Large-scale illegal wildlife trade in S Asia
Guwahati, India, Dec 30, 2007 (The Assam Tribune) - Poor protection, proximity to a large market and abysmal implementation of wildlife laws have put in peril a range of wild flora and fauna in large parts of South Asia. In recent times illegal trade in wildlife has proliferated in North East India, Nepal, and Bhutan creating what could be called a conservation nightmare. Even though no precise figures exist about the illegal trade in wildlife in this region, estimates put it at least more than a billion dollars.
African Ivory Headed for One-Time Auction
Washington, December 29, 2007 (NPR – US) - Sometime early next year, tons of African ivory will be sold at auction to Japan. Despite the international ban on the trade, South Africa, Botswana and Namibia will be allowed a one-time purge of their stockpiled ivory. Conservationists hope the sale won't reignite widespread demand for elephant tusks. Interviews include Philip Muruthi of BCTF Member African Wildlife Foundation (AWF).
Reality of wildlife illegal trade in eye of tourist
Vietnam, Dec 29, 2007 (Thanh Nien News) - The illegal trade of wild animals for meat and food in local high-class restaurants is showing no signs of decreasing despite the growing threat to the country's endangered species. Chet Clark, a Canadian tourist traveling around Vietnam, was so concerned about the protection of native animals here, he did some research into the trade and tracked down the head of a local NGO called WAR (Wildlife At Risk) which aims to stop the market in wild meat.
Exotic dishes threaten wildlife, says Surayud
Bangkok, Thailand, Dec 27, 2007 (Bangkok Post) - The country's wildlife population is in decline due to rising demand from restaurants serving ''exotic dishes'' and the illegal wildlife trade, Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said yesterday. Speaking on National Wildlife Protection Day, Gen Surayud, a dedicated nature lover, urged the public to help save wildlife. “The Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act has been enforced for over three decades, but few people care about wild animals now,” he said. “They still eat them, hunt them, and sell them for money.”
Scientists see poaching risk at coral reef
Australia, Dec 27, 2007 (TheWest.com) - Scientists are concerned that poachers are targeting a coral reef 250km from the Broome coast because it is teeming with shark species used in shark's fin soup and valuable marine invertebrates such as trochus, trepang and giant clams.
Fight against endangered species trade in focus
Ho Chi Minh City, Dec 26, 2007 (Vietnam News Service) - As 2007 draws to a close and Tet (Lunar New Year) approaches, conservation agencies are stepping up efforts to combat illegal trafficking in endangered species. The Ho Chi Minh City Environmental Police Department, working alongside the Forest Protection Department, recently smashed a smuggling ring in the province of Ha Tinh. Among the animals found in their possession were a tiger and a 30 kilogramme bear thought to be destined for a dinner table. …This year, the City’s Forest Protection Department has uncovered 38 cases of illegal trafficking involving some 503 endangered animals and 3,640 kilogrammes of exotic animal meat. Among the animals seized were snakes, lizards, long-tailed monkeys, tigers and bears worth hundreds of millions dong.
Activists aim to protect antelopes from shawl trade
New Delhi, India, Dec 26, 2007 (Los Angeles Times) - "Help me, please," pleads the chiru on the poster that adorns several up-market boutiques across this capital city and beyond. …Alarmed conservationists in India have launched a massive campaign to encourage weavers of shahtoosh to organize themselves to promote an alternative fashion brand: the pashma, a handcrafted, traditional Kashmiri pashmina made from the wool of non-endangered, domesticated Himalayan goats.
Chinese Police Seek Siberian Tiger Killer
Beijing, China, Dec 24, 2007 (Reuters) - A rare Siberian tiger was skinned and beheaded in a Chinese provincial zoo and police are offering a reward for information leading to the killer or killers.
Thailand Could Host 2,000 Wild Tigers
Bangkok, Thailand, Dec 24, 2007 (AP) — Thailand's parks and wildlife reserves could hold up to 2,000 wild tigers, about three times their current level, but only if the government steps up efforts to control poaching, researchers said Monday.
Zimbabwe: Country Intensifies Rhino Dehorning
Harare, Zimbabwe, Dec 24, 2007 (The Herald) - Zimbabwe has intensified dehorning all the rhinos under the "save the rhino campaign" in a bid to curb rampant poaching of one of the world's most endangered species.
