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China to Form Anti-poaching Team to Protect Siberian Tiger
China will form a patrolling team to help stop the poaching of Siberian tigers in northeastern China.
It is a challenging and essential task to prevent the illegal hunting and trading of tiger bones, said officials in charge of the protection of Siberian tigers in the wild.
China is to eliminate, by law and through education, the poaching and trading of tiger bones.
The tiger bone used to be the key ingredient in various traditional Chinese medicines, which were believed to have a magical effect in curing bone and muscle related diseases.
China banned the production of such medicines and other products containing tiger bones in 1993. The Criminal Law stipulates several articles to punish the illegal hunting, smuggling and trading of wildlife.
China reported only two cases of illegal hunting of Siberian tigers during the recent years.
G.N. Kolonin, chief expert of the environmental protection committee of Russia, said dozens of cases of Siberian tiger poaching occur in Russia each year. Some tiger products, including tiger bones, were smuggled out of Russia.
Results from the latest survey show that the number of Siberian tigers in the wild has decreased sharply due to the deterioration of the environment. The number of the species is estimated at nine to 13 in China, and at around 400 in Russia.
Experts and officials from China, Russia, the Wildlife Conservation Society and the World Wildlife Fund gathered in Harbin, capital city of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, earlier this month to discuss plans to increase the number of Siberian tigers in the wild.
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