FARMING ENDANGERED SPECIES TO EXTINCTION

This blog is to show why and how tiger farming took off in China. China has now pledged to phase out tiger farming - but will the Government be true to it’s word now that lion farming has been permitted by CITES?.Shockingly - at the same CITES CoP17 meeting – where China pledged to stop tiger farming – which was leading to unsustainable demand for tiger products and had failed to stop poaching of wild tigers, across their range - the farming, canned hunting and trade of lions bones was given the green light to continue. It is beyond comprehension why - knowing that tiger farming and trade of tiger bone products only led to increased demand and poaching of wild tigers continued - CITES permitted the farming of lions and trade of their bones in Asia.

Tiger and Bear Bile Farming in China

Economic expansion in China accelerated dramatically in the 1990's, as a result of mass privatisation, and the opening up of the country to foreign investment. Overseas firms rushed to build factories in China to take advantage of its low labour costs. Millions of Chinese had become extremely wealthy by the year 2000, due to this rapid economic growth. http://money.cnn.com/video/investing/2015/10/06/market-movers-china.cnnmoney/

It was then that millions of wealthy Chinese Businessmen started buying rare objects of prestige as status symbols, gifts, bribes or as investments. Rare and valuable items, made from of Ivory, rhino horn and tiger body parts, were sought after by the growing number of middle class consumers. Money was no object - the rarer and higher priced – the more sought after they were. http://nextshark.com/rich-people-in-china-buying-endangered-species/

By farming endangered tigers, to supply products from their body parts, this lucrative market could be exploited. Domestic trade of tiger products such as tiger wine was permitted in China and demand, which had fallen away, at this time, due to the ban on trade in 1993, was encouraged and re-stimulated. Gifting expensive tiger products soon became fashionable as a way to flaunt wealth and power and to gain favour among influential people such as government officials, military officers and wealthy businessmen. Farming tigers became an extremely lucrative business.

Tiger farming in China began to expand in early 2000 - supposedly for ‘medical and conservation purposes - but in reality it was to profit from the hugely lucrative market potential that had emerged. By 2007 there were around 5,000 farmed tigers in China. Demand had fallen, due to the ban on trade, but by producing rare tiger products made from their skins, bones, claws and teeth, to attract newly affluent consumers, huge profits could be made. It was claimed that by farming tigers to supply demand wild tigers would no longer be poached. Yet, at the time, demand had been greatly reduced so there was no need to increase supply. By re stimulating demand for tiger products, poaching in the wild - across their range - has kept going and critically endangered wild tiger populations continue to dwindle. http://e360.yale.edu/feature/how_tiger_farming_in_china_threatens_worlds_wild_tigers/2839/ 

The State Forestry Administration in China started encouraging tiger farming and the industry grew from fewer than 100 farmed animals in 1995 - to around 6,000 today. Permitting the number of tiger farms to keep increasing had sent the message that farming tigers - and trading and consuming tiger products was acceptable. Yet evidence shows that thousands of tigers, bred for trade, are kept in cruel conditions behind the scenes. Tigers need space to roam and should never be caged! Farming tigers has not stopped poaching in the wild. As numbers of farmed tigers have increased to more than 6,000, numbers in the wild have decreased to around 3,400. http://e360.yale.edu/feature/how_tiger_farming_in_china_threatens_worlds_wild_tigers/2839/

Industrial-scale tiger farming has increased demand for tiger products and now makes millions of dollars for a handful of people. Speculators are also collecting tiger skin rugs and cases of tiger bone wine - made from wild tiger bones (vintage brewed from wild tigers is most valuable) - and watching their investment grow as the numbers of wild tigers dwindle while the demand keeps increasing. The speculators are banking on extinction in the wild! http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2014/10/21/industrial-scale-tiger-farms-feeding-chinas-thirst-for-luxury-tiger-products/

