HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT China's Clandestine Tiger Trade

Transcription

1 HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT China's Candestine Tiger Trade

2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS CONTENTS This report was written by Environmenta Investigation Agency. EIA woud ike to thank the Rufford Foundation, the David Shepherd Widife Foundation, Ernest Keinwort Charitabe Trust and Save Wid Tigers for their support in making this work possibe. Specia thanks to our coeagues on the frontine in tiger range countries for their information, advice and inspiration. EIA uses IBM i2 inteigence anaysis software. Report design by: February SUMMARY INTRODUCTION LEGAL CONTEXT INVESTIGATION FINDINGS TIGER FARMING PREVIOUS EXPOSÉS STIMULATING POACHING OF WILD ASIAN BIG CATS MIXED MESSAGES SOUTH-EAST ASIA TIGER FARMS CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS APPENDICES 1) TABLE OF LAWS AND REGULATIONS RELATING TO TIGERS IN CHINA 2) TIGER FARMING TIMELINE ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTIGATION AGENCY (EIA) 62/63 Upper Street, London N1 0NY, UK Te: +44 (0) Fax: +44 (0) emai: ukinfo@eia-internationa.org EIA US P.O.Box Washington DC USA Te: Fax: emai: usinfo@eia-internationa.org Front cover image Robin Hamiton A images EIA uness otherwise specified Michae Vickers/

3 SUMMARY Undercover investigations and a review of avaiabe Chinese aws have reveaed that whie China banned tiger bone trade for medicina uses in 1993, it has encouraged the growth of the captive-breeding of tigers to suppy a quiety expanding ega domestic trade in tiger skins. This Government-authorised trade spurs the poaching of wid tigers and undermines the internationa ban on tiger trade agreed by the majority of the word through the UN Convention on Internationa Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The ack of carity over the use of bone from captive-bred tigers to make wine has further stimuated trade and demand. I) BACKGROUND The word is operating under a misunderstanding of China s intentions where tigers are concerned. Having ratified the UN Convention on Internationa Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), China is subject to CITES requirements. CITES stricty prohibits internationa commercia trade in tiger parts and derivatives and, recognising the threats posed by growing captive tiger popuations, aso cas for: - domestic trade prohibitions; - the consoidation and destruction of stockpies of tiger parts and products; - assurance that tiger parts and derivatives from captive-bred tigers do not enter ega or iega trade. Contrary to CITES requirements, China has a massive captive tiger popuation and is aowing a ega trade in tiger parts sourced from captive-bred tigers. - Under favourabe poicies, as we as with support and funding from the State Forestry Administration (SFA) of China, the captive tiger popuation in China has grown from fewer than 20 in 1986 to between 5,000-6,000 in 2013, spread across up to 200 farms and zoos. China s wid tiger popuation has faen from 4,000 in the ate 1940s to approximatey animas. - China s widife and agricutura aws and poicies promote the breeding, domestication and utiisation of widife for so-caed conservation as we as for economic growth. Thus, under such a system, utiisation or commercia sae of certain products derived from captive-bred endangered species, incuding tigers, is ega. For exampe, the Environmenta Investigation Agency (EIA) has uncovered the commercia sae of uxury tiger skin rugs, which are made with skins sourced from captive-bred tigers with the express authorisation of the SFA. II) TIGER SKINS In the past 10 years, reguatory systems have been introduced to aow the commercia sae of skins of captive-bred tigers, prepared as uxury skin rugs for home décor. New EIA research and undercover investigations document the sae of captive-bred tiger skins at 1.5 to three times the price of skins of wid tigers, eopards and snow eopards, making the skins of wid animas a cheaper option for consumers. - At east 10 tiger skin rugs were sod in the first haf of 2012, by ony two companies. Potentiay, hundreds more may have been traded, given the arge number of companies icensed to process widife. EIA investigations in 2012 aso show that the smugging of skins of wid tigers and other Asian big cats continues, with skins from India and Nepa for sae in estabished trade hotspots in China. 1

4 BELOW: EIA investigators were offered wid and captive bred tiger skins for sae in China in During just severa days, EIA investigators were offered three fresh tiger skins, one eopard skin, one snow eopard skin and big cat bones, teeth and caws. III) TIGER BONE A 1993 State Counci order in China banned the use of tiger bone for medicina purposes and the SFA has stated it has a strict ban on use of tiger bone; however, traders have tod EIA investigators about the continued use of tiger bone. Despite the ban, tiger bones sourced from captive-bred tigers are not being destroyed, eading to what is ikey to be a massive stockpie and consumer assumptions that trade is ega or wi soon be ega. Tonics made by soaking tiger bones in wine are being produced and marketed despite the apparent 1993 ban, with traders referencing a secret Government notification issued in In 2012 EIA identified a company using this method to produce Rea Tiger Wine, which does not ist tiger bone as an ingredient and returns the bones to the stockpie to be avaiabe for audit and inspection. IV) CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Wid Asian big cats are being poached to suppy the market demand stimuated by China s ega domestic trade in skins of captivebred tigers at a time when the internationa community has agreed that demand reduction is essentia to save wid tigers. The parts of more than 5,400 Asian big cats have been seized since 2000; INTERPOL s rue of thumb is that seized contraband represents approximatey 10 per cent of actua trade. Contrary to the understanding of the internationa community, evidence suggests that commercia use of tiger bones continues. Promotion and faciitation of trade in captive-bred tiger parts puts China in non-compiance with CITES requirements and undermines Premier Wen Jiabao s commitments to end tiger trade. China is defying the wi of the internationa community to end demand for tiger parts and products, and to end the breeding of tigers for trade in parts and products. The new Government in China has an opportunity to change the course of the wid tiger s fate. Current pro-use poicies are being championed by ony a handfu of officias in a coupe of Government departments. The Nationa Peope s Congress coud ensure that: - aws are amended to end a trade, in a parts and products of tigers and other Asian big cats, from a sources; - stockpies of tiger parts and products are consoidated and destroyed; - cear messages are sent to tiger breeders and the industry that the objective is to end a demand and trade. Poicies in China are directy stimuating demand and poaching, and the probem of tiger farming and trade is spreading to Thaiand, Laos and Vietnam. EIA urges Parties to the 16th Conference of the Parties to CITES (Bangkok, March 2013) to note this report and impose a effective measures, incuding punitive, to stop the trade in tiger parts sourced from captivebred tigers. A faiure to act indicates an impicit acceptance of a ega trade in the skins of captive-bred tigers, the beginning of a sippery sope towards accepting a ega trade in the bones of captive-bred tigers, and utimatey extinction of tigers in the wid. 2

5 INTRODUCTION Amur Tiger, Lutka WCS New research by the Environmenta Investigation Agency (EIA) shows that the Government of China aows ega domestic trade in the parts and products of captive-bred tigers, creating confusion among consumers, stimuating demand and driving the poaching of wid tigers and other Asian big cats. This runs contrary to the impression hed by the internationa community, the United Nations and feow tiger range countries that tiger trade has been banned in China since However, the internationa community seems to have overestimated the scope of China s ban by assuming it encompassed a parts and products of a tigers, wid and captive-bred. It is time for a reaity check. China s nationa poicy and aws, dating back to the 1980s, encourage the domestication and utiisation of widife, incuding tigers. Reguations introduced in the past 10 years faciitate the commercia trade in skins of captive-bred tigers. Tiger skin rugs made from captive-bred tigers can be up to three times the price of those prepared from wid tigers and severa times that of eopards and snow eopards. The use of big cat skin rugs as uxury home décor has been activey promoted and is now a fashionabe symbo of socia status. Skins are often given as prestigious gifts or bribes and are seen as an investment. The skins of wid tigers and other Asian big cats continue to be iegay trafficked to estabished trade hotspots in China, and since 2006 the primary consumers have been the business, miitary and poitica eite. Loophoes in the reguatory system aow the aundering of iegay acquired specimens, and there are overaps between those invoved in handing captive-bred and wid-sourced skins. Parae to this ega trade, thousands of wid Asian big cats have died. It is cear that trade in captive-bred tigers has not aeviated pressure on wid animas but has instead stimuated demand and poaching. A ack of carity over the use captive-bred tiger bones has created an environment of confusion in which tiger bone wine is being produced and marketed. With 5,000-6,000 tigers in captivity there is a growing bank of bones stockpied by private tiger breeders and owners. Instead of being destroyed, skin and bone stockpies are being registered and abeed, further fueing specuation of future trade. At present, aw and poicy in China makes it cear there is no intention to end the domestication of tigers or use of their parts and products. This defies the wi of the internationa community that tigers shoud not be bred for trade in their parts and products, and undermines Premier Wen Jiabao s commitment to end tiger trade and work with feow 3

6 BELOW: Demand for tigers skins as uxury home décor is a growing threat to wid tigers. Tiger Range Countries to doube the wid tiger popuation by the next year of the tiger in It doesn t have to be this way. With a new Government forming in China, there is an opportunity to update aws and poicies to vaue ive tigers and other Asian big cats in the wid over the vaue of their body parts. Legisative change woud bring China into compiance with UN agreements and in harmony with the efforts of other Tiger Range Countries, donor governments and non-government organisations (NGOs) working to save the remaining 3,500 wid tigers and to end demand for tiger parts and products. Other countries with tiger farms, such as Thaiand, Laos and Vietnam are watching to see what China can get away with. Trade in captive-bred tiger parts in and between those countries is iega. A handfu of dedicated poice officers are seizing parts of butchered tigers and arresting those invoved but a ack of support further aong the enforcement chain means few have been punished, and tiger farmers with the right connections continue to operate. It is past time for transparency around the status of trade in parts and products of captive-bred tigers. Governments of countries concerned about the surviva of wid tigers and other Asian big cats must not shrink from caing for fu discosure and meaningfu action under CITES to end a tiger trade and to end the breeding of tigers for trade in their parts and products. A faiure to act indicates an impicit endorsement of a ega trade in the skins of captive-bred tigers, and the beginning of a sippery sope towards accepting a ega trade in the bones of captive-bred tigers. WWF Pave Fomenko (21st Century Tiger) 4

7 LEGAL CONTEXT INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS Internationa trade in parts and products of tigers and other endangered Asian big cats is prohibited under CITES. Tigers, eopards, snow eopards, couded eopards and Asiatic ions have been isted on Appendix I of CITES since the 1970s with the exception of the Siberian tiger, added in In 1993, recognising that domestic trade was driving the poaching of wid tiger popuations, CITES passed a resoution that, inter aia, caed for domestic trade prohibitions and the consoidation and destruction of stockpies. Since then, Parties have recognised that the same threats from trade appy equay to other Appendix I Asian big cats, and that tiger farming and domestic trade in captive-bred tiger parts and products is a threat to the chances of wid tiger recovery. Moving with the times, these threats have been refected in CITES debates and captured in the reevant resoution and, more recenty, in a decision that tigers shoud not be bred for trade (incuding domestic trade) in their parts and products. RELEVANT LAWS IN CHINA Under the 1989 Law of the Peope s Repubic of China (PRC) on the Protection of Widife (amended in 2004), the sae and purchase of Grade I nationay protected species, 1 incuding tiger (Panthera tigris), eopard (Panthera pardus), snow eopard (Panthera uncia), couded eopard (Neofeis nebuosa) and Asiatic ion 2 (Panthera eo persica), without a permit is prohibited. 3 If sae, purchase or utiisation is necessary for scientific research, domestication and breeding, exhibition or other specia purpose, approva must be obtained from the reevant department under the State Counci. 4 The aw ceary states it is Government poicy to encourage the domestication and breeding of widife species for utiisation 5, and that a icence to breed can be obtained from the reevant department under the State Counci. 6 Further, those who have such icense to breed can then se the specimens or products thereof to purchasing units designated by the Government. 7 A series of reguations sets out the administrative processes to impement the aw, incuding domestication and breeding operations and the sae of widife products of Grade I nationay protected species (See Appendix I). 8 In 1993, the State Counci of China issued an order to prohibit the use, manufacture, sae, import and export of medicines derived from tiger bone and rhino horn, and products caiming to contain these. 9 In 2003, the State Forestry Administration (SFA) and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) announced a piot project to aow the marking and utiisation of widife products. 10 Subsequent notifications have set out detais of impementation and abeing, and name the companies awarded icences to breed widife, process and se parts and products. 11 According to traders EIA has met, the deaths of tigers in faciities icensed to breed or keep tigers are registered with the SFA. Licensed traders may appy for SFA approva to buy the skins of those registered animas. Once the skin has been turned into a rug or taxidermy specimen, icensees provide the paperwork and photographs to the SFA and acquire a permit in return. As ong as a skin is accompanied by such a permit it can be sod. In 2005, the SFA, SAIC, Ministry of Heath, State Food and Drug Administration and the State Administration of Traditiona Chinese Medicine issued Notification 2005 No 139. The fu content of this notification is not avaiabe but the tite states that it enabes the piot use of captive-bred tiger bone and the reduction of use of eopard bone. It is not cear what exemptions to the 1993 State Counci order this notification provides, or whether it was subsequenty withdrawn. The accompanying association chart on pages summarises the reationships described above, incuding the reevant Government icenses issued to businesses and faciities, incuding those visited by EIA in 2007 and Many of these faciities, fagged orange, have previousy been the subject of NGO and media exposés. BELOW: EIA foowed the paper trai onine to find companies that were icensed to process and se parts of captive bred widife, incuding tiger. Transation: SFA s notification aows Xiafeng Anima Specimen Factory to produce and trade taxidermies, incuding tigers, from Transation: SFA's notification in 2007 aows China Widife Conservation Association affiiated Widife Rescue Centre in Qinhuangdao to produce and trade crafts containing skins and bones of nationa speciay protected widife species. 5

