Endangered Sumatran tiger body parts sold openly in Indonesia

Hides and bones of endangered Sumatran tigers are sold openly in Indonesia for traditional medicines and jewelry, an environmental group said in a report published Wednesday.

The Britain-based wildlife monitoring network TRAFFIC, said tiger body parts, including canine teeth, claws, fur, whiskers and bones were on sale in 10 percent of the 326 retail outlets surveyed during 2006 in 28 cities and towns across Sumatra,

Based on the number of teeth on sale, the group estimated that 23 tigers were killed to supply the products sold by goldsmiths, souvenir and antique shops and traditional Chinese pharmacies.

The number declined the group's previous survey in 1999-2002, when estimated 52 tigers were killed.

"Sadly, the decline in availability appears to be due to the dwindling number of tigers left in the wild," said Julia Ng, TRAFFIC's program officer for South-East Asia.