Customs gets weapon against bear bile
New Zealand, Dec 23, 2007 (Sunday Star Times) - The bile has a reputation for relieving fever and cleansing the liver but the practice of extracting it is widely condemned as inhumane. Customs began trialling testing for the bile this month, focusing on goods imported through Auckland. It is illegal to trade bear bile and other bear parts here. Offenders face a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment and/or a fine of up to $100,000.
Success in saving India's Asiatic lion poses new problems
Gir, India, Dec 23, 2007 (AFP) - Success in saving the rare Asiatic lion in India has in turn created new challenges to the king of the jungle in its last natural habitat, as problems with human encroachment and poaching mount. … A wake-up call to the growing troubles for the lion in the Gir forests came this year, when more than 30 of the animals died between January and November -- the most lion deaths in one year on official record.
Slow loris trade in Indonesia under scrutiny
Dec 22, 2007 (The Telegraph – UK) - Their enormous round eyes and cuddly coats make the Slow loris one of the world's most appealing animals. Unfortunately the same characteristics make it a prime target for poachers who sell the small and vulnerable creature as 'pets'.
Poachers hot on jumbo trail
Bhubaneswar, India, Dec 22, 2007 (New India Press) - What Sansar Chand had done to tigers of Sariska, Asfaque and Ram Thapa are doing to the elephants of Orissa.
Slowly but surely, the jumbos are being hunted down, their tusks fetching millions in wildlife trade circuits across the country. Thapa was nabbed by police last fortnight but Asfaque continues to evade arrest.
Mobile teams to nab poachers during Eid holidays
Lahore, Pakistan, Dec 21, 2007 (The Post) - Punjab Wildlife Department, on the directive of Punjab chief minister, has constituted mobile teams to launch a campaign during Eid holidays against poachers, to discourage illegal hunting and preserve wildlife in the province.
EU Seeks Unified Stance on Protecting Whales
Brussels, Belgium, Dec 21, 2007 (Reuters) - The European Union's executive adopted proposals on Thursday to help the 27-nation bloc speak with one voice when it comes to protecting whales.
World's most expensive six-pack goes for $15,000
Dec 21, 2007 (Financial Post) - A six-pack of Stella? That will be $15,000, please.
A limited edition collection of the Belgium beer maker's new Nobilis beer went for $15,000, making it the most expensive six-pack in the world. AOL Canada bought the beer to benefit WildAid, an international non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating the illegal wildlife trade, the group said in a press release this week. The beer is bottled in six magnums, autographed by celebrities including Angelina Jolie, Kate Hudson, Ryan Gosling and Samuel L. Jackson.
Original Press Release:
Proceeds from sale of world's most expensive six-pack donated to help endangered wildlife
Dec 19, 2007 (WildAid)
Bear parts sales costly
Powell River, Canada, Dec 20, 2007 (Peak Online) - A Powell River resident pled guilty to one count of trafficking in bear gall bladders in Powell River Provincial Court on December 12. Jae Seon Song and Tae Hee Song were charged with 12 counts each relating to alleged violations related to possession and trafficking in wildlife parts. The charges included possession of bear gall bladders, trafficking in bear gall bladders and unlawful possession of dead wildlife.
Update - Japan Seen Halting Humpback Whale Hunt - US Envoy
Tokyo, Japan, Dec 20, 2007 (Reuters) - Japan has apparently agreed not to kill humpback whales during its current Antarctic hunt, the US ambassador to Tokyo said on Wednesday, a move that could help ease criticism of its controversial whaling programme.
Related News:
Australia Sends Patrols to Shadow Japan Whalers
Four Japanese vessels detained in Russia over poaching
Only Official Ban might Stop Japan from Poaching
Missouri, Auburn and Clemson Universities Announce "Tigers for Tigers Challenge"
Washington, USA, Dec 19, 2007 (WWF Press Release) - Just in time for college football bowl season, the University of Missouri, Auburn University and Clemson University have squared off in another battle: to stop tiger farming and the illegal trade in tiger parts. The three major universities---all with famous tiger mascots---have joined forces with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and initiated a friendly competition to see which school and its alumni can raise the most money to aid real-world tigers around the globe.
