tiger bone seizure at kaohsiung airport

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http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/aug2005/2005-08-11-02.asp

 

*Tiger Bone Contraband Seized at Taiwan Airport*

 

*TAIPEI, Taiwan*, August 11, 2005 (ENS) - In the largest ever single

seizure of tiger bone in Taiwan, Customs authorities at Kaohsiung

International Airport on July 4 confiscated over 140 kilograms (308

pounds) of tiger bones, including 24 skulls, in a shipment from Jakarta,

Indonesia.

 

The seizure was made public this week by TRAFFIC, the international

wildlife monitoring program of WWF and the IUCN-World Conservation

Union. It was one of the largest seizures in Asia since 2000, wildlife

officials said.

 

The tiger bone was hidden in a container of deer antlers being exported

to Taiwan for use in traditional medicines. Also seized were 400 kg (880

pounds) of pangolin scales and five pieces of carved ivory weighing one

kilogram (2.2 pounds).

 

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)

prohibits the international trade in parts and derivatives from tigers,

elephants and pangolins, and in addition, all three species are

protected in Indonesia.

 

bones

 

 

Tiger bones and skulls confiscated at the Kaohsiung

International Airport (Photo courtesy Kaohsiung Customs)

 

A TRAFFIC Southeast Asia report released last year found that despite

full protection, poaching of Indonesia's tigers and trade in their parts

continues. The report estimated that at least 50 tigers were killed or

removed from the wild in Indonesia each year between 1998 and 2002.

 

Chris Shepherd, TRAFFIC Southeast Asia regional program officer, said,

" This single shipment intercepted in Taiwan last month represents nearly

half that annual figure. " Shepherd said.

 

" Assuming that all these tiger parts were sourced from Sumatra,

Indonesia is in real danger of losing its last remaining tiger

sub-species, the Sumatran tiger, if the widespread illegal trade in

tiger parts is not stopped, " Shepherd warned.

 

Indonesia was once inhabited by three sub-species of tiger - Javan,

found on the island of Java; Balinese, found on the island of Bali; and

Sumatran, found on the island of Sumatra.

 

But today only 400 to 500 tigers are left in the wild and only on the

island of Sumatra. The Java and Bali tigers are both extinct due to

illegal killing for trade, and loss of their habitat.

 

During TRAFFIC's research in Sumatra, traders indicated that they

illegally sold tiger parts to Taiwan, as well as to Korea, China, Japan,

Singapore and Malaysia.

 

" We would like to commend the efforts of the Taiwan Custom's authorities

in intercepting this illegal shipment, and we encourage other potential

consumer countries to show similar vigilance and strong enforcement

action, " Shepherd said.

 

" Despite earlier indications of the trade in some markets shifting to

tiger skins and other products beside bone, this seizure clearly

illustrates that [the use of] tiger parts in traditional Asian medicine

continues to be a threat to wild tigers. "

 

pills

 

 

Tiger bone products are believed to strengthen bones and

joints. (Photo by Edward Curtis courtesy WWF

<http://www.panda.org>)

 

In traditional Asian medicine, tiger bone is used to dispel wind and

dampness and stop pain, and to strengthen tendons and bones. It is used

to stop rheumatic pain, spasms of the limbs, and motor impairment of

joints.

 

The use of tiger bone products is deeply rooted in traditional Asian

cultures and these practices are slow to change.

 

Even so, TRAFFIC urged Indonesian authorities to intensify their

enforcement efforts to ensure that even more tigers are not poached for

the bone trade.

 

" Increased and improved enforcement is critical to saving Sumatran

tigers, " , Shepherd stressed. " Action should be taken against the

markets, trade hubs and retail outlets, especially in northern Sumatra. "

 

" More specialized anti-poaching units also need to be urgently

established, " he said. " Traders of illegal wildlife and wildlife parts

and derivatives should also be punished to the full extent of the law. "

 

Reports in recent months regarding the decline in tiger populations in

some protected areas in India have forcefully re-focused the attention

of the international conservation community on the poaching of tigers,

especially in South Asia.

 

Now this seizure has turned the global spotlight on Southeast Asia as well.

 

The seizure took place days after a meeting of the CITES Standing

Committee, which requested that all range states of Asian big cats

report next year on their work in combating illicit trade in specimens

of these species.

 

All range states have also been asked to report on their implementation

of CITES recommendations addressing legislation and enforcement,

anti-poaching efforts, public education and outreach, and other domestic

controls.

 

" Conservation efforts must address the global picture if the trade in

tigers is to be stopped, and if ultimately tigers are to survive in the

wild, " Shepherd said.

 

pangolin

 

 

Nocternal mammals, pangolins avoid humans. Three species of

pangolins inhabit Asia. (Photo courtesy Dept. Ecology &

Biodiversity, U. Hong Kong

<http://www.hku.hk/ecology/porcupine/por22/22-vertebrates.htm>)

 

The seizure also indicates that illegal trade of numerous protected

species from Southeast Asia to Taiwan and other East Asian destinations

continues on a large scale.

 

Pangolins are one of the most heavily traded species in Asia. They are

also protected in Indonesia, and throughout their range in Asia. Demand

for their scales and meat in East Asia continues to drive a market that

is threatening remaining wild populations.

 

A survey by TRAFFIC East Asia in 1996 into the use of wildlife as

medicine and food by Hong Kong Chinese showed that the Chinese Pangolin

/Manis pentadactyla/, although protected under CITES Appendix II, which

allows only closely documented and regulated trade, was the third-most

frequently consumed animal after snake and civet cat among those who

consumed exotic animals. The flesh is regarded by consumers as a health

tonic to warm up the body.

 

Pangolin scales were amongst the most frequently observed Chinese

materia medica during surveys conducted in 1996 by the Chinese Academy

of Science in six Chinese medicine markets in China. The scales are used

to invigorate blood and promote menstruation, to promote lactation, and

to reduce swelling.