8 INVESTIGATION FINDINGS 6 ABOVE: In 2012, EIA investigators obtained first hand evidence of skins of captive bred tigers being offered for sae, accompanied by permits issued by the China State Forestry Administration, SFA. Once we get the skins, even before making them, they wi a aready be reserved Anyone can buy. There are so many weathy guys, some can se it again. Staff at Qinhuangdao Widife Rescue Centre FOLLOWING THE PAPER TRAIL EIA s investigation began by foowing the paper trai avaiabe through the SFA website. Documents there gave detais of the nationa widife utiisation and marking system aunched in January 2003 by the SFA and SAIC. Subsequent SFA notifications ist at east 150 companies icensed to process and/or se parts and products of widife, incuding Grade I nationay protected species, incuding tigers. The foowing is a snapshot of this trade. EIA met with two companies egay seing tiger skins. With 200 faciities icensed to keep over 5,000 tigers in captivity and over 100 companies registered under the widife utiisation and marking ystem, it is ikey that many more skins are sod each year. The SFA can provide carity as to how many of the companies registered under the widife utiisation and marking system have been issued with permits to process skins, and how many skins have been processed. The findings aso report on a company engaged in the manufacture of tiger bone wine, which was identified during the course of the skin trade investigation. LUXURY TIGER SKIN RUGS FOR SALE Between May 2012 and January 2013, EIA undertook a series of investigations to document the ega sae of captive-bred tiger parts and products. Investigators met with SFA-icensed traders; two in particuar reguary process skins of captive-bred tigers into high quaity rugs, which they can se if the finished items are accompanied by Government permits. Xiafeng Anima Specimen Factory, in Chaohu, Anhui Province, had two skins, one ready for purchase and a second, a white tiger, being processed. The owner, who has been in this business since 2004, said he had sod five rugs in the first haf of 2012 and was expecting to receive more skins before the end of the year. Loca government records onine confirm he had permission to process at east nine skins in 2012 and has processed at east a further 11 tiger skins and one eopard skin since 2009, athough more records may be avaiabe than EIA has been abe to access. Records indicate the skins come from zoos across the 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 country. The manager of the taxidermy workshop at Qinhuangdao Widife Rescue Centre (estabished by the China Widife Conservation Association, a nationa non-profit organisation affiiated to the

9 SFA) in Beidaihe, Hebei Province, showed investigators a pie of skins waiting to be processed for a university. However, most tiger skins are sod to weathy individuas rather than for educationa or scientific purposes; five tiger skin rugs were sod in the first haf of 2012 to individuas seeking uxury home décor. He aso confirmed that anyone can buy these skins from the Centre. This shows that the ega trade in tiger skin rugs is not restricted to scientific or educationa purposes but is growing through a ucrative commercia retai market. As with Xiafeng Anima Specimen Factory, the prices quoted for captivebred tiger skins were 1.5 to three times higher than for wid tiger skins, and severa times higher than the skins of wid eopard and snow eopard offered to EIA investigators in Juy 2012 in Lhasa, TAR, Linxia, Gansu Province and Xining, Qinghai Province. This ega trade is ceary not aeviating pressure on wid tigers and other Asian big cats. The owner of Xiafeng Anima Specimen Factory said the estabishment of a taxidermy industry had been proactivey encouraged by the SFA, stating that a few years previousy a senior SFA officia had compained that not enough was being done to make the most of the tigers dying in captivity; promoting the taxidermy process and industry. Active promotion of the taxidermy industry aso featured in a Qinhuangdao Widife Rescue Centre brochure, which stated that the use of taxidermy items as uxury home décor is an increasingy fashionabe way to demonstrate higher status. This echoes statements made by traders seing wid tiger, eopard and snow eopard skins, and is aso refected in the way wid skins are now prepared and trafficked, with head and paws intact for taxidermy; unti 2006, ess care was taken as skins were aso used to decorate traditiona costumes. Skins are aso offered as prestigious gifts and bribes and are increasingy, as with ivory and rhino horn carvings, and pre-1993 tiger bone wine, seen as an investment; commodities among the new asset casses. 18 It is cear that ega trade is sustaining a perception that tiger skin rugs are vauabe, thereby perpetuating demand and stimuating the poaching of wid tigers. In 2012, over the course of just severa days, EIA investigators were offered the fresh skins of wid Asian big cats - three tigers, one eopard and one snow eopard. ABUSE OF THE LEGAL TRADE SYSTEM The domestic skin trade reguation system is fawed and traders described ways in which it can provide a cover for back market activities, incuding the re-use of permits and fasification of origins. That the ega market offers a means to aunder iegay acquired tiger specimens was evidenced by the tiger carcass in the freezer at Xiafeng Anima Specimen Factory. The owner takes deivery of the entire tiger carcass from the zoos with which he has an agreement; he expained that since no-one is paying attention to the bones he can se them too. Given the serious penaties, he wi not se them on the open market himsef, but he has reguar buyers in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province who buy from him. BELOW: Permit for Xiafeng s tiger skin, shown on page 6 BOTTOM: These skins are destined for a university, but the staff of the Qinhuangdao Widife Rescue Centre caimed they had sod five tiger skins as rugs to individuas in the first haf of

10 because when we pay, we pay for the whoe tiger... there is no record of the bones. Owner of Xiafeng BELOW: Carcass of the tiger shown on page 6 in the freezer at Xiafeng. ILLICIT RE-USE OF PERMITS FOR ADDITIONAL TIGER SKINS The ony identifying feature connecting the tiger skin rugs for sae with the accompanying permits is a photo of the skin on the back of the permit. The owner of Xiafeng Anima Specimen Factory expained that he photographs the processed skin and sends it with the paperwork to the SFA, which in turn issues a aminated and stamped permit bearing the photo. However, the photo is so sma that there is no way the stripe patterns of the photo can be matched with those of the skin for sae, presenting opportunities for the same permit to be used for different skins. Indeed, it seemed that this was the case with the specimen he was showing us. Whie the permit stated it was issued in 2011 for a tiger skin sourced from Nanjing Pear Spring Zoo, during the course of the conversation it became cear this may not be the case; the owner changed his mind twice about where the tiger came from and then caimed it had died in March Pressed, he warned EIA to ask no more questions on this issue: No, you don't ask about that. The certificate is here, and you don't need to know more. It s ike you ask a chid trafficker, who does the chid beong to. Further, he went on to offer a substantia discount on the skin if purchased without the permit, describing a process whereby the buyer woud take the permit with the skin to ensure it coud be safey transported and then return it for a refund and so enabe the taxidermist to frauduenty re-use the permit for other skins. He suggested this had been done before. LEGAL AND ILLEGAL SKINS ENTER SAME MARKET Skins of wid and captive-bred tigers are feeding into the same consumer demand for uxury home décor, and there is overap between those invoved in the ega and iega trade. The owner of Xiafeng Anima Specimen Factory caims he does not buy wid tiger skins himsef. However, he caimed to have processed two skins originay from India and purchased in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), incuding one he processed on behaf of a oca deputy governor who had received it as a gift. Likewise, traders in known hotspots for iega tiger and other Asian big cat skins, such as Linxia in Gansu Province and Lhasa in TAR, confirm that the skins of wid Asian big cats coming from India and Nepa are destined for the uxury home décor market, which is aso evident from the way they are processed (see page 19). Buyers come from a over the country and one trader in Linxia, known to EIA as an iega trader since 2006, uses a third party in Hebei Province to fine tan wid-sourced tiger, eopard and snow eopard skins on behaf of a buyer in Inner Mongoia. The photo on this permit is too sma to accuratey identify the skin it accompanies. 8

11 THE TIGER BONE WINE TRADE Beijing Longying Trading Ltd (aso known as Beijing Longfuteng Fauna and Fora Ltd) is one of the few companies that has the icense to breed widife (incuding tigers), the icense to process their parts and products, and the icense to se. The owner caimed he was a co-founder of the State-founded Hengdaohezi Big Cat Breeding Centre, China s first tiger farm, before going into private business importing and exporting widife. He caimed two of the tigers he had bred himsef were gifted by the Government of China to South Korea in 1994, to mark the visit of then-president Jiang Zemin. He aso said he had arranged to import 100 tigers from Sri Racha, in Thaiand, to Sanya Love Word, in Hainan Isand, in He is a successfu crocodie farmer and aso the co-author (with Hengdaohezi Big Cat Breeding Centre and Northeast Forestry University) of a research paper on the chemica content of Siberian tiger bones. 19 Whie crocodies appear to be his main business, he aso had sampes of bone strengthening wine produced by wineries associated with the Xiongsen Bear and Tiger Viage, in Guangxi Province, and the Harbin Siberian Tiger Park, in Heiongjiang Province. Both are icensed under the 2003 widife utiisation and marking scheme and the owner of Beijing Longying insisted it was made using tiger bones but, because of the 1993 State Counci order, the wineries are unabe to say so on the ingredients. He currenty has eight tigers at his compound on the outskirts of Beijing and two in a park in Sanya, on Hainan Isand, but his ong-term goa is to raise 500 tigers; his business pan to achieve this incudes seeking investors whie aso generating income from ticket saes to visitors and seing tiger skins to private coections. When asked why the figure of 500, he expained that an officia notification circuated in 2005, regarding the sae of captive-bred tiger bone to designated medicina manufacturers authorised to suppy hospitas with tiger bone wine, stipuated that ony operations with 500 tigers or more coud appy for permission. He described it as a secret and interna notification, not widey distributed because of the internationa outcry at the time; news broke in 2005 that tiger breeders were petitioning the SFA to repea the 1993 State Counci ban on the use of tiger bone. 20 He added that the ony two faciities to meet the 500 requirement are Xiongsen Bear and Tiger Viage and the Harbin Siberian Tiger Park. Now there is an interna notification when the number of the bred tiger reaches 500, if you get some specia permission, you can se the tiger bones to assigned medicine-making factories and the products wi be directy circuated in hospitas. For instance, if a patient is in a hospita for arthritis treatment, he wi get a botte of the bone wine. He cacuates a breeding operation with 200 tigresses coud potentiay produce 600 cubs each year, and that it woud be very easy to naturay get rid of every year. These reveations fy in the face of repeated assertions by the SFA, at various CITES and Goba Tiger Initiative meetings, that the Government is committed to a 1993 State Counci Order prohibiting the use of tiger bone for medicine. EIA investigators searched onine for Government notifications pertaining to the use of captive-bred tiger bone and found records of Notification 2005 No 139, which enabes the piot use of captive-bred tiger bone for medicine and the reduction of the use of eopard bone. The owner of Beijing Longying s ambition is to have 500 tigers. ABOVE: Harbin and Xiongsen both have permits to produce bone strengthening wine, which is abeed in Latin as containing ion. It is marketed however, as having been made using tiger. 9