Save the turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree
Malta, Dec 18, 2007 (Rochdale Online) - A pair of birds from one of the most famous Christmas songs may be given a lifeline next spring under EU moves to enforce a ban on illegal hunting in
Malta says Rochdale Euro MP Chris Davies. Turtle Doves will not be joining in the festivities as they are too busy basking in African sunshine, but their return journey to the UK is fraught
with the danger of being targeted by Maltese hunters.
Kaziranga calls for help
Guwahati, India, Dec 17, 2007 (The Telegraph) - After losing two rhinos in three days to poachers, the Kaziranga National Park has decided to strike at the root of the crime — the wildlife smuggling racket. Beleaguered park authorities today sent an SOS to TRAFFIC, an international wildlife trade monitoring network, to set up an office in the Northeast to help it stop rhino poaching in the park. Yesterday’s poaching took the toll of rhinos killed this year to 21.
Related News:
Rhino poaching on rise at Kaziranga National Park in Assam
Assam, India, Dec 25, 2007 (Top News)
Poachers target Indian rhinos
India, Dec 24, 2007 (ITN)
China set to probe panda hunting reports
China, Dec 17, 2007 (International Animal Rescue) - Chinese government officials are investigating reports of illegal hunting and trading of giant pandas in the south-west of the country. …The announcement comes in the wake of local newspaper reports last week that unidentified buyers were offering huge sums of money for giant panda pelts.
State targets wildlife trafficking
Montgomery, Alabama, USA, Dec 16, 2007 (Montgomery Advertiser) - Alabama's wildlife agency is wrapping up an 18-month long undercover operation targeting illegal wildlife trafficking that stretches as far north as Wisconsin. The effort resulted in dozens of arrests nationwide and the seizure of hundreds of foxes and coyotes. The animals were trapped live then sold in and out of state to outfits operating penned enclosures. …The crime goes beyond issues of animal cruelty -- it's also a danger to public health.
One man's bushmeat is another man's calamity
New Jersey, USA, Dec 15, 2007 (ModernGhana.com) - The U.S custom agents are cracking down on bushmeat distribution and consumption. SOMEWHAT EDITORIAL
65 tiger, leopard and otter skins seized in Karnataka
New Delhi, India, Dec 14, 2007 (India PR Wire) - The Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) provided intelligence and assisted in a huge wildlife enforcement operation in northern Karnataka in the early hours of this morning. Sixty-five skins were seized - one tiger skin, 21 leopard skins and 43 otter skins. A well known wildlife trader called Prabhakar was arrested. Prabhakar is said to have been in the trade for years. He purchases the skins directly from poachers and allegedly controls most of the illegal wildlife trade in south India. In the past he is known to have supplied skins to the notorious wildlife trader Sansar Chand in Delhi. Prabhakar is an active political worker and is believed to have considerable local support.
Law enforcement fails Bolivia's parrots
Bolivia, Dec 13, 2007 (BirdLife Press Release) - In a recently published paper, Asociacion Armonia (BirdLife in Bolivia) monitored the wild birds which passed through a pet market in Santa Cruz between August 2004 to July 2005, and recorded nearly 7,300 individuals of 31 parrot species, of which four were threatened species. "We believe our study describes only a small proportion of the Bolivian parrot trade, underscoring the potential extent of the illegal pet trade and the need for better Bolivian law enforcement", said Armonia's Executive Director, Bennett Hennessey.
Poaching takes place every weekend
Mumbai, India, Dec 13, 2007 (Daily News & Analysis, India) - Investigations by DNA revealed that flamingoes are poached every weekend by several 'high profile' people who come to Uran from the city and from Pune. "Many people come here on Sunday to shoot these birds," said a saltpan worker. … But police officials claimed ignorance about such activities. Interestingly, the Nhava Sheva police station is located bang opposite the spot where the flamingoes were killed.
Related News:
Poaching unmonitored in coastal areas
(Dec 13, 2007 – Times of India)
Cops finally wake up, nab poachers
(Dec 13, 2007 – Daily News & Analysis, India)
Seychelles Promises to Protect its Sharks
Port Louis, Seychelles, Dec 13, 2007 (Reuters) - The Seychelles will protect its rapidly declining shark population, the government said on Wednesday, after a Taiwanese fishing boat was caught in its waters with an illegal load of fins. Booming demand for shark fin soup in Asia, especially China, is driving the shark fishing industry and increasing the risk of extinction for some shark species, marine scientists warn. Conducting searches around the 115-island Indian Ocean archipelago last week, a French navy ship found 650 kg of shark fins aboard a Taiwanese fishing vessel. The fishermen's paperwork said only 15 kg were caught in Seychellois waters.