If laws encourage production and consumption of products from endangered species and Governments lend their support to making them available, by permitting farming and legalising domestic trade - removing the stigma of consumption - demand for those products will increase, regardless of what source they come from. Tigers, lions, rhinos and bears should not be farmed for their body parts or products from them. Yet tigers, lions, rhinos and bears are being farmed in unatural, overcrowded conditions, breed them as fast as possible - to harvest bones, horns and bile - while keeping costs as low as possible. In South Africa farmers are permitted, by CITES, to farm thousands of lions for canned trophy hunting and trade of their bones. As the history of tiger farming has shown, this will lead to ever increasing demand and to poaching of wild lions across their range.    http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2015-08-11-trophy-hunting-fuels-asian-lion-bone-trade/

In China, since the sale of tiger wine and tiger skins was permitted domestically, demand has increased dramatically, when it had been waning after the CITES ban on trade had been enforced. Poaching of more highly valued wild tigers, across their range has continued - to supply the ever growing demand. Tigers are now being farmed in many other Asian countries too, in order to profit from the growing demand for high value tiger products such as tiger skins, jewellery made from claws and teeth and expensive tiger wine, (made by soaking tiger bones in rice wine, supposedly to infuse the wine with the life force of a tiger).  Even tiger cubs are now used to make tiger wine. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-36424091

In truth farming tigers is about wealth - not health or conservation of wild tigers! Tigers are caged and bred on farms for their body parts to create demand for luxury goods such as tiger bone wine, tiger skin rugs and for their meat - to take advantage of the growth in the market. Warehouses across China currently hold hundreds of tiger corpses soaking in tanks of herbs and rice wine. The longer they soak the more valuable the wine becomes. A few investors are creating a multi-billion-dollar a year business at the expense of wild tigers, across their range, that are now facing extinction due to poaching because of the value and level of demand being created for their body parts. http://www.ifaw.org/united-states/news/demand-parts-endangered-species-immoral

Farming tigers and supplying products such as tiger bone wine, tiger skin rugs, tiger meat, lucky charms, tiger skin wallets, and jewellery made from tiger claws and teeth etc. is about producing products and creating more demand to re-stimulate markets for them. There's a strong suspicion that corrupt officials and powerful businessmen are behind this million dollar trade in tiger parts. Yet polls have shown that most people in China do not want tiger products, nor do they support tiger farming. Even Traditional Chinese Practitioners no longer use tiger bone in TCM - nor do they want to any longer. They want Chinese Traditional Medicine to be accepted globally and believe farming tigers damages China’s image. ‘Using tiger products and body parts does not provide necessary medical treatment as claimed, nor is it upholding sacred cultural tradition – it’s simply about money, influence and speculation’ says Lixin Huang, the president of the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine. https://www.theguardian.com/…/tiger-temple-scandal-billion-…

Once demand for products from endangered species such as tigers, lions and rhinos is encouraged, by permitting legal trade, it will keep on increasing because of the size of markets across Asia alone – not to mention TCM high street outlets worldwide - and via Internet sales. If only a small percentage of China’s 1.4 billion people consume tiger, lion bone and rhino products, for instance, demand would soon outstrip supply. Even a mere 1% increase of consumers in China represents 14 million new customers. There are around 5,000 farmed rhinos and 6,000 farmed tigers to supply demand, at the moment, in huge markets across Asia and the Middle East where millions of millionaires would buy these products if trade was legalised. As demand and trade - legal and illegal keep increasing - so poaching increases to supply markets - causing wild tiger, lion and rhino numbers to keep on falling. Then, as tiger, lion and rhino numbers decrease in the wild - products from them are increasingly seen as investments whose values will rise once they become extinct. Legal Trade does not stop poaching - it encourages it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waEfAFF34a8

Since tiger products, ivory, rhino horn and lion bones have been made available and accessible on both legal and illegal markets from early 2000, the demand for such products has grown in increasingly affluent markets of Asia. Since tiger farming began, thousands of tigers have suffered cruelty and starvation.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dYfG1PkDsc

Many tiger farming facilities have opened in other Asian countries too, where tiger cub petting and posing with tigers is permitted to attract tourists. But in reality the 'tiger sanctuaries' are just a front and illegal trade of tiger products goes on behind the scenes. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3629060/Thai-police-tiger-slaughter-house-temple-probe.html