12 10 ABOVE: Sanhong s website describes rea tiger wine and provides images of the wine manufacturing faciity. Notification 2005 No 139 enabes the piot use of captive bred tiger bone for medicine and the reduction of the use of eopard bone. NOTIFICATION 2005 No 139 Found on the website of a oca Shanghai government department, 21 the Notification appears to have been issued by the SFA, SAIC, Ministry of Heath, State Food and Drug Administration and the State Administration of Traditiona Chinese Medicine. The same text appears in a ist of reevant aws governing the administration of medicines at the Taizhou Hospita, in Zhejiang Province, 22 and in a feasibiity study report by the Hunan Sanhong Biotechnoogy Company, in Changsha, Hunan Province, a member of the CWCA. The report and business pan were prepared in 2005 and describe the great market potentia for tiger bone wine. Accordingy, it sets out the production and marketing strategy for a projected annua output of 800 tonnes of Quanzhen Hujiu, Rea Tiger Wine, worth an estimated RMB 1b / US$160m. 23 Unike other SFA notices, the content of Notification 2005 No 139 is not pubicy avaiabe, so it is not known what exemptions it stipuates that might aow restricted manufacture and use of tiger bone wine. EIA has, however, documented the impact of the Notification, which has prompted the Sanhong Biotechnoogy Company to invest miions to put the feasibiity report pans, extracts beow, into practice to produce a range of Rea Tiger Wine. QUANZHEN HUJIU, SANHONG S REAL TIGER WINE Sanhong s pan states the wine is made from tiger bone and other controed widife parts, incuding pangoin scaes and caterpiar fungus (Cordyceps sinensis). The recipe for Sanhong s Rea Tiger Wine, prepared with technica guidance from the Hunan Academy of Chinese Medicine, is detaied in the report, the tiger bone requirements are as foows: According to reevant technica parameters, 160 kiograms of tiger bones may produce 3 tons [sic] of tiger bone stock. One kiogram of tiger bone wine contains 2 to 4 grams of tiger bone stock. Based on an average of 3 grams per kiogram, 800 tons [sic] of tiger bone wine require 2,400 kiograms of tiger bone stock, suppied by around 128 kiograms of tiger bones. The report goes into enormous detai about consumer attitudes and demographics, brand positioning, marketing, competition, production processes, sourcing of raw tiger bone (incuding estabishing a tiger-breeding operation) and financing. The company s motivation appears two-fod the need to prepare an honest product to compete with fake products that bring down the name of traditiona medicine, and the need to capitaise on the Government s poicy to use widife: The Chinese Government, by referring to the open protection measures of African eephants, has set forth a humanistic approach for the deveopment-based protection poicy, where the widife suppy is repaced by captive-breeding. Under the Government s guidance and strict permit management, this project is therefore specificay estabished for the vauabe utiisation of tiger bone resources, satisfaction of the pubic s demand for tiger bone wine and funding additions to the Government s anima protection endeavours. Criticay, the feasibiity report sets out the ega basis upon which the entire project rests, and specificay refers to Notification 2005, No 139. The report goes further, specifying additiona Government poicy promoting the use of captive-bred tiger bone. Our Government has estabished a cear protection and deveopment strategy for rare fora and fauna (pease refer to: Anima Protection Order No. [2005]93)... The Rea Tiger Wine provides a feasibe path where the deveopment of utiising the vaue of tiger carcass heps serve the protection purposes.

13 FROM PLANNING TO PRODUCTION EIA has obtained independent confirmation that Sanhong has gone into production of a range of Rea Tiger Wine products. Manufacturing occurs near Changsha, where the owners aso have a taxidermy workshop (Changsha Sanzhen Anima Artistic Specimens 24, 25 Company) icensed to process tiger skin and a sma breeding centre with six tigers. 26 Loca government officias are we aware of production and, in 2011, a oca Changsha government website announced that the Sanzhen Anima Taxidermy Company had started production of tiger bone wine in 2009, quoting the company s reported investment of neary RMB 40m/ US$6m. 27 In addition, in 2011 a post on a Ministry of Commerce website advertises widife taxidermy services and tiger bone wine, providing contact detais for the owner of Sanzhen and Sanhong. 28 The products are not for sae at the premises and may not be found in reguar retai outets. A few instance of 29, 30, 31 onine saes have been documented, but otherwise distribution is via regiona agents who market to eite cients and, according to one Beijing-based distributor, Beian, this incudes guesthouses and restaurants catering to high-ranking officias. 32 As with other tiger wines, the word tiger does not appear in the ingredients, even though the use of tiger bone in the manufacturing process is the main marketing message distinguishing it from other bone-strengthening wines. This coud be expained by the fact that, unike traditiona and cinica medicines, the finished product doesn t actuay contain a piece of bone. Sanhong s production methods invove soaking tiger bones in vats of wine to make a stock that is mixed with other ingredients. Bones are used for a maximum of three batches before being returned to the stockpie of egay acquired captive-bred tiger bone, ensuring it is avaiabe for officia auditing. Aong with the fact the bone is from captive-bred tigers, and the possibiity that Notification 2005 No139 imits distribution, this coud expain why Sanhong and others beieve they can se bone strengthening wine made using tiger bone. The SFA woud have to provide carity on this since the content of the Notification is not pubicy avaiabe. Whatever the ega situation, the practices at Sanhong and, possiby, other wineries suggest tiger bone is being used for commercia purposes before being seaed and stockpied. BELOW: A botte of Sanhong Rea Tiger Wine manufactured in BOTTOM: Distributing agent, Beian, caims in this marketing power point presentation avaiabe onine, that they suppy Sanhong s Rea Tiger Wine to high ranking officias and private members cubs. Transation: 20th August

14 TIGER FARMING 12 ABOVE: Tigers at the Xiongsen Bear and Tiger Viage, one of China s argest tiger farms. WHERE ARE THE CAPTIVE TIGERS COMING FROM? There is a perception that a tiger farms are huge, industria-scae speed-breeding operations for hundreds of animas; in reaity, the majority of operations invoved are sma enterprises and in many cases may not even be breeding tigers but merey keep them. China reportedy has 200 faciities 33 icensed to keep 5,000-6,000 tigers, 34 a popuation and an industry that has grown rapidy in the past two decades (see Appendix 2). Starting with fewer than 20 tigers in one faciity in 1986 (35), annua estimated breeding rates ranged from 200 new cubs a year in to 800 new cubs a year in Even after CITES adopted a decision in 2007 that tigers shoud not be bred for trade in their parts and products, the SFA reported an increase of 1,000 tigers by 2010 taking them to 6, This has dropped to over 5,000 in A request from CITES to provide more specific information on how many tigers there are, where they are, the status of stockpies and intentions regarding what to do with those stocks, has gone unanswered. 40 Despite officia requests from CITES, 41 the Government of China has not provided any information on the exact number of tigers, where they are kept, the voume of stockpied skins and bones or their purpose. Athough the SFA insists faciities and stockpies are tighty controed to prevent iega trade, it has not been transparent over how much has entered ega trade. 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 According to officia records, the Xiafeng taxidermists obtained 13 tiger skins from Nanjing Pear Spring Zoo between , and a further seven tiger skins and one eopard skin from Hefei Wid Anima Park, Tonging City Zoo, Pang Park Zoo, Yangzhou Zoo and Huaibei City Garden Zoo. Severa other faciities have been documented by nationa and internationa journaists and NGOs as invoved in the tiger bone wine business.

15 PREVIOUS EXPOSÉS TIGER BONE WINE The two biggest tiger-breeding faciities in China, with more than 1,000 tigers each, have been documented trading tiger bone wine on severa occasions Xiongsen Bear and Tiger Viage 46, 47 and the Harbin Siberian Tiger Park. 42, 43, 44, 45 In February 2006, bottes of heathy bone wine made from tiger bones were on sae at Shanghai Wid Anima Park. 48 In December 2007, an investigation into the death of a Siberian tiger at Three Gorges Forest Wid Anima Word reveaed an on-site tiger bone winery. 49 Other zoos, such as Daian Forest Zoo, 50 Nanning Zoo 51 and many more have aso been exposed for iega operations. Beinda Wright WPSI Liu Wuzhou In January 2008, Shenzhen Widife Park reportedy operated a tiger bone wine processing centre with bottes sod to visitors. 52 Shenyang Zoo, in Liaoning Province, was reportedy openy seing tiger skeetons for drug wine in 1987, when prices were being driven up by the shortage of tiger bones, 53 but staff reported in 2005 that saes of tiger bone were an open secret and the wines were mainy consumed by forestry authorities and poice. 54 The faciity hit the headines in 2010 when it was found to be starving tigers to make tiger bone wine. 55 In February 2012, a manager at Nanjing Pear Spring Zoo reveaed to journaists that it produced tiger bone wine primariy for consumption by Government officias. 56 ABOVE: Freezer fu of tiger carcasses at the Xiongsen Bear and Tiger Viage, 2007, the Hengdaohezi Breeding Centre in 2007, and Xiongsen s bone-strengthening wine marketed in a tiger shaped botte. 13

16 14 i2 CHART

17 This chart summarises the reationships described in this report. Faciities fagged orange have previousy been the subject of NGO/media tiger exposés 15

18 PREVIOUS EXPOSÉS (CONTINUED) TIGER BONE WINE FOR SALE AT QINHUANGDAO WILD ANIMAL PARK AND WILDLIFE RESCUE CENTRE In 2007, EIA documented the sae of a brand of tiger bone wine, Beidacang Tiger Bone Wine, at the Qinhuangdao Wid Anima Park, adjacent to the Qinhuangdao Widife Rescue Centre. 57 The manager of the park s retai outet showed investigators a copy of the permit issued in 2004 by the SFA to aow the use of tigers that had died of natura causes on the premises. The permit stated: tiger skins can be made into specimens and bones can be made into wine... the remainder of the tiger is to be vountariy and propery taken care of. A eafet distributed with the wine states: Currenty, the widife park has Government permission to carry out pans to soak tiger bones in wine. Beidacang Wine Factory was appointed to extract the sap through ong-term soaking of tiger bones in vats, after which it is fitered and packaged to produce Tiger Wine [sic]. EIA found the same wine for sae at Badaing Safari Park 58, 59 near Beijing, aso documented by TRAFFIC. Aso in 2007, EIA found a different brand of tiger bone wine, reportedy made by the neighbouring Qinhuangdao Widife Rescue Centre, documented for sae onine. 60 Detais were provided to the SFA in 2007, and provincia forest poice officias subsequenty announced in the media the specific date and time of an inspection of the faciity to ensure there was no iega trade (an enforcement strategy that seems sef-defeating). 61 The SFA has not provided any feedback about the inspection nor the permit s vaidity. In 2012, there were no obvious signs of tiger bone wine for sae at either Qinhuangdao Wid Anima Park or the Widife Rescue Centre. According to staff, there are six or seven sets of bones, presumaby skeetons, seaed in freezers. The seaing process is fimed and the bones off-imits and subject to inspection. Staff said if the freezer seas are broken the Rescue Centre woud ose its permission to operate. They aso reveaed that some tiger bones from animas dying on the premises were being steeped in wine, in secured containers, to protect them from going off. This wine is reportedy avaiabe to guests at the discretion of the Centre s Director. Beidacang tiger wine, on the other hand, sti appears to be widey avaiabe onine, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66 adding to the genera ack of carity as to what is and is not aowed for sae, creating confusion among consumers. LEFT AND BELOW: There was no satisfactory answer over the egaity of the Beidacang Tiger Wine, which was offered for sae at Qinhuangdao Widife Park in