Tortoise meat, shells worth R$ 4m seized
Lahore, Pakistan, Dec 12, 2007 (Daily Times, Pakistan) - The Punjab Wildlife Department (PWD) on Tuesday seized 26 cartons of frozen tortoise meat and five tortoise-shell laden bags, the department officials told Daily Times. The officials said the meat was being smuggled into Islamabad via Motorway. They said they had seized the meat from Sherakot Toll Plaza. They said a case had been registered under the Sections 11, 13, 14 and 15 of the Punjab Wildlife Act (PWA).
12 Asian countries to jointly save the tiger
India, Dec 12, 2007 (IANS) - Concerned over the decline of tigers numbering just around 3,000 in the world, 12 Asian countries Monday came out with a joint action plan to save the majestic animal from extinction. The 'Action Tiger' report, prepared by the seven-member inter-governmental Global Tiger Forum (GTF), was symbolically released by two forest guards from Rajasthan's Sariska Tiger Reserve at Hotel Samrat in the capital. It was the first report by the GTF, which also has Britain and two NGOs as members, since its inception in 1994. … The report is a compilation of National Tiger Action Plans (NTAPs) of 12 tiger range countries and contains comprehensive plans and strategies adopted for tiger conservation, including preservation of habitat, tackle poaching and prevent trade in wildlife body parts. The 12 tiger range countries are Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam. The event was jointly organised by GTF, Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), which compiled and published the document.
Cambodia set to allow hunting safaris for rich tourists
Cambodia, Dec 12, 2007 (International Animal Rescue News) - Cambodia has announced it is considering allowing a Spanish company to set up a game park for rich foreign tourists to hunt up to 30 species of animal. Explaining the decision to consider the application from the company, Nsok Safaris, the Deputy Director of the Cambodian Agriculture Ministry's Wildlife Protection Office, Dany Chheang, told the website that permitting foreigners to pay to shoot game was a better conservation option than allowing poachers to illegally do so.
Indonesia Vows to Protect Endangered Orangutans
Nusa Dua, Indonesia, Dec 11, 2007 (Reuters) - Indonesia launched a programme on Monday to save its dwindling orangutan population, the last of Asia's great apes, from the brink of extinction by protecting its vast tropical rain forests. Orangutans once ranged the region, but the shaggy brown primate's population in Indonesia has been decreasing rapidly as its habitat in Borneo and Sumatra has been disrupted by illegal logging, forest fires and the illegal pet trade.
Saving the tiger from meat eaters
Kahang, Malaysia, Dec 9, 2007 (New Straits Times) - Kahang, a hotbed for exotic meat trade, is home to the endangered Malayan Tiger. So is it any surprise that the Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers (Mycat) is focusing its awareness campaign in this township? R. SITTAMPARAM finds out how successful Mycat's efforts have been.
Ethiopian Airlines denies wildlife allegations
Addis Adaba, Ethiopa, Dec 6, 2007 (Reuters) - Ethiopian Airlines said on Thursday it was not aware of a Cameroonian conservation group's allegation that the state-run airline was involved in illegal wildlife smuggling. The Yaounde-based Last Great Ape Organization, working with Cameroonian security forces, seized a consignment of 500 African Grey parrots on Tuesday on an Ethiopian Airlines plane shortly before it was due to take off.
16 arrested for tiger parts trade in India
Lucknow, India, Dec 6, 2007 (AFP) - Indian police Thursday announced the arrest of 16 people for poaching tigers and selling their skins and bones. The arrests come amid mounting fears for the country's dwindling tiger population after research showed their number had fallen to fewer than 1,500, from 3,642 in 2002 when the last survey was conducted. "We have recovered three tiger skins and 75 kilogrammes (165 pounds) of bones. We arrested 16 people," police official Amitabh Yash told AFP. Twelve people were being held for trading tiger parts, he said, and the rest for hunting the big cats in northern Uttar Pradesh state.
