Top Tiger Facts

Tigers: Hunting The Traffickers follows Royal Marines Commando Aldo Kane as he exposes the shocking secrets of the illegal tiger trade in South East Asia and those who profit.

Published: 20 February 2020

Top Facts

  • There are now less than 4,000 tigers remaining in the wild (3890,WWF) 
  • There are approx. 7,000 – 8,000 tigers in captivity throughout Asia (EIA), far more than the estimated number of tigers left in the wild (WWF)
  • The wild tiger population has declined by over 90% in the last 100 years (EIA)
  • In 2007 all CITES* parties agreed that tigers should not be bred for trade in their parts and derivatives and tiger farms should be phased out. (EIA)

*Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora

Poaching

  • Poaching is the most immediate threat to wild tigers (WWF)
  • Tigers inhabit less than 6% of their historic range, with a 42% decline since 2006 attributed primarily to poaching pressure (EIA).

Farming

  • The availability of tiger products from tiger farms serves to legitimize and normalize demand for such items in a region currently experiencing profound and sustained growth of consumer classes. (WWF)
  • Given the high cost of raising tigers in captivity, tiger farms have a vested interest in promoting demand for their products, whether by putting pressure on the Government to be allowed to sell them or by exploiting buyers who are unaware of the law. (WWF)

Traditional Chinese Medicine

  • The use of tiger bones was removed from the traditional Chinese Medicine pharmacopeia in 1993 when China banned the domestic trade in tiger  bone.
  • In 2006 the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies (WFCMS) says tiger-bone wine is not a medicine and manufacturing and sales should be stopped.

Tigers/Welfare

  • Tigers are mostly solitary, apart from strong bonds between mother and offspring.
  • Tigers give birth to average 2-4 cubs per litter, although infant mortality is high.
  • In the wild they will have a litter every two years. In captivity they can be bred up to every 5 7 months.
  • The gestation period of a tiger is between 3-3.5 months.
  • Tiger lifespans: 10-15 years in the wild, up to 22 years in captivity.
  • Individual tigers in the wild normally roam a large territory, up to hundreds of kilometres.

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