19 STIMULATING POACHING OF WILD ASIAN BIG CATS Eiott Neep In 2012, EIA investigators were offered the fresh skins of three tigers, one eopard and one snow eopard aong with big cat bones, teeth and caws during severa days in we-known trade hotspots in China. A had been sourced from the wid. EIA anaysis of seizure records and market observations indicates that since 2000, over 5,400 Asian big cats have died for the trade and more than 90 per cent of these were destined for markets in China. 67, 68 Contrary to pro-trade obby assertions running a ega trade in the skins of captive-bred tigers for neary 10 years has not stopped the poaching of wid tigers and other Asian big cats. The demand for uxury home décor promoted by SFA poicy is precisey what the skins of wid tigers, eopards and snow eopards are being used for. In 2004, EIA documented traders in the TAR describing Chinese demand for tiger skin as home furnishings. 69 Foowing the coapse of the demand among Tibetans in 2006, traders trafficking skins from India and Nepa simpy shifted them onto the home décor market, catering to the Chinese business, poitica and miitary eite who wanted taxidermy specimens for themseves or as a prestigious gift to bosses and officias. 70 This is evident not just from the way in which skins are prepared, with intact heads and paws, but aso from what traders in Lhasa in TAR, Linxia in Gansu Province and Xining in Qinghai Province have said about their customers from China. One persistent trader in Linxia, whom EIA has documented trading in wid Asian big cat skins from , has tod investigators on two separate occasions about a reguar buyer in Inner Mongoia who purchases them for home furnishing. Interestingy, this buyer often requests that the skins he buys are diverted via professiona taxidermists in Hebei Province. EIA confirmed this with the middeman in Hebei, and this nationa crimina network further iustrates the overap between the trade in captive-bred tiger skins and those of wid Asian big cats. Fu detais of this network were passed to the reevant authorities in It is no surprise that the skins of wid Asian big cats are feeding into the uxury home décor market; as has previousy been argued, 71 with transnationa crimina networks moving sma consignments of contraband across the porous trans-himaayan borders, it is cheaper to ki and trade wid tigers than to raise them in BELOW: For every tiger poached, at east four eopards are kied. In 2012, EIA was offered fresh skin and bone of eopard and snow eopard in China. 17

20 18 ABOVE: Since 2006, this persistent trader has offered EIA investigators three tiger skins and many eopard and snow eopard skins. captivity, process them professionay, pay permit fees and trade them in a ega market. Moreover, it is the wid tiger that is most desired for its bones. It is not an uncommon beief among Chinese traditiona medicine consumers that wid products have greater potency than farmed. 72 The SFA has caimed at internationa meetings that this internationa iega trade in skins of wid Asian big cats has been effectivey deterred. It is true that trade in hotspots such as Lhasa, Linxia and Xining is not neary as open as it was up unti 2006 but it has not been deterred, it s just gone underground. In May 2012, Indian officias sounded the aarm when informant networks reported that traders had put down a deposit and commissioned 25 tiger skins. 73 In just over a month in 2013, two tigers and nine eopards have died for trade in India; 74 seven tiger skins and bones weighing the equivaent of 14 tigers were seized in Nepa en route to China. 75 As recenty as Juy 2012, EIA documented known criminas continuing to operate, sourcing stock in the border areas with India in Ai County in the TAR, or traveing to Nepa and India to choose Asian big cat parts and products from estabished associates and arrange carriage across the border by foot, pack anima and vehice. One persistent offender in Linxia has described on three separate occasions how his reationship with Government officias has enabed him to avoid prosecution. He is aware he has been the subject of a previous media exposé and his ony concern was that the investigators were not undercover journaists. He aso gets advance warning of officia inspections, but so does the entire Province since the Forestry Bureau announces in the media its intention to undertake inspections, rendering enforcement itte more than cosmetic. 76 In addition, investigators aso found traders not previousy encountered in Lhasa and Xining. They visited retai outets seing other widife parts and products, or products manufactured in India or Nepa. In Lhasa, one trader proactivey asked investigators if they were ooking for something more specia and arranged a private viewing of two fresh tiger skins at a residence. Likewise, in Xining investigators were taken to a residence, shown a fu snow eopard skin and sku, and tod more were avaiabe. Whie none of the traders with iega Asian big cat products for sae openy dispayed Asian big cat skins, some in Linxia openy dispayed eopard skus. The more candestine nature of the trade means it is impossibe to ascertain the scope or scae of trade based soey on observationa market surveys, and the practice of pubicy announcing officia inspections in advance means market inspections are unikey to generate information since traders ensure their shops are cean.

21 INTERNATIONAL ILLEGAL TRADE IN ASIAN BIG CATS Internationa trade in parts and derivatives of Appendix I Asian big cats is prohibited under CITES. Since 2000, at east 5,559 Asian big cats have been intercepted in trade; this is based on seizures of skins, carcasses and ive big cats. Bones and skeetons have been 68, 77 discounted to avoid doube counting. This represents the deaths of at east 1,031 tigers, 4,189 eopards, 152 snow eopards, 26 couded eopards and 17 Asiatic ions; as per the INTERPOL rue of thumb, contraband seized is about 10 per cent of what is being trafficked. 79 Additionay, 136 ive tigers, four ive eopards, two ive snow eopards and two ive couded eopards have been seized, either being kept iegay or in trade. More than 90 per cent of the tota was destined for markets in China taking into account inteigence surrounding the incidents in India, Nepa, Burma, Russia and China, and historica information on markets and trafficking routes. Whie there are reativey good records of incidences of tiger and eopard trade across Asia, there is itte if any officia information regarding the trade of snow eopards and couded eopards, despite quantities documented for sae by NGOs. Further, the proportion of eopards in trade compared to tigers highights the importance of robust and timey officia reporting on a Asian big cats (covered under CITES Res. Conf. 12.5). In addition to big cat numbers identified through seizures, since 2000 a tota of 887 whoe skins have been documented for sae by EIA, the Widife Protection Society of India (WPSI) (461 skins) TRAFFIC and other NGOs and journaists (426 skins). 77 This figure does not incude the number of traditiona costumes decorated with tiger and eopard skins, often entire skins, documented and in use and trade in It is important to note that, despite being a crimina activity, trading does not necessariy take pace in the same ocations as seizures. For exampe, as a source country and with good records, India understandaby contributes a significant proportion of big cats (66 per cent) to this overa figure. However, documentation of trading occurs in often persistent markets outside of India, such as border towns, in China and TAR, where aw enforcement actions are not correspondingy refected. FIGURE 1 Tigers intercepted in trade, Incuding where ikey from captive sources (seected countries ony) Source: EIA anaysis of seizure data 67, (Unti end January) TIGER: Likey wid (a countries) TIGER: Likey captive source (ive and carcasses, specific incidents in Thaiand, Laos, Vietnam, Maaysia) 19

22 Robin Hamiton MIXED MESSAGES 20 ABOVE: The internationa community has ong recognised the threat posed by tiger farming to the surviva of wid tigers. China has one of the strictest domestic trade bans in the word, enacted in 1993, which prohibits hunting, sae, purchase and use of Tigers and Tiger products. 83 HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT How did we get to the situation where internationa commitments and nationa action pans have been based on the assumption that there is a fu tiger trade ban in the argest historica consumer of tiger parts and products? Documents circuated at CITES indicate that by 1996, reference was increasingy made to a generic domestic trade ban in China and it appears to have become common assumption that the 1993 domestic trade ban appied to a tiger parts and products, when in fact it ony appied to use of tiger bone in medicines. At a CITES Standing Committee in December 1996, the China deegation is quoted as stating: China had banned a interna trade in tiger parts and products. 81 The CITES Tiger Technica Missions, which visited China in 1999 reported: In 1993, a State Counci Order banned interna and internationa trade in rhinoceros and tiger parts and derivatives. 82 A timeine of reevant statements, quotes and events is incuded as Appendix 2 to this report. In 2005, news of a re-opening of tiger trade in China sparked nationa and internationa discussions and by 2007, at the 14th Conference of the Parties to CITES (CoP14), SFA statements became increasingy refined. It stressed it is committed to ending iega trade and that the 1993 State Counci order has not been repeaed: We seek to assure parties that China wi not bring any change in its existing poicy on domestic use of tiger bone uness it can be demonstrated to have positive effect on conservation of wid tigers internationay. 84 At the same time, there were increasing references to a domestic poicy of abeing and registering skins for ikey future use (see Appendix 2). Aso, in the Secretariat s report to CoP14 on a recent mission to China, it was confirmed that the 1993 State Counci order reates soey to tiger bones or tiger bone products. 85 Shorty after CoP14, the SFA issued a notification decaring skins of captive-bred tigers. and eopards as being of ega origin. 86 This prompted direct questions, in numerous internationa forums and in biatera diaogue, as to the status of a ega trade in captive-bred tiger skins. As recenty as May 2012, at a Stocktaking Conference of the Goba Tiger Recovery Programme in India, EIA asked the Chinese deegation if the Government aows the domestic sae of captive-bred tiger skins. The deegation stated the use of such skins is aowed for educationa or scientific purposes, and reiterated that China has a domestic trade prohibition on the use and sae of

23 tiger bone in medicines. This response does not answer our question. The SFA has neither denied it aows a ega domestic trade in captive-bred tiger skins nor openy decared it to the internationa community. To the tiger s detriment, this ack of transparency has not been adequatey chaenged, and against the backdrop of this deception the demand for and trade in tigers skins for uxury home décor has sustained a market for the skins of wid tigers and other Asian big cats. Another miseading and disingenuous tactic empoyed by officias in China, apparenty ignoring the evidence over the continued use and demand for skins of wid tigers and other Asian big cats for uxury home décor and taxidermy, has been that when discussing the iega skin trade the defaut response has been to refer to the sensitivities of addressing cutura demand for skins among Tibetans; however, this is no onger vaid. Unti 2006, skins were used to decorate traditiona costumes but, foowing targeted outreach by reigious eaders, Tibetans burned their skins and the demand and market has decined significanty. It has ceary suited the Government of China to divert attention from the trade and demand for Asian big cat skins as a uxury status symbo and home décor. It has had ampe opportunity to inform the internationa community of its extant icensing system, the scae of ega trade, the voume of tiger and eopard parts and derivatives in stockpies and the purposes of such stockpies, but has chosen instead to deiberatey ignore specific and direct questions posed by CITES and EIA. This is not compiant with the resoutions and decisions of CITES, either in etter or spirit. This poicy and attitude aso undermines the statement by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao when he shared a patform with Russian Prime Minister Vadimir Putin and other Tiger Range Countries eaders at the St Petersburg Internationa Tiger Forum in 2010, convened to aunch the Goba Tiger Recovery Programme to doube the wid tiger popuation by Premier Wen stressed: Countries shoud enforce more stringent ega and administrative instruments, and severey crack down on tiger poaching and the trade in, and smugging of, tiger products. 87 Had the SFA ceary informed the internationa community about the ega domestic trade in tiger parts, discussions over changes in nationa aw and poicy coud have been aunched a ot sooner. Feow Tiger Range Countries combating the poaching of their tigers for trade in China woud have at east understood the conservation andscape in which they were operating under the Goba Tiger Initiative. Key enforcement authorities and donor governments and conservation charities investing in enforcement and demand-reduction coud have evauated strategies in ight of a parae ega trade. Even the obby groups advocating tiger farming as a conservation soution have based their theories on there being no ega trade in tiger parts and products in China. It is cear, however, that it is not just a matter of impementing nationa reguations and aws; the very officias tasked with protecting the tiger have proactivey issued statements iustrating there is no intention to end the use of tiger parts. This ony further confuses consumers and gives hope to industry, providing a possibe expanation as to why China s captive-bred tiger popuation has grown tremendousy they are banking on extinction 88 of the wid tiger whie sitting on growing stockpies. In 2007, at the height of internationa debate over the ifting of the domestic trade ban on the use of tiger bone, the then SFA Deputy Director was quoted in the media saying he was opposed to the ban 89 and that: The ban won t be there forever, given the strong voices from tiger farmers, experts and society. 90 In 2009, a senior SFA officia in the China CITES Management Authority wrote in a nationa magazine expaining why China coud not egay impement the 2007 CITES decision caing for the phase-out of operations breeding tigers for trade in parts and products. He stated that he thought tigers shoud be bred for trade in parts and products, his main argument being that a ega trade woud aeviate pressure on wid tigers. His emphasis was on demand for tiger bone used as medicine; at no point did he acknowedge the impact of the ega trade in tiger skins on wid tigers and other Asian big cats. 91 Ironicay, at CITES Standing Committee in 2012, during discussions from the foor on tiger trade, an officia from the SFA s Widife Conservation Department acknowedged that merey discussing a market for tiger parts wi stimuate poaching. 92 ABOVE: Across the Tibetan pateau skins were burned as demand crashed in BELOW: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao cas for an end to tiger trade at the St Petersburg Internationa Tiger Forum in