Related News:
Indian Police Bust Tiger Poaching Ring
Allahabad Police seize three tiger skins
Indian police break up major tiger poaching ring
Animal skin smugglers' gang busted
Arrested poachers on Central Bureau of Investigation's wanted list
Lucknow, India, Dec 6, 2007 (Times of India) - The poachers' gang busted by the Special Task Force (STF) at Allahabad on Tuesday, is turning out to be much bigger than the sleuths had imagined. While the wildlife experts on Wednesday termed the arrests as the biggest success against wildlife poaching in the past one decade, investigators dashed a report to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after it was established that three of the arrested gang members were wanted by the agency. Director, Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI), Belinda Wright, on Wednesday said: "The gang busted by the STF is the second most important link between the Indian poachers and the international smugglers after Sansar Chand. Sansar is already in jail and now the arrest of Shabbir Hasan Qureshi, his sons Sarfaraz and Siraj and their brother-in-law Ayub is sure to bring strong check on poaching in India." Wright said that all the three tiger skins seized were fresh - meaning that the cats were killed during the past 10 days itself.
China's Turtles, Emblems of a Crisis
Changsha, China, Dec 5, 2007 (Times-News Online) - Earlier this year, scientists concluded that the planet's last known female Yangtze giant soft-shell turtle is living at the Changsha Zoo. She is about 80 years old and weighs almost 90 pounds. As it happens, the planet also has only one undisputed, known male. He lives at a zoo in the city of Suzhou. He is 100 years old and weighs about 200 pounds. They are the last hope of saving a species believed to be the largest freshwater turtles in the world. Pollution, hunting and rampant development are destroying natural habitats, and also endangering plant and animal populations.
The Monkey Place - saving endangered drills in Nigeria
Afi Mountain, Nigeria, Dec 4, 2007 (AFP) – An article about Pandrillus, the NGO set up by Americans Liza Gadsby and Peter Jenkins, which rescues drills that are orphaned by the bushmeat trade. The goal is to raise the animals in natural-sized social groups for controlled captive breeding, acclimatise them to the rainforest and ultimately, Gadsby hopes soon, to release them.
China sees over 10,000 wildlife criminal cases in 1st 10 months
Beijing, China, Dec 4, 2007 (Xinhua News) - China recorded 10,818 criminal cases involving wildlife in the first ten months in 2007, up 11.5 percent year-on-year, according to China's forestry watchdog. Statistics from the State Forestry Administration (SFA) and China Wildlife Conservation Association (CWCA) also show that a total of 172,471 wildlife cases, in which about 1.5 million wild animals were confiscated, were recorded in the first ten months of2007, up 2.7 percent compared with the same period last year.
Endangered Pelts Go Up In Smoke In Kashmir
India, Dec 4, 2007 (IFAW Press Release) - Indian wildlife authorities today torched a huge pile of banned wildlife furs and skins in Kashmir as part of the government's effort to stop an illegal trade that threatens to wipe out many of India's most endangered species. Under the orders of the High Court, eight truckloads of stockpiled pelts were burned by state officials in a public display of destruction. Incinerated items included skins, rugs, fur coats and gloves made from dozens of tiger, snow leopard, leopard, hill fox, leopard cats, black bear, otters and wolves.
Joy at triumph of gorilla campaign
Cameroon, Dec 3, 2007 (Herald Sun) - Cameroon has welcomed home four endangered Western lowland gorillas after an international campaign won their return from Malaysia, to where they were smuggled five years ago. The male and three females, known as the "Taiping Four", were flown to Douala airport from South Africa. They had been kept at the Pretoria zoo after Malaysia returned them in 2004. Malaysia's Taiping Zoo had acquired the apes after they were trapped as infants in Cameroon's forests in 2002 and smuggled out of the central African country. DNA tests established they came from Cameroon, which then, backed by international conservation groups, launched a lobbying campaign for their return.
Related News:
Smuggled gorillas return home after five years
Cameroon welcomes home "Taiping Four" gorillas
Gorillas snatched by poachers returned to wild
Rare gorillas returned home to Cameroon after botched smuggling
Californian pet store manager smuggled endangered turtles into U.S.
San Francisco, Dec 3, 2007 (Mercury News) - A 29-year-old pet store manager has pleaded guilty to smuggling endangered turtles from Asia and Australia and lying about it on U.S. Customs documents. Prosecutors said San Francisco resident Coleman Lau tried to hide 14 baby Fly River turtles inside his clothing when he returned from Hong Kong to San Francisco International Airport in March 2004. U.S. Attorney Scott N. Schools said Thursday that Lau knew it was illegal to import the turtles and lied on a customs declaration asking whether he was bringing wildlife into the U.S.
