Comment: lion and tiger farming may not be cause of increased poaching

JULY 12, 2019

by Niki Rust And Amy Hinsley, The Conversation

It is never pleasant to see wild animals caged and abused. A new report by the NGO World Animal Protection suggests that captive-breeding operations for lions and tigers have expanded to meet an increasing demand for big cat products used in traditional Asian medicine. While this is clearly bad news for the captive cats themselves, confined in often horrible conditions, we are not convinced by the report's findings on what this means for wild populations.

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Full extent of tiger farming revealed

A report on tiger ‘farming’ across Asia has revealed more than 5,000 tigers in China are living in unnatural, cramped conditions, in rows of cages.

These sites range in size from a handful of tigers to two establishments that have more than 1,000 tigers in each, and are often open to the public, with tigers displayed in entertainment shows.

Despite a 1975 ban on international tiger trade, seizures of tigers and tiger products across the Asian region prove there is a growing market for the products. These farms are therefore a ready source of such products.

Therefore conservationists are concerned captive-bred tigers are not only feeding demand for tiger products across Asia but are also stimulating it, placing an additional and unsustainable pressure on their wild counterparts.

Continued