24 The manager of the Siberian Tiger Park says the SFA s pan requires that by 2005 they reach 500 tigers and 1,000 by BELOW: Government poicy in China proactivey encourages breeding, domestication and utiisation of widife, incuding tigers. DEFYING THE WILL OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY The internationa conservation community, Tiger Range Countries and other Parties to CITES have ong recognised that ega trade, domestic and internationa, in tigers from any source, incuding captive-bred tigers, is not a conservation soution. The very existence of tiger farms and stockpies of parts has been seen for decades as a threat by conservation experts. (see Appendix 2). On two separate occasions 1992 and 1995 (See Appendix 2) China has considered registering commercia tigerbreeding operations for internationa trading purposes but both times withdrew forma proposas foowing intervention from the Internationa Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Cat Speciaist Group and other experts. Despite the CITES Appendix I isting for tigers, Parties recognised the future of the species depended on domestic trade prohibitions and so Res. Conf was adopted in The resoution was strengthened over the years and expanded to cover other Asian big cats subject to the same poaching and demand threats. CITES Res. Conf (Rev CoP15) now aso cas for the consoidation and destruction of stockpies of tiger parts and products, and actions to ensure parts and derivatives from captive-bred faciities do not enter trade. The resoution aso recognises that trade in skins from the tiger and other Asian big cat species appears to be escaating again, and that this trend coud fue poaching that coud ead to extinction in the wid and financia gain from the sae of ive specimens, parts and derivatives is one of the driving forces behind the iega kiing of tigers and other Asian big cats and the iega trade in specimens thereof. In the wake of the SFA s open discussion about re-opening the domestic trade in tiger bones, the CITES Secretariat undertook a mission to China in In its report, it stated: The Secretariat encountered some officias who apparenty did not appear to fuy appreciate the wording of the Resoution and that any change in China s present poicy, for exampe with regard to medicina products, woud bring it into a state of non-compiance with the recommendation of the Conference of the Parties. It is cear that the Government of China is coming under considerabe pressure from various sources to authorize resumption in the use of tiger parts and derivatives from captive-breeding operations

25 Navtej Mangat Shorty after the Secretariat fied the above reports, CITES CoP14 adopted Decision 14.69, reinforcing the etter and spirit of the Res. Conf (Rev CoP15): Parties with intensive operations breeding tigers on a commercia scae sha impement measures to restrict the captive popuation to a eve supportive ony to conserving wid tigers; tigers shoud not be bred for trade in their parts and derivatives. The Decision was adopted by consensus, with Parties voting to specificay stress that trade in this context appies not ony to internationa but aso to domestic trade. It was understood that domestic trade in parts and products of captive-bred tigers woud stimuate demand, not just for tiger products but for other Asian big cats as substitutes; over four times as many eopards have entered trade compared to tigers. The China CITES Management Authority objected to the CITES intervention on domestic issues on this occasion, but there is adequate precedent of this, incuding in the interests of China s Tibetan anteope popuations, with domestic requirements paced on India as the primary consumer. 94 Other cases where the situation is sufficienty grave to warrant CITES addressing domestic matters incude resoutions on rhinos, eephants 95, 96, 97 and sturgeon. Since 2007, the CITES Secretariat has circuated two notifications specificay requesting information to show compiance with Res. Conf and associated Decisions. In reation to impementation of Decision 14.69, in 2008 the SFA advised CITES that its nationa aws and poicy made compiance with the Decision difficut. 98 In 2010, it impied it coud not compy with CITES Resoutions and Decisions requiring domestic trade prohibitions or the phase-out of operations breeding tigers for trade because they interfere with the (sic) Parties sovereignty to contro domestic trade in CITES-isted species and invioate reevant aws and reguations of China. 99 This does not ony appy to China. With growing incidences of iega trade in captive-bred tiger parts across South-East Asia, Parties such as Thaiand, Vietnam and Laos shoud be furnishing CITES with proof they are taking action to address the probem. They have not. In the absence of any punitive action by CITES, trade in parts and products of captive-bred tigers has continued unhindered. ABOVE: Tigers in India and Nepa are sti poached for their skins. In May 2012, poachers were commissioned to source 25 tiger skins. 23

26 SOUTH-EAST ASIA TIGER FARMS ENV ENV ABOVE: Trade in tiger in Vietnam is argey from captive bred tigers. BELOW: Tiger farms ike this one in Thaiand, serve no conservation purpose. Tiger farming is not imited to China. Faciities (private zoos and farms) with captive-bred tigers exist in Thaiand, Vietnam and Laos, where tiger parts eaking into the trade have been the subject of NGO and media exposés. Based on the circumstances of seizure incidents in Thaiand, Vietnam, Laos and Maaysia, at east 291 big cats, incuding 260 tigers, appear ikey to have originated from captive-bred sources (based on the recovery of ive 100, 101 animas and carcasses ony). As with operations in China, these tigers are not bred for conservation purposes. Conservation breeding woud require maintenance of maximum genetic diversity through centray managed breeding of a popuation with fuy known ancestry, seecting particuar individuas for pairing on genetic grounds, housing the stock in faciities preserving natura behaviours and avoiding hand-rearing or use of unnatura socia groups. 102 In these countries, the vast majority of big cat interceptions invove tigers, identified during transport (ive and carcasses) or kept at private faciities. Cross-border movement is frequenty impied, whether from Thaiand into Laos or Laos into Vietnam. Additionay, despite having a arger estimated wid tiger popuation than Laos or Vietnam, Maaysia has aso been impicated in the captive trade, and tigers have been seized in Thaiand with inks to Maaysia. Captive-bred trade in South-East Asia continues and requires that countries not ony commit to their CITES obigations and rigorous monitoring, but aso undertake cooperative and sustained enforcement activities across the region. The October 2012 seizure of 16 tiger cubs in Thaiand, aegedy en route to Laos, highights how significant a contribution captive-breeding faciities make to iega trade. Evidenced by a proiferation of cases throughout the country in 2012, Thaiand s tiger trade appears aive and we, yet even those caught red-handed have been aowed to wak free. 103 In Vietnam, too, at east six ive tigers were reported seized in transport in 2012 in centra provinces bordering Laos. Tiger trade in Vietnam is mainy characterised by trade coming from Laos. An INTERPOL-coordinated operation in South-East Asia during 2012 recovered eight tiger cubs. 104 Yet there is itte evidence of convictions in these cases and reporting to CITES remains scant or non-existent. Further, there is reason to beieve some officias and businesses in Thaiand, Laos and Vietnam seek to foow in China s footsteps. In 2012, Vietnam s Ministry for Agricuture and Rura Deveopment submitted a proposa to the Prime Minister so dead tigers (from captive faciities) can be used to make specimens and traditiona medicine on a piot basis. 105 The proposa was not supported by other Government agencies and activey opposed by Vietnamese civi society, internationa NGOs and the Secretariat of the Goba Tiger Initiative. The Prime Minister subsequenty rejected the proposa. In Laos in 2009, a businessman with a farm of over 250 tigers was reported as caing for amendments under ASEAN for tigers to be treated as other agricutura animas. 106 Laos is a back hoe when it comes to CITES compiance and enforcement. Investigators in Thaiand and Vietnam know Laos operates as a hub for trade in captive-bred tigers and has tiger farms, but as a Party it has not submitted a report to indicate it has taken steps to compy with Decision

27 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Current poicies and the ega framework in China have created a favourabe environment for State-supported and private enterprise to profit from the domestication and utiisation of tigers. The breeding of tigers in captivity in China has not contributed to wid tiger conservation. In fact, the ega domestic trade in captive-bred skins is stimuating the poaching of wid tigers and other Asian big cats. Bone from captive-bred animas is used to make bone strengthening wine, but whether this is ega or not remains to be carified by the Government. With a massive captive tiger popuation, a growing bank of tiger bones and continued trader specuation that the 1993 ban wi be fuy repeaed, there are further risks associated with continuing current poicies. China s active poicies undermine the etter and spirit of the CITES resoution and the Goba Tiger Recovery Programme. It is not too ate for the Government of China to amend aws and poicies towards the recovery of wid tigers, refecting the vaue of ive tigers in the wid over that of body parts. Such changes woud have a positive impact, not just on wid tigers but other Asian big cats persecuted for the same market demand and trade. A faiure by the internationa community to take action to end the breeding of tigers for trade wi sound the death kne for wid tigers and other Asian big cats. EIA urges the Nationa Peope s Congress to revise egisation and poicies to end a trade in a parts of tigers, sourced from both wid and captive-bred tigers, as we as products and derivatives thereof, incuding products made by using tiger parts in the manufacture process, so that: stockpies of tiger parts and products can be consoidated and destroyed; cear messages are sent to tiger breeders, taxidermists, wine manufacturers, the pubic and consumers decaring an end to a demand and a trade; the nationa emphasis is on the recovery of wid tigers; tigers are not bred for trade in parts and products and tiger farms are graduay phased out; the SFA, as the representative of China to CITES, can report compiance with CITES Resoution 12.5 (Rev CoP15) and associated Decisions. EIA urges a Parties to CITES, but especiay Thaiand, Laos and Vietnam, to demonstrate commitment to CITES Resoution 12.5 (CoP15) and associated decisions by: strengthening the crimina justice system to ensure more effective enforcement outcomes against those invoved in iega tiger trade, incuding commerce in parts and products of captive-bred tigers; compying with Decision to phase out operations breeding tigers for trade in parts and products. EIA urges Parties to the 16th Conference of the Parties to CITES (Bangkok, March 2013) to note this report and impose a effective measures, incuding punitive, to stop the trade in tiger parts sourced from captive-bred tigers. Eiott Neep 25

28 APPENDICES APPENDIX 1: TABLE OF LAWS AND REGULATIONS RELATING TO TIGERS IN CHINA Date Tite Summary Source 1 Mar. 1, 1989 (amended 2004) Law of the Peope's Repubic of China on the Protection of Widife The Law reguates activities concerning the protection, domestication, breeding, deveopment and utiisation of species of widife (Artice 2). Artice 4 provides the poicy of the State which is to, inter aia, pursue active domestication and breeding of widife and rationay deveoping and utiizing widife resources. Artice 17 specificay provides that the State sha encourage the domestication and breeding of widife and that anyone who intends to domesticate and breed widife under specia state protection sha obtain a icense. Artice 22 provides that [u]nits and individuas that domesticate and breed widife under specia state protection may, by presenting their domestication and breeding icenses, se widife under specia state protection or the products thereof, in accordance with the reevant reguations, to purchasing units designated by the government. cn/porta/sga/s/2569/ content htm 2 Mar. 1, 1992 Reguations for the Impementation of the Peope's Repubic of China on the Protection of Terrestria Widife The reguations provide the procedures and rues concerning domestication and breeding operations. A domestication and breeding icense is required for the domestication and breeding of widife under specia protection by the State (Artice 22). Captive-bred widife or the products thereof can be purchased by units proposed by the SFA. cn/porta/wmq/s/3579/ content htm 3 4 May 29, 1993 Nov. 25, 1993 State Counci Circuar Concerning the Ban on Trade in Rhinoceros Horns and Tiger Bones Ministry of Heath directive on the impementation of the 1993 State Counci ban. Forbids a trade of tiger bone and rhino horn, incuding seing, buying, and transport. Products produced before the ban went into effect are aso required to be seaed and banned from trade. Provides detais on impementation of the State Counci ban such as changing the name of products containing the words rhino horn and tiger bone. /chinese/zhuanti/chunei/ htm cn/egis/cen/aws/cotsc obttorhatb696/ /showdetai.action?id= Jan.2, 2003 Forestry Protection Notice [2003] no 3 by the State Forestry Administration, State Administration of Industries and Commerce aunching a piot marking scheme appying to the enterprises utiising widife and its products. This notice estabishes a piot marking scheme for utiisation of widife products. Such markings are given to approved enterprises and/or their widife products, which wi then be aowed for transportation and trade. Under this piot scheme, the foowing circuars/notices have been issued: 10 more notices were issued under the same scheme during January 2013, expanding the ist of piot entities with the marking from the initia three to over 400. From May 1, 2004, ivory production and retai outets are incuded under the scheme, ony outets with the specia mark can egay operate. From January 1, 2005, the scheme starts to incude production and individua possession of taxidermy. Xiongsen s bone strengthening wines are granted a marking. From Juy 1, 2005, the scheme starts to incude processing and trade of pet products made of nationay protected species. From January 1, 2006, the scheme starts to incude production and trade of traditiona Chinese medicine containing eopard bones, as we as certain species of iving captive bred animas, incuding tigers and eopards. From January , the scheme starts to incude tiger skins, eopard skins and their products; Siberian Tiger Park s bonestrengthening wines are granted a marking. cn/porta/main/govfie/ 13/govfie_1076.htm cn/porta/main/govfie/ 13/govfie_1077.htm cn/porta/main/govfie/ 13/govfie_1081.htm cn/porta/main/govfie/ 13/govfie_1082.htm cn/porta/main/govfie/ 13/govfie_1103.htm cn/porta/main/govfie/ 13/govfie_1104.htm cn/porta/main/govfie/ 13/govfie_1102.htm cn/porta/main/govfie/ 13/govfie_1694.htm cn/porta/main/govfie/ 13/govfie_1787.htm cn/porta/main/govfie/ 13/govfie_1893.htm 26

