Tiger and Wild Cat Trade From Myanmar to China Growing

Trade in rare-cat parts, including tigers, from Burma into China is growing. At the center of the surge is Mong La, a town bordering China, where 21 shops, triple the number from 2006, sell wildlife products, some from as far away as Africa, reports Navin Singh Khadka for BBC News. This trend raises concern among environmentalists – already the tiger population is down to 5 percent of what it was a century ago. Burma has banned trade in tiger and leopard parts, but wildlife conservation organizations tell BBC News the law is not working in Mong La, which is run by an armed group following a government peace deal. Greater enforcement at the border with China – the world’s biggest consumer of tiger products – could be a solution, suggests World Wildlife Fund's Thomas Grey, who tells Khadka that many of the products are consumed in Mong La by Chinese tourists, but tiger skins are imported as souvenirs into China, where trade in products from farmed tigers is legal. – YaleGlobal