unfortunate tigers aren’t considered “wild” and because of their questionable genetic makeup, they fall below the radar of the Endangered Species Act. However, there is some good news (phew!)…
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that it has finalized a new rule about generic tigers. Effective May 6, all interstate commerce of generic tigers will need to be permitted or registered under the Captive-bred Wildlife Registration program, much like other species.
Read more about this loophole and how it was closed in John’s article on this topic.
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I found this video by World Wildlife Fund, which offers some insight as to why tigers are such valuable prey for poachers. It’s all about helping educate the rest of the world about these practices, so we can stop the money flow and trade that makes this a profitable venture.
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