Thousands of other endangered species, worldwide, such as helmeted horn-bills are also being illegally traded to supply insatiable demand for high value products made their bills. Legal trade of endangered species creates loopholes for well connected traffickers to take advantage of in Africa and Asia where bribery and corruption are rife. Because insiders and authorities are often involved, and blind eyes are turned - when pockets are lined - illegal trade and poaching of endangered species is impossible to prevent as long as demand is encouraged. The CITES bans are not properly policed or enforced by sanctions and legal trade is used as a cover by illegal wildlife traffickers. A blind eye is also turned to sales of meat from endangered sharks, turtles, bears and tigers - presented as a rare delicacy in consumer countries. Tiger meat is served at dinner parties where wealthy guests are treated to a ‘visual feast’ before eating – watching their meal killed and butchered before them. Tiger meat is often supplied by criminal gangs who smuggle tigers, ordered for banquets, from other countries.  http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1457848/arrested-gang-believed-have-slaughtered-more-10-wild-tigers

Bear Bile farming not only causes great cruelty, synthetic alternatives are safer to use. Research carried out by experts has shown that bear bile extracted from farmed bears should be considered unsafe, and that bear farming causes great cruelty to farmed bears. Furthermore, there are synthetic alternatives that can be used instead.  'Professor Jiang Qi, ex-vice president of the Shenyang Pharmaceutical University and deputy chief of the synthetic bear bile research institution, produced research results showing that synthetic bile produced by his team contained 40 percent ursodeoxycholic acid (UCDA), the active ingredient in bear bile.  https://www.animalsasia.org/uk/media/news/news-archive/bear-bile-harmful-to-human-health,-according-to-research-released-at-major-beijing-event.html

Pangolin farming is not Viable it only served to increas demand and poaching in the wild. Experimental pangolin farming was tried in China also, as an investment opportunity, to supply demand for their scales and meat. But farming pangolins is not viable and it simply served to increase demand for pangolin products and led to poaching in the wild - when pangolins were already critically endangered across Asia. Poaching of wild pangolins led to near extinction in Asia and spread to other range states such as India and Africa. Instead of farming pangolins to profit from the sale of their scales and meat there should have been a total ban on all trade in all pangolin species by CITES - and high profile demand elimination campaigns launched by Governments in range and consumer states to end demand for all pangolin products. Pangolins are now being poached in thousands, across their range, to supply the insatiable demand for their scales and meat in Asian markets. Today, pangolins have become the world’s most trafficked animal. All trade of pangolins, and products from them, should be banned because demand in Asia is insatiable and unsustainable. Hopefully all species of pangolins will all be upgraded to App. 1 at CoP17 and the ban on trade enforced with the threat of global trade sanctions. http://www.pangolins.org/2012/01/16/medicinal-use-pangolin-farms-in-china-photos-video/

Conclusion: History shows that farming Endangered Species does not stop poaching in the wild - it encourages and creates unsustainable demand and leads to more poaching in the wild.
The only long-term solution to ending illegal trade and poaching of endangered species in the wild is to ban all trade and eliminate all demand. In this day and age, and with numbers falling so rapidly in the wild for many reasons, endangered species need total protection! History has shown that regulated trade inevitably leads to more poaching – not less! Farming endangered wild animals, to supply their body parts, does not stop poaching. All it does is encourage demand and create loopholes for traffickers who will continue to supply that demand with more highly valued products from wild endangered species.  http://www.smh.com.au/world/seven-deadly-sins-the-rare-animals-the-chinese-middle-class-love-to-eat-20160526-gp4qvw.html

Next blog: Unfortunately, instead of fighting to eliminate all demand for rhino horn, when the trade ban had finally been enforced, and poaching and demand had fallen to an all time low, farming of rhinos in hundreds to harvest and trade their horns for trade began.

Farming Endangered Species To Extinction - Part 2

Warnings about, a) The dangers of the Ivory Trade and export of hundreds of elephants to China. b) Rhino Farming in South Africa and live rhino export of hundreds of rhinos to Asia.

