Humane Tiger Farms in China
In a country where animal welfare laws are entirely absent and where
existing wildlife farms (which are sanctioned and considered legal) are
mired in appalling welfare conditions and rampant illegal practices, it
is undeniably short sighted to promote tiger farms as the 'cure all'
that will accelerate and solve in-situ conservation of the species in
the wild.
Whilst veterinary practices are broadening in scope and expertise in
China, it remains a fact (even by Chinese vets' own admission) that
animal husbandry, clinical and surgical expertise, and even basic
veterinary practices are at least 30 years behind the West. At a time
when hundreds of thousands of dogs are being cruelly bludgeoned to death
in the streets to solve the problems of rabies; when animal anaesthesia
is still largely practiced using drugs now redundant in the West;
and where the import of reliable drugs and anaesthetics remains
difficult at best and impossible at worst, it seems a little
incongruous, if not premature, to be sanctioning the so-called 'humane'
rearing and slaughter of tigers on the farms.
Animals Asia team members - including professional veterinarians -
have been studying, researching and condemning bear farms almost since
they were first proclaimed as the saviour of the species in the wild.
Since the early 1990's we have repeatedly found that the regulations
which the Government promote as hygienic, humane and conservation-based,
actually fail to meet even the most basic international requirements -
and fail the animals themselves who suffer a tortured, miserable
existence at the hands of people who cleverly disguise the reality of
the facilities they run.
The evidence we have gathered through investigations of over 30 bear
farms in China and over 200 surgeries performed on rescued bears;
together with interviews with bear farm owners themselves, confirms that
the farmers are deliberately flouting current welfare regulations on
these farms at all levels. They are also paying local villagers in rural
areas to trap cubs to supplement the trade. Despite the existence of
laws authorising domestic trade only, there is substantial evidence that
medicines and parts from this CITES Appendix I endangered species are
finding their way into illegal markets across the world.
I cannot imagine therefore, why people with the same vested interests
in promoting tiger farms in China would act any differently to those who
farm the bears.
My own visits to tiger farms - both overt and covert - have also
proven that what "official" guests and visitors are shown and told is
far removed from the actual practices of a cruel and illegal trade which
is allowed to continue unabated. Vendors desperate for sales actively
promote the purchase and sale of tiger parts and even advise on ways to
circumvent customs regulations in virtually any country in the world to
eager consumers who couldn't give a damn about domestic or international
laws.
Bear farmers are clearly not meeting dismal domestic welfare and
conservation standards, let alone internationally accepted levels.
Neither can those who run current tiger "breeding" facilities be
prevented from engaging in the illicit sale of tiger bones and other
parts. So why on earth should we be so naive and complacent to accept
that a new breed of tiger farms, run by the very same people who are at
the forefront of these cruel and illegal practices, could save the tiger
from its current path of doom.
Jill Robinson MBE
Founder & CEO
Animals Asia Foundation
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