An updated analysis of tiger seizures from 12 tiger range countries (2000-2012)

In 2010, TRAFFIC produced Reduced to Skin and Bones: An Analysis of Tiger Seizures from 11 Tiger Range Countries (2000-2010) (Verheij, 2010). The purpose of the present report is to provide an updated situational analysis of the current illegal Tiger Pantherea tigris trade picture and to gain an improved understanding of one of the greatest threats to the Tiger's survival. This report also aims ot illustrate the need, use, practicability and direction that can be gained from the central collation and analysis of seizure data. Its conclusions outline the need for Tiger range and consumer countries to agree on and adhere to a standardized format for sharing and reporting data on poaching and illegal trade.

In this region almost all wildlife trade is illegal and unsustainable, driven by voracious consumer demand.

Attention to wildlife crime is increasingly being elevated to higher political levels through a number of potentially powerful initiatives such as the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC) and INTERPOL’s Project Predator. There are some strong developments in regional enforcement networking in South Asia and Central America. There is a growing recognition that wildlife trade is a driver of positive and negative impacts for wildlife conservation and that the significance of the impacts cannot be ignored.

The international ivory trade remains one of the world’s most controversial wildlife trade issues. In recent decades, public attention has focused primarily on trade in ivory derived from the African Elephant Loxodonta africana.

An undercover survey of traditional Chinese medicine shops in New York City and San Francisco found that illegal products made from endangered species are widely available.