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We have long been alerted to the existence of tiger breeding farms in China. The farms say it is all for conservation – tigers are bred to be released in wild. No chance of that – you cannot take a captive bred tiger and expect it to survive in the wild. China also says they are doing the same with their captive breeding programmes for pandas – it is not happening.

An article in the Mail Online published in 2010 shows what goes on at the Xiongshen Tiger and Bear Village, Guilen. Emaciated tigers encouraged to die so their bones can be sold at $14,400/kg. Vats of tiger bone wine are displayed openly. China has 1,500 tigers in captivity, about half of the remaining world tiger population – none of which have any hope to be returned to the wild and are therefore useless to conservation efforts.  Recent questions by CITES about these farms were rejected by China as it does not fall under international trade. South African tiger breeders happily provide extra stock to Chinese “zoos” – read tiger mills for consumption.

China was a signatory to what I will term the Great Tiger Hopeful Recovery Programme initiated by now Russian President Vladimir Putin. The World Bank signed up for funding. China probably elected not to pay much attention, as they have likely already lost all wild tigers within their borders.

Tiger concentration camps provide tiger products. China will augment a demand for those products with substitute lion bones. Make no mistake here – the large cat bone trade is growing and will involve a great further challenge to wild tigers and now lions via poaching. Complacency will kill the big cats, and Africa will continue to lose lions. We MUST shut down the tiger and lion breeding farms in China, Vietnam and South Africa as they provide no conservation benefit to the species WHATSOEVER and they are flaunting every accepted animal welfare regulation. 

Picture credit: Sinopix and Mail Online