The decision, at CoP17, not to place elephants on App1 to give elephants full protection was a devastating blow to countries where poaching is a serious threat because of corruption, trafficking and the huge demand for ivory. The door has been left open for further export of African elephants to Asia and domestic trade in ivory. The door was also left open for rhino farming and for plans to continue for trade in rhino horn to be legalised. The dangers of permitting 'regulated' or domestic trade of ivory and rhino horn are explored here.

The sale of stockpiles of ivory stimulated unsustainable demand

One off sales of ivory stockpiles were permitted in 2002 and 2008 - after the ban on trade in ivory had drastically reduced demand and elephant poaching had been falling for a decade. Elephant populations in hard-hit areas were beginning to recover when the one-off sales were permitted by CITES. As a result of those sales of ivory from stockpiles - to Japan and China - demand was re- stimulated and since demand has increased around 30,000 elephants are now poached, annually, across Africa. The tusks of around 30,000 elephants that were added to legal stocks and trophies - to meet demand - shows that the ever growing level demand is already unsustainable. Demand needs to end, urgently, to stop the elephant poaching crisis. An elephant census just published shows that African savannah elephant numbers have now fallen to around 352,000.http://elephantswithoutborders.org/w…/great-elephant-census/

Fortunately, on the 2nd June 2016 the US banned the sale of all ivory apart from a few very limited exceptions. https://www.theguardian.com/…/us-adopts-near-total-ban-on-c…

China has also said that all domestic trade in ivory will be phased out. Most of the ivory being sold in China now has been illegally sourced and, as a consequence, CITES should have called for the ban an all tarde some time ago. http://africageographic.com/…/elephants-rejoice-china-end-…/

It came as a shock to most, therefore, when the US and EU went against their resolve to vote to upgrade African elephants to App.1 of CITES listings which would have given them full protection.http://news.nationalgeographic.com/…/elephants-ivory-trade…/

It appears that this decision was reached in order to avoid a reservation being placed by Namibia - if trade in ivory was banned.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-37541378

This exposes yet another huge flaw in the CITES system of regulating trade in endangered species. The permit system is also open to abuse, enabling traffickers to launder poached wildlife products into legal stocks.http://www.independent.co.uk/…/the-eu-s-ruling-has-sentence…

Farming rhinos to harvest their horns for trade will not save wild rhinos.

Until the late 1990’s wildlife ranchers in South Africa bought rhinos, at auctions from National Parks, in some cases for eco ranching or, as in most cases, for the purpose of trophy hunting. The trophy permit system was used to make purchasing rhinos, to breed outside National Parks, worthwhile – thus extending their range, creating buffer zones and ensuring that large areas of wild habitat are protected from other land use or development. Only a limited number of trophy hunting permits were allocated annually.

Farming rhinos in much larger numbers than required for trophy hunting began in South Africa in the mid 1990’s, to 'harvest' their horns for domestic trade. The question that needs to be asked is – where are all the rhino horns that were sold domestically? Rhino horns sold domestically should still be in South Africa since there is a ban on international trade of rhino horn. It would be in breach of the CITES ban on international trade if the rhino horn sold domestically has left South Africa.

Once the CITES ban on international trade in rhino horn had been enforced, in the early 1990's, markets were closed, demand fell away and poaching had become negligible. There was no need or logic in the plan to start farming hundreds of rhinos to harvest their horns for trade - while a ban on international trade in rhino horn was in place to close markets and help end the senseless demand.https://www.savetherhino.org/…/tackling_the_demand_for_rhin…

The trophy hunting permit system had worked - until it was abused by unscrupulous professional hunters and notorious traffickers to get rhino horn ‘trophies’ onto the market - breaking the ban on international trade - and re stimulating demand in Vietnam. Demand would have ended if it had not been supplied - and if demand elimination campaigns had been given full backing instead at the time. http://africageographic.com/…/killing-for-profit-a-review-…/

