China will not promise to maintain a 14-year ban on the trade of
bones from captive-bred tigers for traditional medicine, a senior
official said yesterday.
"The ban is in place," said Wang Wei, deputy director of the
department of wildlife conservation of the State Forestry
Administration in an exclusive interview with China Daily.
"But the issue is open for review."
He added that the administration will make a decision after
conducting comprehensive studies on whether the lifting of the ban
would reduce poaching and help conservation of tigers in the wild
globally.
"The ban won't be there forever, given the strong voices from
tiger farmers, experts and society," Wang said.
In China, about 50 tigers live in the wilderness and around
5,000 in captivity. In farms, some 1,000 are born each year,
roughly the same number as those which have died naturally over the
years.
"It will be a waste if the resources of dead tigers are not used
for traditional medicine," Wang said.
In Chinese medicine, tiger parts are used as cures for illnesses
ranging from colds to rheumatism.
Wang made the comments in response to criticism from
international wildlife groups on China reviewing its ban on
domestic trade in tiger parts.
At the United Nations' Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species held in The Hague last week, the groups
expressed the fear that any sales could drive the wild cats to
extinction.
Wang said Chinese research suggests that the trade of bones from
tigers that are bred in captivity and die of natural causes will
not affect the conservation of wild tigers.
Authorized breeding and trade might, in fact, benefit the
survival of the tiger, he said, citing experts.
One of the reasons, he argued, is that the species will be
extinct if they didn't reach a certain number.
China's experience proves that using captive-bred resources is
one of the most effective strategies for the conservation of
wildlife, he said.
If research results prove beneficial to wildlife conservation,
policies to use bones from tigers bred in captivity will be
formulated, he added.
Controls will include strict monitoring and management of the
processing of tiger bones to prevent hunting of tigers in the wild,
the official said.
The DNA samples of all tigers in captivity will be stored and
the animals will be tagged with chips under their skins; and
permits and special labeling will be required for the medicines,
Wang said.
If tiger bones were available through legitimate channels,
people will not risk penalties to hunt in the wild, he said.
(China Daily June 19, 2007)