29 APPENDIX 1: TABLE OF LAWS AND REGULATIONS RELATING TO TIGERS IN CHINA (CONTINUED) Date Tite Summary Source Forestry Protection [2005] no 139 by State Forestry Administration, Department of Heath, State Administration of Industry and Commerce, State Food and Drug Administration Inspection Bureau, State Administration of Traditiona Chinese Medicine Management Bureau concerning a piot project to enabe the use of captive-bred tiger bone in medicine and the gradua reduction of use of eopard bones. N/A [Note: Whie EIA has not been abe to access this notification, its tite indicates that it concerns a piot project to enabe the use of captive-bred tiger bone in medicine.] Document not avaiabe. Citation found here: Front/BanshiDT/index. htm?par1=3&par2= 295&appyType=028 5&businessFag=2 pubic.tzhospita.com/ dag/2005 年文书档案.xs com/exce/22460.htm index.aspx?menuid =4&type=articeinfo &anmuid=146&infoid =1075&anguage=cn 7 Mar. 21, 2006 State Food and Drug Administration notice [2006] no 118: Notice on matters concerning the use of eopard bones States that since January 1, 2006 the hunting of wid eopards and purchase of eopard bones have been prohibited; however, it is permissibe to use up the existing inventory of eopard bones. Externay appied medicine containing eopard bones are no onger permitted; however oray administered medicines containing eopard bones are sti permitted subject to registration with authorities and audits by the State Pharmacopoeia Commission. n/cmsweb/webporta/w /A htm 8 Sept. 1, 2006 Reguation on the administration of the import and export of endangered wid animas and pants The reguations describe the rues and procedures concerning import and export of endangered wid fauna and fora and compiance with CITES /17/content_ htm 9 Sept. 29, Notice No. 206 issued by State Forestry Administration and State Ethnic Affairs Commission regarding registration and trade of tiger and eopard pets and products thereof. Notice requests investigation, verification and registration of the origin of tiger and eopard pets and the products thereof. It defines ega origin as owned prior to the impementation of Widife Protection Law of China, egay bred, or sourced via other ega means. It aso introduces tiger and eopard pets and the products thereof to the Widife Management and Utiisation Marking Scheme (aunched in 2003). From January , those registered to be from ega origin are aowed to appy for a marking to enter trade. cn/porta/main/govfie/ 13/govfie_1092.htm 10 Dec. 25, 2009 State Forestry Notice 2009 no 298: Notice to strengthen the protection and management of wid tigers through stringent combating smugging and iega trade in tiger products Cas for stringent targeting of smugging of and iega trade in tiger products and reguation of the tiger domestication and breeding activities. The notice states that faciities must have a comprehensive record system of tracking a dead tigers. Tiger parts that have been separated into bones and skins have to be seaed and stored as per the 1993 ban to prevent any unauthorised use. cn/porta/main/govfie/ 13/govfie_1719.htm 11 Approva Guideine for the Sae, Purchase and Utiisation of Terrestria Widife under First Cass Protection or the Products Derived thereof Describes the appication and approva procedures for sae, purchase and utiisation of terrestria widife under specia State protection (incuding tigers). An appication is required to be submitted to the provincia SFA for preiminary examination however, the fina approva wi be issued by the SFA at the centra eve (Artices 6 and 7). The entire review and approva procedure is expected to be competed within 20 work days and may be extended by another 10 work days under exceptiona circumstances. The guideines describe the documents that are required to be submitted in the appication (Artice 4) cn/xxgkquickpathporta Action.do?dispatch=get WorkDetai&scope=bszn &serverid=20 27

30 APPENDIX 2: TIGER FARMING TIME LINE Year # Wid Tigers in Asia # Wid Tigers in China # Tigers in China s farms Event Description , China is home to an estimated 4,000 wid tigers when the Peope s Repubic of China is founded s Government offers bounty for kiing tigers ,000 3 China accedes to CITES US zoos ship eight ive tigers to zoos in China Tiger bones for the manufacturing of traditiona Chinese medicines become hard to obtain in China. 5 China estabishes conservation-breeding program for South China tigers in Chongqing Zoo, overseen by Nationa Environmenta Protection Agency & 7 Ministry of Forestry concentrates a Siberian tigers from United States, intended for conservation breeding, on fur farm in Heiongjiang Province to estabish Hengdaohezi Breeding Centre of Feidae Animas, China s first tiger farm, a Government-funded operation to breed 6,8, 9 & 10 tigers for profit, primariy to suppy bones for medica use. South China tiger decared near extinction & 12 Chinese Nationa Pharmaceutica Bureau gives Beijing Pharmaceutica Company remit to pan tiger farm to sove shortage of tiger bones & 12 China s aw on the protection of widife comes into effect, giving wid tigers Category 1 protection, and encourages widife farming and utiisation. 13 See Appendix 1 Fifteen tiger cubs born at Hengdaohezi Breeding Centre of Feidae Animas, bringing tota to around 50. From , the Ministry of Forestry and other government agencies spend US$1,333,350 to finance and manage this progenitor of China s tiger farming industry. 12 Indian authorities arrest poacher in Rajasthan who caims to have sent skeetons of 18 tigers to China & 7 Sacks of tiger bones are seized in India and Nepa en route over the Himaayas into Tibet for the Chinese market. The quest for bones for China medicine is the root of poaching of tigers in Nepa and Northern India. Nepa has never before had serious tiger poaching before in its fagshipchitwan Nationa Park. 12 China asks CITES CoP8 for registration of the Hengdaohezi Breeding Centre of Feidae Animas in order to trade bones and skins internationay to pay for the faciity s running costs. The deegation argues that the farm s trade woud not hurt wid tigers because their numbers are so ow they are hard for poachers to find, but withdraws proposa amid concerns from CITES Parties and NGOs that sae of farmed parts and derivatives wi stimuate and provide cover for trafficking in wid tigers. 15 Lawyers for WWF and the Nationa Widife Federation submit petition asking US Government to impose trade sanctions against China for its domestic trade in tiger (and rhino) parts and products. 16 US aw aows imposition of trade restrictions against foreign countries whose nationas engage in trade that undermines internationa programs to protect endangered species, in this case CITES ,10 & India s fagship Ranthambore Tiger Reserve oses more than haf of its tigers to poaching for bones. 30 China s State Counci issues Notification stopping a trade in/use of tiger bone and removes it from officia pharmacopeia. 19 See Appendix 1 What wi become Xiongsen Bear and Tiger Mountain Viage, China s argest tiger farm, is estabished in Guangxi Province. 20 Researchers from Northeast Forestry University and the Peope s Liberation Army University of Agricuture and Anima Husbandry hep businessman Zhou Weisen become China s most proific tiger breeder ,600-7, China notes its continued tiger-breeding operation at CITES CoP9, where Parties adopt first 24 & 25 tiger resoution, asking Parties to prohibit domestic trade in tiger parts and derivatives ,000-7, & 21 New tiger farm estabished in Shenyang, Liaoning Province CITES technica deegation visits China, which caims to have at east 944 kg of tiger bone and 48 whoe tiger skeetons secured, whie farms are producing about 200 tiger cubs annuay. The mission s report cautioned, farming woud provide an opportunity for aundering wid-caught specimens that woud simpy acceerate and/or assist current poaching and iicit trade. 28 Massive resurgence in iega trade in tiger and eopard skins from India and Nepa into China CITES CoP12 approves Resoution urging Parties and non-parties with captive-breeding operations to prevent parts and products from those faciities entering iega trade. 30 Thaiand s Sri Racha Tiger Zoo ships 100 tigers to Hainan in Sino-Thai venture to create word s argest tiger farm. Thai government finds Natura Resource and Environment Ministry officia 31 & 32 wrong in approving the export for commercia tiger farming State Forestry Administration issues Forestry Protection Notification 2003 No. 3 for a piot marking scheme for ega trade in widife products. Additiona notices wi expand this scheme to incude trade in skins from captive-bred tigers and bone-strengthening wine sod at tiger farms and purported by seers to be made with tiger bone. 33 See Appendix 1 Thirty-one tiger skins and 581 eopard skins seized at Sangsang in Tibet. 29 State Forestry Administration issues Forestry Protection Notification 2004 No. 6, extending marking scheme to aow Xiongsen Bear and Tiger Mountain Viage distiery to se bonestrengthening wine Sariska Tiger Reserve has no more tigers due to poaching for skins and bones. 35 Trader tes EIA investigators of market in uxury home décor among weathy Chinese using tiger skins to decorate their sofas , Forestry Protection Notification 2005 No. 139 announces terms of piot project for use of bones from captive-bred tigers in medicine. 37 See Appendix 1 HaiinHengdaohezi Siberian Tiger Liquor Industry Co., Ltd, is founded near Siberian Tiger Park. The company s bone-strengthening tonic wine depends on resource advantages [sic] the argest Siberian tiger breeding base in the word 38 28