The ban on international trade of rhino horn was broken from around 2002 when pseudo hunting began and was only stopped in 2012. Rhino horn was also reported to have been leaked onto Asian markets - from theft of stockpiles and via domestic sales - smuggled out by criminals and trafficking syndicates onto black markets. A moratorium was implemented on domestic trade of rhino horn in South Africa in 2009 in response to growing evidence that criminal networks were exploiting the domestic trade loophole to buy up stocks of rhino horn from game farmers and smuggle it out of the country to be sold on Asian black markets. Some horns were even smuggled out in diplomatic pouches by officials in the Vietnamese embassy in South Africa’s capital.http://magazine.africageographic.com/…/rhino-horn-trade-so…/

Farming rhinos to harvest their horns during a ban on international trade in rhino horn should never have been started or permitted. It would have been far better to have destroyed all stockpiles of rhino horn and given full Government support and backing to efforts being made, internationally, to end all demand for rhino horn. Encouraging demand in insatiable Asian markets by allowing the farming of hundreds of rhinos, stockpiling their horns, selling live rhinos to Asian Zoos, planning for and proposing that international trade in rhino horn should be legalised, sends signals to speculators that buying poached, wild rhino horn is a good investment. It catches the attention of trafficking syndicates looking for markets and clients to supply! Poaching is out of control and seems unstopable.The message needs to be sent out that owning and using rhino horn is no longer socially acceptable to help end demand, stop speculative buying and end the poaching crisis. http://www.takepart.com/…/chinese-investors-are-driving-sla…

Emphasis should have been put on securing the safety of rhinos inside National Parks at a time when demand for their horns had been discouraged, markets were closed and poaching was negligible. Surplus rhinos from National Parks should have been sold - and re-located with funding from leading NGO's - to countries where rhinos had become extinct due to demand for their horns - not sold to be farmed and dehorned - or exported to Asia! http://edition.cnn.com/…/wo…/bringing-rhinos-back-to-uganda/

Rhino farming in Asia

The push to expand rhino farming for the purpose of harvesting their horns for trade has led to rhinos being exported to Asia from South Africa with the intention of establishing large rhino farming bases there. For example, permits had been granted for 150 rhinos to be exported to China from South Africa between 2006 and 2012 - even though the environment is totally inappropriate for African Southern White Rhinos.http://annamiticus.com/…/rhinos-from-south-africa-to-vietn…/

In March 2013 a large shipment of Southern White Rhinos was reported to have been exported to Pu’er National Forest Park in Yunnan province, southwest China. The Mekong Group claims the rhinos are being imported for scientific research purposes. But this is most likely a commercially operated project – similar to the one started in Hainan province - owned by a subsidiary of a Chinese arms manufacturer - not an academic study.http://phys.org/ne…/2013-06-african-rhinos-china-forest.html

The importer, has invented a rhino horn-scraping tool, approved by China’s State Forestry Administration, despite the fact that China, a CITES member, agreed to the ban on all trade in rhino horn in 1993 to end demand. http://www.traffic.org/…/time-magazine-exposes-plans-for-ch…

China’s own Asian rhinos - a different species - were hunted to extinction because of the huge demand for their horns.

The conditions that rhinos, farmed in Asia, are kept in and the food sources are not suitable for African Southern White Rhinos either. Secret footage shows that the rhinos are kept in bare earth enclosures or small, cement floored pens. The habitat in Asia is not suited for rhinos that come from the savannah’s of Africa either.

Rhino farming in South Africa, and now Asian countries too - plus the push from South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Swaziland to propose the legalisation of trade in rhino horn in the near future – and export their stockpiles of rhino horn - fuels speculative stockpiling of poached rhino horn, drives consumer demand and stalls the closure of illegal markets.https://cites.org/…/f…/eng/cop/17/WorkingDocs/E-CoP17-68.pdf

The point that farmers who sell live rhinos to Asia seem to miss is that China and Vietnam could now farm hundreds of Southern White Rhinos imported from South Africa to produce their own supply of rhino horn products. China is likely to circumvent CITES and turn a blind eye to ‘regulated trade’ restrictions which it had totally ignored with the trade of ivory and tiger products. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1QMWUOCWrw

