Ban on tiger bone trade wont last forever: Chinese official

A Chinese wildlife official has said that a 14-year ban on the trade of bones from tigers bred in captivity, for traditional medicines, would not last forever.

New Delhi, June 19 : A Chinese wildlife official has said that a 14-year ban on the trade of bones from tigers bred in captivity, for traditional medicines, would not last forever.

Deputy director of the department of wildlife conservation of the State Forestry Administration, Wang Wei, said that though the ban is in place, the issue is open for review.

In an interview to the China Daily, he said that any decision in this regard would be taken after conducting comprehensive studies on whether the lifting of the ban would reduce poaching and help conservation of tigers in the wild globally. "The ban won't be there forever, given the strong voices from tiger farmers, experts and society," Wang said, adding, "It will be a waste if the resources of dead tigers are not used for traditional medicine".

Wang's comments came after international wildlife groups last week expressed the fear that any sales could drive the wild cats to extinction.

But Wang said that Chinese research suggests that the trade of bones from tigers that are bred in captivity and die of natural causes would not affect the conservation of wild tigers.

He went on to say that authorized breeding and trade might, in fact, benefit the survival of the tiger.

According to the paper, about 50 tigers live in the wilderness in China and around 5,000 in captivity. In farms, some 1,000 are born each year, roughly the same number as those which have died naturally over the years.

Tiger parts are used in Chinese medicine to cure illnesses ranging from colds to rheumatism.

ANI