31 APPENDIX 2: TIGER FARMING TIME LINE (CONTINUED) Year # Wid Tigers in Asia # Wid Tigers in China # Tigers in China s farms Event Description EIA and WPSI document the dangerous scae of demand for skins used to decorate traditiona Tibetan costumes. Investigators offered the skins of three tigers, 170 eopard skins and 60 snow eopard, and document hundreds of peope wearing costumes decorated with eopard and tiger skins , China Youth Daiy reports tiger skeetons seen soaking in acoho and tiger-bone wine for sae at Xiongsen farm s distiery, to which China s State Forestry Administration contributed neary US$1 miion for its deveopment. 40 Tiger bone wine has re-emerged on the market in China, despite a ban on the trade. Amazingy, the company s sae of these products has been approved by the State Forestry Administration. 40 Xiongsen s Cear Number One has a storage capacity of 3 miion iters of wine. Of the 1,000 containers there in 2006, 400 contained tiger parts. 27 Word Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies (WFCMS), associated with China s State Administration of Traditiona Chinese Medicine, says tiger-bone wine is not a medicine and manufacturing and saes shoud be stopped. 41 EIA and WPSI document reduction in Tibetan use of tiger skins foowing appea from reigious eaders appea to end their use ,000-5, , State Forestry Administration issues notification extending marking scheme to aow tiger skins and products from registered breeding faciities to enter trade. 43 See Appendix 1 China tes CITES CoP14 its tiger farms can provide a steady foundation for resumption of ega trade in tiger bones and fur. By the end of 2006, the captive popuation of tigers in China exceeded 5,000 animas with a capacity to reproduce 800-1,000 cubs annuay. 9 & 44 CITES CoP14 approves Decision against tiger farming and breeding tigers for trade in their parts and products The Gaup of China s survey organization pos six major Chinese cities and finds a majority of peope beieves parts and products from wid tigers are more effective and more desirabe than those from farmed tigers , Wan Ziming of China s CITES Management Authority pubishes artice outining a strategy to buid support for internationa trade in parts and products from farmed tigers. 47 EIA documents continuing trade in skins of wid tigers, eopards and snow eopards to feed into Chinese market for uxury home décor & 51 6,000 The CITES Secretariat reports evidence of eakage of tiger products from tiger farms in South East Asia. 52 Captive-breeding of tigers is occurring in severa range States but many of these faciities appear to be owned and operated in a manner that woud confict with the goas expressed in Decision Inteigence suggesting that tigers, or their parts and derivatives, from some of these faciities entering iega commercia trade is growing. 53 State Forestry Administration distributes brochures at CITES CoP15 saying, China s egisation encourages the captive breeding of endangered animas incuding tigers and that the number of tigers on China s farms has increased by 1,000 since CITES 2007 ca for the phasing out tiger farms in A activities of the existing tiger farms are in ine with Chinese aws More than 200 (work) units are engaged in tiger domestication and reproduction, up to 6,000 tigers are hed in captivity, and the annua breeding 50 & 54 capacity is over 1,000. State Forestry Administration participates in Word Bank s Goba Tiger Initiative, promising to fight iega trade and iega demand, noting it has a permit system for activities concerning farmed tigers. SFA is inspecting tiger breeding faciities and markets, and empoying a specia abe system and standardized packages with officia sea to enhance 55, 56 & 49 monitoring of tiger skins and storages of tiger bone from breeding faciities. At Russian tiger summit, Premier Wen Jiabao specificay mentions ending tiger trade rather than specifying ony iega trade Beijing auction house Googut makes pubic offering of more than 400 bottes of tiger-bone wine , CITES Standing Committee asks for Notification to stress the need for reevant 90 & 109 Parties to report on phasing out intensive tiger breeding operations. Owing to the serious threat of extinction of some popuations of tigers, the Secretariat beieves this subject shoud continue to be an agenda item at each reguar meeting of the Standing Committee China s report on Asian big cats to CITES CoP16 addresses iega tiger trade and says parts of captive-bred tigers are stricty reguated. Parts coming from captive bred tigers are abeed and monitored to prevent the captive bred tiger parts from entering the iega trade from or through such faciities. 61 REFERENCES 1. Cat News, No. 5, August Nowe, Kristin and Ling Xu (TRAFFIC East Asia, 2007), Taming the Tiger Trade: China s Markets for Wid and Captive Tiger Products Since the 1993 Domestic Trade Ban. 3. Aexander, C. (Dec. 2011),The Cry For The Tiger(Nationa Geographic Magazine), 4. CITES Trade Database, 5. Cat News, No. 1, Juy Cat News, No. 17, Sept Conrad, Kirsten (Feb. 2000), Safety in Numbers: Review of the Breeding Center for Feidae at Hengdaohezi. 8. Cat News, No. 7, August CITES Management Authority of China (2007), Key Position and Genera Introduction on Tiger Conservation in China(CITES CoP14 deegation white paper). 10. CITES Secretariat (2007), Report on the Verification and Assessment Mission to China, CITES CoP14 Doc. 52 Annex 7, doc/e14-52a07.pdf. 11. Cat News, No. 6, February Cat News, No. 15, Juy Law of the Peope s Repubic of China on the Protection of Widife (1989, amended in 2004), 14. Cat News, No. 13, Juy CITES CoP8 Committee I Summary Record (1992), cop/08/e-com-i.pdf. 16. Steve Charnovitz (1994), Environmenta Trade Sanctions and the GATT: Anaysis of the Pey Amendment on Foreign Environmenta Practices (American University Internationa Law Review, Voume 9, Issue 3, Artice 3, 1994). 17. Pey Amendment to the U.S. Fisherman sprotective Act of 1967, 22 U.S.C. 1978, as amended by Pub. L. No , 92 Stat. 714 (Sept. 18, 1978), us-conservationaws/pey-amendment.htm. 18. Anon. (Sept. 6, 1999),Profie: From Snake Trapper to Widife Protector (Xinhua Press Agency), 19. Circuar of the State Counci on Banning the Trade of Rhinoceros Horn and Tiger Bone (May 29, 1993), The current Situation of Tiger Breeding and the Facing Difficuties of the Guiin Xiongsen Tigers and Bears Mountainviage(2007),CITES CoP14 Doc. 52 Annex 8, Supra n Cat News, No. 19, Sept Cat News, No. 20, Apri CITES Res. Conf. 9.13, Conservation of and Trade in Tigers, eng/ cop/09/e9-res.pdf. 25. CITES Doc (1994),Interpretation and Impementation of the Convention: Trade in Tiger Specimens, 09/doc/ E9-Doc-29_29-4.pdf. 26. IUCN Red List, IFAW (May 2007), Made in China Farming Tigers to Extinction. 28. Report of the CITES Tiger Missions Technica Team, Doc. SC (1999). 29. EIA (2004), Tiger Skin Trai. 30. CITES Res. Conf (Rev. CoP 15), Conservation of and trade in tigers and other Appendix-I Asian big cat species, Cao, Desheng (May 13, 2004), Thai tigers safe and sound in Hainan(China Daiy), Anon. (May 4, 2004),Inteigence Pane: OK for tiger export deemed an offence (The Nation, Thaiand), INTELLIGENCE-PANEL-OK-for-tiger-export-deemed-an-o htm. 33. China Widife Utiization and Marking System, State Forestry Administration and State Administration of Commerce and Industry (2004), 2004 Pubic notice No. 6, porta/main/govfie/13/govfie_1082.htm. 35. Piai, Sridevi (June 5, 2005),Spot the tiger (The Hindu, India), CITES SC53 Summary Report (2005), 53/sum/E53-SumRec.pdf. 37. Shanghai Landscaping and Amenity Bureau (Nov. 2011),Concerning the Stockpie Audit of Marked Rare and Endangered Widife and Its Products, Type=0285&businessFag= Website of Hengdaohezi Siberian Tiger Wine Co. Ltd, chinaw3.com/wine/en/company.asp 39. EIA (2006), Skinning the Cat. 40. Zhang, K. J. (Nov. 16, 2006), China s trade in tiger bones (China Diaogue), China-s-trade-intiger-bones. 41. Jiang Zaiseng, persona communication to Save the Tiger Fund. 42. Dinerstein, E., et a. (2007), The fate of wid tigers(bioscience57(6): ). 43. State Forestry Administration and State Ethnic Affairs Commission (2007), 2007 Notice No. 206, CITES Management Authority of China (2007), Report on Impementing Resoution Conf.12.5 of CITES, CITES CoP14 Doc. 52 Annex 1, common/cop/14/doc/e14-52a01.pdf. 45. CITES Decision 14.69, Gratwicke, Brian, et a. (2008), Attitudes Toward Consumption and Conservation of Tigers in China,(PLoS ONE, Voume 3, Issue 7, Juy 2008). 47. Wan, Ziming (Feb. 2009), Can tiger bones of Captive-Bred Tigers Be Used in Medicine? (Big Nature Magazine). 48. EIA (2009),Deady Game. 49. Goba Tiger Recovery Program: Conference Document for Endorsement (2011), Recovery-Program-Nov-4.pdf. 50. CITES Management Authority of China (2010),Tiger s Conservation in China (brochure). 51. Anon. (March 12, 2010),11 Siberian tigers starve to death in China zoo (Agence France Presse), CITES CoP15 Summary Record (2010), E15-Com-II-Rec10.pdf. 53. CITES Secretariat (2010), Report on Asian big Cats, CoP15 Doc. 43.1, eng/cop/15/doc/e pdf. 54. CITES Management Authority of China (2010),Comments on CoP14 Doc.43.2 (brochure). 55. China GTRP Impementation Priorities in 2011 (Apri 2011m Dehi Workshop). 56. Goba Tiger Recovery Program Annex:Nationa Tiger Recovery Priorities Great Efforts the Chinese Government Has Undertaken to Save Wid Tigers. 57. Premier Wen Jiabao (Nov. 2010), Speech deivered at Internationa Tiger Forum, St. Petersburg, Russia (unofficia transcript prepared by the Goba Tiger Initiative), Watts, Jonathan (Dec. 6, 2011), It s reay good stuff : undercover at a Chinese tiger bone wine auction (The Guardian, UK), environment/bog/2011/dec/06/china-tiger-bone-wine-auction. 59. China s Nationa Tiger Recovery Pan to the Goba Tiger Initiative (2010). 60. CITES Secretariat (Jan. 2013), Report on Asian big cats, CoP16 Doc. 50 (Rev. 1), CITES Management Authority of China (Sept. 2012), CoP16 Doc. 50 (Rev. 1), Annex 3b, 29