China will be able to sell their own rhino horn stocks and products ignoring any restrictions put in place to control trade and demand by a cartel. And the farming of both tigers and bears in China, for trade of products from them, has not stopped poaching in the wild – it has simply increased demand and led to more poaching of wild tigers and bears across their range. This is why there needs to be a Global push to end all senseless demand for rhino horn – not encourage it. http://jamillsauthor.com/2015/01/history-repeating-itself-with-rhino-farming-in-china/

Vietnamese Zoos have also been aggressively importing South African rhinos. Vietnam’s last native rhino was killed for its horn in 2010. The Vietnamese Government claims they are importing African white rhinos for educational purposes. But the fear among conservationists is that they are being bred in anticipation that the lucrative trade of rhino horns will be legalised in the near future. https://www.enca.com/…/vietnam-rhino-breeding-raises-conser…

“We are concerned. There are too many rhinos here for a Zoo and we now suspect they are breeding for farming,” said Douglas Hendrie of Education for Nature Vietnam.

The risks, to wild rhinos, of legalising rhino horn trade - internationally or domestically - are great. There are 90 million people in Vietnam and over 1.38 billion in China. If supply of farmed rhino horn cannot meet the huge potential demand in many Asian former consumer countries, wild rhinos, across their range, would be put at even greater risk of extinction. The demand for wild rhino horn will not stop if trade of farmed rhino horn is legalised in any case - because wild rhino horn is more highly valued and full length horns will be saught after as status symbols. http://breakingthebrand.org/farmed-rhino-horn-not-seen-as…/…

Although selling rhino horn is illegal, making money off live rhinos isn’t, and rhino breeders have been working to export live rhinos to Vietnam. As reported in a Nat. Geo. article recently,last fall, a private rhino owner in South Africa, Mr. John Hume, entered negotiations to sell up to a hundred rhinos to a company in Vietnam called Vinpearl, owned by Pham Nhat Vuong, Vietnam’s wealthiest man. It’s legal for a South African to export live rhinos with government approval, but it’s unclear what kind of life the rhinos would be headed to. According the rhino breeder's farm manager, wild rhinos each need nearly a thousand acres, but this rhino farmer has a captive-breeding permit allowing him to keep one rhino per 7.5 acres as long as he provides them with supplementary food. Vinpearl’s Safari Park, part of its five-star resort on Phu Quoc Island in the Gulf of Thailand, had allocated a fraction of that to a massive rhino-breeding operation. ( National Geographic Magazine Article August 2016: Special Investigation: Inside the Deadly Rhino Horn Trade.) http://annamiticus.com/…/chinas-rhino-horn-farming-scheme-…/

https://www.businesslive.co.za/fm/fm-fox/2016-07-15-the-crooks-behind-rhino-slaughter/

On December 7, 2015, a representative from Vinpearl, accompanied by the Vietnamese ambassador to South Africa, met with South African authorities to urge approval of Mr.Hume's export application. In a letter, the Department of Rural, Environmental and Agricultural Development for South Africa’s North West Province stated: “Vinpearl intends to import at least 100 rhino, which will be kept on an enclosure of 15 hectares [37 acres]. Vinpearl aims to have the largest number of rhino in the world in a safari park/zoo, and wants to breed rhino.” Thankfully the government denied Mr. Hume's application.' http://www.nationalgeographic.com/…/dark-world-of-the-rhin…/

To get around restrictions it appears that Thailand is being used as a transit point by others so that exports to Vietnam can continue without detection. Bangkok Bird Park Breeding and Research Centre is listed as the importer on an application to export white rhino to Thailand in 2012. The shipper is listed as Bester Birds and Animal Zoo Park CC. A Thai Cargo air waybill shows that rhinos were sent from Johannesburg to Ho Chi Minh City via Bangkok. The exporter listed was Mystic Monkeys and Feathers Wild Animal Park in South Africa.