At the Lake: Bear poachers seem to have a lot of gall
Lake Tahoe, California, Dec 3, 2007 (Tahoe Daily Tribune) - A man was arrested in Redding on Saturday on suspicion of illegally trafficking bear gall bladders, and a bear-protection advocate said the problem of bear poaching is increasing at Lake Tahoe. [Huong] Tovan, 54, faces up to one year in state prison and a $5,000 fine. Officials say Tovan ran a bear gall bladder-processing operation, and the parts probably were going to be sold on the medicinal market in southeast Asia. The investigation began in October when wildlife officials received an anonymous tip.
Related News:
Bear Poachers Demonstrate a Lot of Gall
(Dec 5, 2007 - Sierra Sun)
Illegal Bear Poaching On The Rise At Lake
(Dec 3, 2007 – KOLO TV)
San Diego man arrested for trafficking bear gall bladders
(Dec 1, 2007 – AP)
Big bucks see bird smuggling spread
New Zealand, Dec 2, 2007 (New Zealand Herald) - Usually it's the aircraft at Auckland International Airport which carry the passengers. South African Pillipus Fourie had passengers of his own. Forty-four of them, to be precise. Parrots' eggs, smuggled away in an under-the-clothes vest with special compartments for the precious cargo. Fourie was carrying a shipment potentially worth up to $1.3m into New Zealand. After Fourie was stopped at the airport and his avian payload discovered, he was fined $20,000 for possession of unauthorised goods, for making a false declaration and for trading in threatened species.
Tighter controls urged for illegal wildlife trade
China, Dec 2, 2007 (China Daily) - The Ministry of Public Security has urged local police to tighten controls on the hunting, smuggling and sale of wild animals to curb the growing illegal trade in wildlife. With the attraction of high profits, crimes involving the destruction of wildlife resources have been on the rise in recent years, Vice-Minister of Public Security Bai Jingfu said at a meeting over the weekend. Ministry figures released on Saturday showed that from January to October this year, police handled 172,471 cases involving the destruction of wildlife and forest resources, up 2.7 percent year-on-year.
Bill to check wildlife trade
Malaysia, Dec 2, 2007 (The Star) - An aggregate fine of up to RM1milion and a maximum jail sentence of seven years await those who traffic in endangered animals or plant species, once the International Trade in Endangered Species Bill is passed. Deputy Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk S. Sothinathan, tabling the Bill for the first reading yesterday, said the Bill sought to implement the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, and to take stringent action against those who failed to comply. The Bill requires those who produce captive bred animals or artificially propagated plants or animals of any scheduled species for commercial trade purposes, to register with a Management Authority or face hefty fines. Importers and exporters must also apply for a permit or certificate from the Authority.
Siberian tigers - the hunted ones
Moscow, Russia, Dec 1, 2007 (The Telegraph) - Until recently the tiger population of Siberia had been showing signs of recovery. But now logging, poaching and a lack of interest from the Russian government threatens to decimate the big cats. Richard Grant went on anti-poaching patrol to see if anything can be done to save them … (Tigers) were nearly wiped out in the 1930s, again in the early 1990s, and both times the slaughter was driven by the Chinese demand for tiger skins, bones, penises and other 'medicinal' body parts. That demand is still there but the most recent survey, in the winter of 2004/5, found that the tiger population had increased to between 400 and 500, and stabilised.
Tigers' fate is still uncertain
New Delhi, India, Dec 1, 2007 (USA Today) - One of the most riveting images in the office of award-winning photographer and lifelong tiger advocate Belinda Wright isn't of the charismatic feline itself, but of its aftermath. Tibetan men are draped in the gleaming pelts - worth nearly $10,000 each on the black market - of a creature wildlife experts worry may be on its last legs. The good news, notes Wright, director of the Wildlife Protection Society of India, is that sales and display of tiger skins among Tibetans have dropped in response to a public awareness campaign by the Dalai Lama, the World Wildlife Fund and others. At the same time, however, an illegal demand for tiger bones and other body parts used in traditional Chinese medicine has prompted an expansion of tiger farming in China, where there's commercial lobbying to lift a domestic trade ban on tiger parts.