"Tigers are being persecuted across their range poisoned, trapped, snared, shot and squeezed out of their homes," said Mike Baltzer, Leader of WWF's Tiger Initiative. "But there is hope for them in this Year of the Tiger. There has never been such a committed, ambitious, high-level commitment from governments to double wild tiger numbers. They have set the bar high and we hope for the sake of tigers and people that they reach it." In the U.S., the government does not track how many tigers are in captivity within its borders, where they are, who owns them, or what happens to their body parts when they die. In many states, there are no controls on individuals keeping tigers as pets. Current estimates indicate that there are more than 5,000 tigers in captivity in the United States, more than exist in the wild. A registration scheme for all captive tigers and a means to monitor disposal of dead tigers is urgently needed to ensure they aren't exploited for the illegal trade.
In the lead up to the Vladivostok Summit, all 13 tiger range countries recently committed to the goal of doubling tiger numbers by 2022 at a ministerial meeting in Hua Hin, Thailand. They will be helped in this goal by WWF and other members of the Global Tiger Initiative. The Summit will be co-hosted by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and World Bank President Robert Zoellick.
"We may not get another opportunity like this with so much political will from the tiger range countries and attention from so many institutions and people around the world," said Sybille Klenzendorf, Director of the WWF-US Species Program. "The situation for tigers is a sobering one, but if we seize this moment and maintain i
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| Contact: Lee Poston lee.poston@wwfus.org 202-299-6442 World Wildlife Fund Source:Eurekalert |