Less tiger-part quackery advertising on the Internet

This video is called Wild tiger cub – for the first time on film – David Attenborough – Tiger Spy in the Jungle – BBC.

Tiger-part adverts declining

Chinese-language online advertisements for tiger-part ornaments and tiger-based medicines appear to be in decline, according to a new report by TRAFFIC. Though tiger items are still being advertised online, there were signs that the number of times such advertisements are appearing is in decline. This appears to be a response to greater awareness of the illegality of such sales as well as the growing number of internet retail companies who have pledged a zero tolerance policy towards such illegal trade and routinely remove such advertising.

Education and advocacy work with those sites hosting a greater number of advertisements has shown positive outcomes and a clear reduction in this type of trade,” states the report. “If the desire for the tiger as commodity (fake or otherwise) is to be lessened, investment in demand reduction is necessary to effect behavioural change and to reduce such trade in the long term.”

“It is good to see a positive decline in the number of online adverts for tiger-related products. Whether they are real or fake each contributes to fuelling a market that if left unchecked could lead to the extinction of the tiger in the wild,” says the TigerTime team. “We urge everyone to apply their own zero-tolerance of these products and their adverts and to report them to the relevant authorities.”

However it is not all good news as, other reports by TRAFFIC show that a significant and open trade in protected and globally threatened wildlife species still thrives. For example sawfish, dugongs, slow lorises and babirusa are being traded in large volumes on Bali in Indonesia, while an illegal trade in gall bladders of the Malaysian Sun Bear is also flourishing in Sarawak, Malaysia.

The full report can be read HERE.

The Chinese Government have also passed a law that means anyone caught eating rare animals could face 10 years or more in jail. Read more HERE.