Environment

Tigers decapitated by poachers

by Lazylizards | January 8, 2009 at 04:52 am

178 views | 17 Recommendations | 3 comments

The picture and the story will make you sick. But, quite often, we need to be shocked to want to do something about it.

Heads and carcasses of tigers have been seized from poachers in Thailand. The tigers were believed to be smuggled from Malaysia and on their way to China where their body parts can be used as meat, aphrodisiac or medicine.

A tiger can sell for around £800 - but, broken into body parts, their value can soar to £26,500.

With profits so high, traffickers are usually armed and ready to do battle - and China is one of the world's biggest markets for tigers.

Last month Malaysia, where the tigers were believed to have been captured, announced plans to step up its protection of the rare creatures.

Numbers of Malayan tigers have dropped in Malaysia from 3,000 to 500 in the past half-century mostly because of illegal hunting and the human encroachment.

Tiger meat is exported, served at exotic restaurants and used in traditional Chinese medicine.

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Amy Judd

at 11:31 on January 8th, 2009

This may be violent, but I would actually like to do the same thing to the poachers that did this - it makes me sick. (I am not usually a violent person)

Yuliya Talmazan

at 11:39 on January 8th, 2009

Horrible. I regret that markets for tiger body parts exist. This stems from the lack of education and responsibility. Until that is fixed, violent poaching will continue.

Barbara McPherson

at 17:52 on January 8th, 2009

Does anyone know what the dark cat in the bottom right of the photo is. The great cats are so beautiful and so vulnerable. We have a problem with poaching of black bears for their parts here in B.C.