Only 3200 tigers remain in the wild.
The world has "failed miserably" at protecting tigers in
the wild, bringing an animal that is a symbol for many cultures
and religions to "the verge of extinction," a top official with
the United Nations wildlife agency said today.
Just 20 years ago there were 100,000 tigers in Asia, but now
only 3200 remain in the wild, according to UN
official Willem Wijnstekers, the secretary general of
the 175-nation Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species, or CITES.
He called on countries to come up with strategies, and
cooperate with international agencies such as Interpol, to
end poaching and illegal trade in tiger products.
"We must admit that we have failed miserably," Wijnstekers
said at the two-week conference in the Gulf state of Qatar.
"Although the tiger has been prized throughout history ... it
is now literally on the verge of extinction."
Tigers are poached for their skins and parts of their bodies
are prized for decoration and traditional medicine.
Delegates at the UN conference will also consider the spike
in rhino poaching and ways to combat criminal networks
involved in the illegal trade in horns in parts of Africa and
Asia. All in all, there are 42 proposals on the table,
ranging from stopping elephant poaching to banning trade in
polar bear skins.
Later this week, an all-out ban on the export of Atlantic
bluefin will also be discussed, a contentious issue that has
the countries of Asia and the West locking horns over a fish
prized in sushi.
Global stocks of bluefin are dwindling, especially in the
Atlantic, and some governments around the world are
increasingly supporting a complete trade ban to let the fish
recover.
The issue pits the Europeans and Americans against fishing
nations in North Africa and Asia, especially Japan, which has
already vowed to ignore any bluefin ban.
About 80 percent of the species fished ends up in Japan. Raw
tuna is a key ingredient in traditional dishes such as sushi
and sashimi, and the bluefin variety - called "hon-maguro" in
Japan - is particularly prized.
A bid to regulate the trade in red and pink corals -
harvested to make expensive jewellery - could also divide the
delegates.
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