U.S. may be responsible for nearly half of recent illegal tiger trade

U.S. may be responsible for nearly half of recent illegal tiger trade

The United States may play an important and previously underappreciated role in the trafficking of tiger parts, a new study suggests. The study identified San Francisco, Dallas and Atlanta as the main entry hotspots for these illegal products.

Tigers are endangered and it is estimated that fewer than 5,000 tigers remain in the wild. The illegal trade in tiger parts, mainly for medicinal purposes, has led to the decline of the species.

Previous research on tiger trafficking patterns has focused on 13 Asian countries where tigers still roam freely, with little research on the United States.The new study was published in Conservation Science and Practice, which investigated the extent and attributes of tiger parts entering the United States from 2003 to 2012.

Figures obtained by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under a Freedom of Information Act request show 292 seizures of tiger parts illegally entering the U.S. over the years, suggesting the scale of the trade may be underestimated.One Learning in 2019For example, between 2000 and 2018, 624 seizures of illegal tiger products were recorded, but according to media reports, only 6 are estimated to have occurred in the United States.

Tiger products seized by the Fish and Wildlife Service in the United States. Photo: Steve Winter.

“Americans have a false notion that the illegal trade in tiger parts is half a world away. In fact, we are involved in and facilitate a large portion of the illegal trade in the U.S.,” said lead author, Columbia University doctoral student, nonprofit organization Founder Sarika Khanwilkar says wild tiger“This study is a step toward better understanding the U.S. role in the global tiger trade, which will improve policy and enforcement, and guide future research efforts.”

China has been and remains the main destination and largest consumer of tiger parts, but new data show that U.S. import seizures accounted for almost half (46.8 per cent) of global seizures.

Khanwilkar and her co-authors warn that their study may also underestimate the scale of U.S. tiger trafficking, as the use of digital platforms to trade and pay for illegal wildlife products has increased and economic prosperity has expanded demand. The data also did not reflect recent trends; following the team’s initial FOIA request in 2013, regulations surrounding FOIA requests to the Fish and Wildlife Service limited the quality of data available.

The researchers found that 99.5 percent of the 65.8 percent of the known source parts seized were from wild tigers. Most of the seized products were imported from China and Vietnam (34.2% and 29.5%, respectively). However, the lack of data on the country of origin (which may be different from the country of export) makes it difficult to identify trafficking routes or understand where wild tigers are poached for trade.

The authors propose several ways to better monitor sources and trafficking routes to improve policy and enforcement, and ultimately contribute to the conservation of wild tigers.

For example, they recommend increased testing efforts in San Francisco, Dallas and Atlanta, which are major hotspots for illegal tiger imports.

They also recommend using Forensic DNA Analysis Identify the source and origin (wild and captive) of illegally traded tiger parts. Identifying the source of these tiger parts will guide conservation and enforcement priorities.

Co-authors of the study include Monique Sosnowski, a doctoral student at the John Jay School of Criminal Justice, and Sharon Guynup, a journalist, National Geographic Explorer and global researcher at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.