Click to play videoNew Delhi: Just a day after the two environment ministers of India and China agreed to work together on climate change, an undercover investigation by a UK-based agency reveals how China is continuing to supply tiger parts from India. Environment Investigation Agency that went undercover in markets across China, where buying and selling of Asian big cats parts is flourishing.
They found bones and skins of tigers as well as other big cats like the leopard and the snow leopard.
Tiger skins go for as high as $21,000 and tiger bones for $1,200 per kg - a very lucrative illegal trade in China.
Environment Investigation Agency's Belinda says, "Unless you control the demand which is in China, it will be virtually impossible to keep such a valuable animal alive in India."
In just 21 days the investigators encountered:
- In Lhasa: Three tiger full skins, two leopard skins, one tiger skull
- In Linxia: 30 pieces of tiger skin trim, five leopard skins, 100 leopard claws, seven snow leopard skins
- In Shigatse: 10 leopard skins
And these figures are just the tip of the iceberg. Since 2004, investigators have been recording hundreds of skins of big cats making their way into China's underground markets.
Environment Investigation Agency's Debbi Banks says, "What's very serious about this situation is that we found tiger bones, tiger skin, leopard skin and bones quite easily through retail outlets. If we can do that, then the Chinese government can do that too and they have much more authority as well as resources at their disposal than we do. They can do a lot more than we can to stop this trade, but it's very frustrating that we don't see that happening."
Across China, there are as many as 5,000 tigers in captivity in illegal tiger farms, but these are not sufficient to serve the lucrative trade in tiger parts used in traditional Chinese medicines thus putting pressure on tigers to be poached in the wild from India. If the tigers in India are to be saved, China will have to step up its enforcement measures.
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