How can we help endangered tigers?
It is a sad fact of life that while a few lucky tigers today enjoy the sanctuary and safety of life in a tiger farm, their brother tigers out there in the wild are being mercilessly hunted down, to the brink of extinction, to satisfy the demands of the illicit “tiger parts” trade, and also for fur trimmings in Tibet.
From the village markets of Borneo to the backstreets of Bangkok tiger part products are routinely and openly sold, as aphrodisiacs, or as cures for ailments such as arthritis, the tigers slain by poachers and illegally exported. Hundreds of internet sales and auction sites, particularly from China, Hong Kong and Tai Wan boldly offer illicit tiger part products for sale with little regulation or recrimination. The illicit tiger part trade is huge. Already two tiger sub species have become extinct, the five remaining groups now under similar and immediate threat. Another problem for the remaining tiger population is that in many places their normal habitat and environment has been diminished such that breeding patterns are disrupted.
How can we help endangered tigers, you ask, – the problem seems too overwhelming.
Hopefully, the Year of the Tiger 2010 will not prove to be the year of its extinction, as governments and world animal conservation groups move into action to better support the tiger in its hour of need. More cordial relations between the Indian and Chinese governments now mean pro-active initiatives such as regulation of tiger farms and the punishment of poachers trading in illegal tiger parts, with sanctions including prison sentences. The Dali Lama of Tibet has decreed against the wearing of tiger and other animal skins with traditional robes. Increased availability of cheap pharmaceutical drugs is reducing dependence upon traditional folk lore remedies which involve the use of tiger parts. People need to be educated to make the change.
How can we help endangered tigers – well, everyone can help endangered tigers simply by not buying any tiger products, including tiger skins, bones or teeth.. Tiger conservation groups such as Save the Tiger Fund, or Wildlife Warriors, who have a tiger conservation program in Sumatra, welcome new members, with contributions and donations being well spent on tiger conservation and public education. You can even join a tiger adoption program. Many options are available when you ask the question: how can we help endangered tigers.
