China wildlife scheme endanger Indian tigers

There has been a sudden jump in online sale of tiger and leopard skins since China reopened the trade for registered wildlife body parts in 2007. China first allowed registration of tiger and leopard body-parts under its registration scheme from authorized sources and now has allowed its trade, raising fears in India. The Scheme allows for tiger and leopard skins from ‘legal origins’, including those from captive-bred big cats, to be registered, labeled and sold. Several tiger and leopard skins were being traded online and origin of most of these skins was said to be China, which has just 50 tigers in wild and 5,000 in tiger farms

August 12, 14

http://www.hindustantimes.com/China-wildlife-scheme-endanger-Indian-tigers/Article1-732686.aspx; http://news.mongabay.com/2011/0814-hance_tigerskins.html