32 REFERENCES 1. Ministry of Environmenta Protection of the Peope s Repubic of China (Nov. 2002), List of key nationay protected widife in the Peope's Repubic of China, t _83384.htm. 2. Yang, Q. (Oct.26, 2009),How to identify species of ion, State Forestry Poice Judicia Review Centre, p1_126_r68.htm 3. Law of the Peope s Repubic of China on the Protection of Widife (1989, amended in 2004), Art Id. 5. Id. Art Id. Art. 17.; see aso Approva Guideine for the sae, purchase and utiisation of terrestria widife under First cass protection of the products derived thereof 7. Id. Art See, e.g., Reguations for the Impementation of the Peope's Repubic of China on the Protection of Terrestria Widife (March 1, 1992). 9. Circuar of the State Counci on Banning the Trade of Rhinoceros Horn and Tiger Bone (May 29, 1993). 10. State Forestry Administration &State Administration of Industries and Commerce(Jan. 2, 2003), Forestry Protection Law 2003 no 3, Notice concerning the impementation and deveopment of the piot marking for the utiisation of widife and their products. 11. See, e.g., State Forestry Administration & State Administration of Industries and Commerce (Dec. 24, 2007), Pubic notice 2007 no 8 Batch 7 (Based on Forestry Protection Law 2003 no 3) concerning the impementation and deveopment of the piot 'marking' for the utiisation of widife and their products; see aso Annex 1: Tabe Of Reevant Laws In China. 12. Anhui Provincia Forestry Bureau (2012),Forestry Administrative Approva Notice No. 43. (ChaohuXiafeng Crafts Taxidermy Factory), Anhui Provincia Forestry Bureau (2012), ForestryApprova Audit Report No. 16 (ChaohuXiafeng Crafts Taxidermy Factory), xxgkweb/showgkcontent.aspx?xxnr_id= Anhui Provincia Forestry Bureau (2011), ForestryApprova Audit Report No. 10(ChaohuXiafeng Crafts Taxidermy Factory), Anhui Provincia Forestry Bureau (2010), ForestryApprova Audit Report No. 18(ChaohuXiafeng Crafts Taxidermy Factory), Anhui Provincia Forestry Bureau (2009), ForestryApprova Audit Report No. 27(ChaohuXiafeng Crafts Taxidermy Factory), main/mode/newinfo/newinfo.do?infoid= Anhui Provincia Forestry Bureau (2009), ForestryApprova Audit Report No. 26(ChaohuXiafeng Crafts Taxidermy Factory), main/mode/newinfo/newinfo.do?infoid= Internationa Fund for Anima Wefare (IFAW) (2012), Making a Kiing: A 2011 Survey of Ivory Markets in China. 19. Wu Qijunet a., (Feb. 1996), Determination of Siberian tiger skeeta musce, protein and fat content and anaysis of its amino acids and fatty acids, More, V. (Sept. 2, 2007),Can The Wid Tiger Survive? Science. Vo No pp ShanghaiLandscaping and Amenity Bureau (Nov. 2011),Concerning the Stockpie Audit of Marked Rare and Endangered Widife and Its Products, appytype=0285&businessfag= Zhejiang Taizhou Hospita (2005),List of reevant notices issued in 2005, 年文书档案.xs. 23. Hunan SanhongPharmaceutica Company Limited (Dec. 2005), Rea Tiger Wine Project Feasibiity Studies Report. 24. Anon., (March 4, 2003),The Word s Ony Twin Tiger Cub Taxidermy (Southern Metropois Daiy News), 04/ s.shtm. 25. Changsha Chinese Kuomintang Revoutionary Committee (May 19, 2009), Previousy Fought on a Battefied, Now the Batte is in the Market: An Introduction to the Achievements of Comrade Zhu Yugang, Changsha Science and Technoogy Commission (2011),9th Batch of Major Programmes of Technoogica Panning, %C4%EA/2011%C4%EA%B5%DA%BE%C5%C5%FA%28%B9% AB%CA%BE%A3%A9.xs. 27. Peope s Government of Changsha County Jinjing (Dec. 2011), Work Summary of Jinjing Town Agricuture Office for Year 2011, Ministry of Commerce New Countryside Business Web (posted Dec. 2011), Advertisement offering Taxidermy / Tiger Bone Wine by Sanzhen Anima Taxidermy, Buetin Board System advertisement on Rednet offering Rea Tiger Wine (posted June 2006), Buetin Board System message on Baidu by a consumer of Rea Tiger Wine (posted Dec. 2006), Advertisement on Qianiyan website offering Rea Tiger Wine in Beijing (posted Dec. 2010), / / htm. 32. Beian Internationa (undated),powerpoint presentation onrea Tiger Wine, Nowe, K. and Xu, Ling. (TRAFFIC East Asia) (2007),Taming the Tiger Trade: China s Markets for Wid and Captive Tiger Products Since its 1993 Domestic Trade Ban. 34. CITES Management Authority of China (Sept. 2012), CoP16 Doc. 50 (Rev. 1), Annex 3b. 35. Anon. (Sept. 10, 1999), From Snake Trapper to Widife Protector(Xinhua Press Agency). 36. U.S. Department of the Interior (June 9, 1993),Administration moves to hat internationa trade in tiger and rhino parts(news reease). 37. U.S. Department of the Interior (Sept. 7, 1993),Peope's Repubic of China, Taiwan cited for iega trade in rhinos, tigers(news reease). 38. China CITES Management Authority (2010), Tiger s Conservation in China (brochure distributed by China s CITES Management Authority at CITES CoP15). 39. CITES Management Authority of China (Sept. 2012), CoP16 Doc. 50 (Rev. 1), Annex 3b. 40. CITES Secretariat (2012),Conservation of and trade in tigers and other Appendix-I Asian big cat species (Notification 2012/054). 41. Id. 42. IFAW (May 2007),Made in China Farming Tigers to Extinction. 43. South China Morning Post (Apr. 24, 2007),Bad Medicine, Penman, D. (March 12, 2007),The Factory Farm Tigers Being Turned into Wine (Daiy Mai, UK), /The-factory-farm-tigers-turned-wine.htm. 45. Guo, L., & Su, Y. T. (March 2, 2006),Lion Bones for Show? Made Using Tiger Bones? Bone Strengthening Wine s Coud of Suspicion(Southern Weeky), Anon. (Nov. 20, 2012),Siberian tiger popuation roars in NE China (China Daiy), Nowe, K. &Xu, Ling (TRAFFIC East Asia) (2007),Taming the Tiger Trade: China s Markets for Wid and Captive Tiger Products Since its 1993 Domestic Trade Ban. 48. Anon. (Feb. 2006), Shanghai Wid Anima Park secrety seing tiger bone deer vevet wine (Youth Times), Anon. (25 March 2010). Zoos profit from dead animas by brewing tiger bone wine. Xinmin Weeky, China. Link: / _4.shtm 50. Mutou (Sept. 2010), This Thing Caed Life (Chapter 3, Sina Onine Books) Miao, Li. (Dec. 15, 2003), Many interesting anima marriages at Nanning Zoo Captive breeding must be the good matchmaker (Guangxi Web News) Shui, J. Y. (Jan. 23, 2008), Story About Zoos Intentionay Harming and Trafficking Animas (Peope s Web), /114256/ htm. 53. Zhang, J. W. (March 17, 2010), Tiger-bone iquor open secret in zoo (China Daiy), content_ htm. 54. Anon. (March 17, 2010), Staff in charge at Shenyang Zoo stated that tiger bone wine, which started production in 2005, was for gifts to bribe the high-eves (China Daiy), 17/content_ htm. 55. Watts, J. & Han, Y. (March 17, 2010),Chinese zoo cosed amid tiger starvation investigation (The Guardian, UK), word/2010/mar/17/chinese-zoo-tiger. 56. Jiangsu Sateite Teevision (Feb 18, 2012), Retired back bear of Nanjing Pear Spring Zoo aegedy wine to make bie wine(tv News Report), EIA (2008) Avaiabiity of Tiger Bone Wine at Widife Parks in China, bone-wine-atwid-anima-parks-in-china. 58. Nowe, K. &Xu, Ling (TRAFFIC East Asia) (2007), Taming the Tiger Trade: China s Markets for Wid and Captive Tiger Products Since its 1993 Domestic Trade Ban. 59. Advertisement on Baiduof Badaing Safari Word s Beidacang Tiger Bone Wine, EIA (2008),Avaiabiity of Tiger Bone Wine at Widife Parks in China, wine-atwid-anima-parks-in-china. 61. Anon. (June 12, 2008),Officias vow to punish sae of tiger bone wine(xinhua News Agency), /12/content_ htm. 62. Advertisement offering Beidacang Tiger Wine, product-y3rzb2h1ldizmjc1.htm. 63. Advertisement offering Beidacang Tiger Wine, bdcj/ Advertisement offering Beidacang Tiger Wine, 12ztz/2012b/czcp/201208/t _ htm. 65. Advertisement offering Beidacang Tiger Wine, tbc/mode.php?id= Advertisement offering Tiger Wine on Beidacang officia website See, e.g., Anon. (Juy 15, 2009), Activists say Maaysia is osing batte to save Tigers (Dawn) (The Maaysian Conservation Aiance for Tigers (MyCat) is quoted in the artice discussing captive breeding into trade), EIA Methodoogy and sources for Asian big cats identified in trade, Figures at the time of writing (end January 2013). Updated from EIA submitted comments to the USFWS for addition to the Federa Register on the species proposas under consideration at CoP16 in Bangkok in March, To gain a picture of overa trade, figures were compied in two sets and combined: (1) For India ony, figures are soey sourced from the Widife Protection Society of India (WPSI). WPSI maintains the best records regarding widife trade within India. For tigers and eopards: WPSI website, accessed 28th January From categories tiger and eopard deaths period ; and poaching and seizures period 2012 and 2013 unti date accessed. See WPSI website for breakdown and further detais: Figures for couded eopard, snow eopard and ion were kindy provided to EIA by WPSI (5th October 2012). (2) For outside India, figures for skins, ive and carcasses ony as representative of whoe ABCs come from seven groups of sources, compied and graded by EIA: (i) Officia Government submissions to CITES and Goba Tiger Initiative (ii) Pubished information from nationa Poice and Customs (iii) Pubished information from intergovernmenta bodies ICPO-INTERPOL (Environmenta Crime Programme) and ASEAN-WEN (iv) EIA investigations (v) Percommunications to EIA (vi) Pubished reports, briefings, buetins and press reeases from NGOs and speciaist groups: Education for Nature Vietnam (ENV), FREELAND Foundation, Fora and Fauna Internationa (FFI), Widife Conservation Society (WCS), Widife Conservation Nepa (WCN), Snow Leopard Network, Widife Watch Group, TRAFFIC, WWF, Widife Friends of Thaiand (WFFT), WidTeam (formery Widife Trust of Bangadesh), Widife Aiance, Zooogica Society London (ZSL), Amur Leopard and Tiger Aiance (ALTA) (vii)journaistic media sources, both print and broadcast, in both Engish and Mandarin anguage. Corroborated where possibe through contacts and against additiona sources. NB. In one instance, China reported a tota of ABCs identified over the period 1999-Apri 2005 with no annua breakdown of ABC by derivative. Over 92% of cases occurred in the reporting period used in this report. After cross-referencing existing records over the same period to avoid dupicate counts, the appropriate number, in this case appicabe ony to eopards and snow eopards, has been incuded here and not incuded in annua graphs as not ascribed to a particuar year. Source: CITES CoP14 Doc. 52 Annex EIA (2004),The Tiger Skin Trai, the-tiger-skin-trai-report. 70. EIA (2011),Key Features of the Asian Big Cat Trade , EIA (2009),Tiger Farming Economics Don t Add Up, Kristin Nowe (2010), Tiger Farms and Pharmacies: The Centra Importance of China s Trade Poicy for Tiger Conservation, in, Tigers of the Word: The Bioogy, Poitics, and Conservation of Pantheratigris (Tison, R. L., &Nyhus, P. J., eds.). 73. Pinjarkar, V. (May 16, 2012),Red aert in Maharashtra as poachers get order for 25 tigers(the Times of India), times.com/ /nagpur/ _1_tiger-skin-wccb-tiger-poachers. 74. Widife Protection Society of India (WPSI), INTERPOL (Jan. 23, 2013), Nepa poice seize tiger parts and arrest seven during inteigence-ed actions, Newsand-media/News-media-reeases/2013/N Anon. (Dec. 7, 2012),Lanzhou initiates specia actions to protect widife(western Business Daiy), htm. 77. EIA-WPSI investigations to China and TAR, (chupa not incuded); Shepherd, Chris R. & Magnus, Noan (TRAFFIC Southeast Asia) (2004), Nowhere to hide: The trade in Sumatran Tiger;Oswe, A H. (2010) (TRAFFIC Southeast Asia), The Big Cat Trade in Myanmar and Thaiand; Current TV s Vanguard documentary series (2011)( visited Mong La and evidenced skin trading). 79. Bryan Christy (Oct. 2012), Bood Ivory (Nationa Geographic), CITES SC37 Summary Report (1996). 82. CITES SC42 Summary Report (1999). 83. TRAFFIC & WWF (2009), Deciding the Tiger s Future, CITES SC58 Inf Intervention ofchina s CITES Management Authority at CITES CoP14 (2007), in, TRAFFIC India (2007), The roar of the tiger(2007). 85. CITES Secretariat (2007), Report on the Verification and Assessment Mission to China, CITES CoP14 Doc. 52 Annex State Forestry Administration & State Ethnic Affairs Commission (Sept. 29, 2007), 2007 Notice No. 206 regarding registration and trade of tiger and eopard pets and products thereof. 87. Premier Wen Jiabao (November 2010), Speech deivered at Internationa Tiger Forum, St. Petersburg, Russia (unofficia transcript prepared by the Goba Tiger Initiative), 01/internationa-tiger-forum/. 88. Bute, E. H., et a.,(2012), Banking on Extinction: Endangered Species and Specuation. (Oxford Review Economic Poicy, Vo. 28 Issue 1, p ). 89. Anon. (Juy 8, 2007), Officia: don t be squeamish about tiger bones (China Daiy), content_ htm. 90. Anon. (June 19, 2007), China tiger trade ban won t ast: officia (Reuters News), Wan, Z. (2009), Can Tiger Bones of Captive Bred Origins Be Used in Medicine?(Nature, Vo. 2. p14-17). 92. Discussion during CITES SC62, Juy CITES Secretariat (2007), Report by the CITES Secretariat on its Verification and Assessment Mission to China (CoP14 Doc 52 Annex 7). 94. CITES Res. Conf (Rev. CoP 13), Conservation of and contro of trade in the Tibetan anteope. 95. CITES Res. Conf (Rev. CoP15), Conservation of and trade in African and Asian rhinoceroses. 96. CITES Res. Conf (Rev. CoP15), Trade in eephant specimens. 97. CITES Res. Conf (Rev. CoP14), Conservation of and trade in sturgeons and paddefish. 98. CITES SC57 Summary Record (2008). 99. China CITES Management Authority (2010), CoP15 Inf Supra n Supra n Sarah Christie, Zooogica Society of London. 103.Widife Friends Foundation Thaiand (Jan. 31,, 2013), Tweet update, INTERPOL (Aug. 29, 2012), Pangoin traffickers arrested in INTERPOL operation across Asia, Kumar, S. (May 17, 2012),Vietnam proposes egaising use of tiger parts in traditiona medicines (Down to Earth), content/vietnam-may-egaise-use-tiger-parts-traditiona-medicines. 106.Anon. (Aug. 2009),Laos business peope do tiger farming for export (Target magazine). pp ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTIGATION AGENCY (EIA) 62/63 Upper Street London N1 0NY, UK Te: +44 (0) Fax: +44 (0) emai: ukinfo@eia-internationa.org EIA - WASHINGTON, DC PO Box Washington, DC USA Te: Fax: emai: info@eia-goba.org