Export of rhinos from South Africa to Asia is ongoing. In August 2016 - it was confirmed that export permits had been granted to Mafunyane ( Marnus Pretorius ) who is in the Brits area - to export eight rhino calves to Thailand. http://www.travelandtradesouthafrica.com/…/urgent-action-re…

Encouraging rhino farming for trade in Asia is not the right way forward because potential demand is huge and would soon become unsustainable. Wild rhinos will be put at even greater risk.

The example of vicuña is often given, by pro traders, as a success story of trade saving a species. But it was the ban on trade that saved the vicuña from extinction - not the resumption of trade. Populations recovered during the ban but now that trade is permitted again poaching has become a problem once more. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/…/150106-rhino-poaching…/

Rhino poaching began to rise slowly from around 2002, once traffickers saw demand for rhino horn was being re stimulated on the black market in Vietnam by traffickers supplying rhino horn from South Africa. In 2007 a rumour was spread, in Vietnam, that rhino horn cures cancer. Rhino poaching began to escalate suddenly. In 2009 122 rhinos were poached and that year a moratorium was placed on domestic trade of rhino horn because investigations revealed that rhino horn was being leaked onto the black the market in Laos and Vietnam during a ban on international trade in rhino horn. By the time rhino pseudo hunting was exposed and efforts were made to stop it, in 2012, trafficking syndicates were well established with networks and connections in place at every link in the supply chain. The rhino poaching crisis is now as bad, in South Africa, as it was in other range states before the international ban on trade to end demand for rhino horn was instated. Demand nowadays is far greater than it was before the ban was instated. In 1975 rhinos were being driven to the point of extinction because of demand in most range states before the economic boom in Asia. The levels of demand and corruption is far worse now. https://eia-international.org/vixay-keosavang-an-untouchabl…

There is too much corruption, too many trafficking syndicates operating, the value of rhino horn is too high and potential demand too great to stop rhino poaching through regulated trade nowadays. Closing markets to remove the investment value of rhino horn, eliminating demand and enforcing the ban is the best long term solution for saving wild rhinos, across their range, from extinction. Trade bans need to be enforced with the threat of global trade boycotts. Demand elimination programs and campaigns should be given full support and backing. Trafficking Syndicates and kingpins need to be stopped. China and Vietnam need to see that Trafficking Syndicates are a threat to all trade and need to be shut down.http://africageographic.com/…/cigarettes-kidneys-rhinos-co…/

It's wrong, on every level, that wild tigers, lions, bears, rhinos - and possibly even elephants - are farmed as livestock to produce luxury goods to encourage wealthy consumers to buy their body parts – or products made from them - as status symbols, investments - or as cures for illness when there are better, less costly alternatives. It encourages speculators to collect their own stockpiles from wild endangered species as investments - banking on their extinction in the wild!

These are key endangered species with vital roles to play in wild ecosystems - and the level of potential demand for products from them is unsustainable in markets the size of Asia - and worldwide via the internet. No wild tiger, lion, rhino or elephant will be safe - as long as demand for their body parts is encouraged. If demand is not eliminated the only tigers, lions and rhinos left will be on farms or in zoos. Rhinos, lions, tigers and elephants do not belong on farms, parks or in zoos! And bears do not belong in cages!

All endangered species need to be protected in the wild where they belong - and where they have roles to play in maintaining balance and biodiversity of natural ecosystems. Perhaps the best solution would be to give all key endangered species 'World Heritage Species' status - with many new sources of International Funding found for their protection inside their natural habitats. . http://africageographic.com/blog/cigarettes-kidneys-rhinos-common/

FARMING ENDANGERED SPECIES TO EXTINCTION

Part 1: Looking at why and how tiger farming took off in China and warnings about the dangers of farming lions for canned trophy hunting and trade of their bones. China has now pledged to phase out tiger farming - but will the Government be true to it’s word now that lion farming has been permitted by CITES?

Shockingly - at the same CITES CoP17 meeting – where China pledged to stop tiger farming – which was leading to unsustainable demand for tiger products and had failed to stop poaching of wild tigers, across their range - the farming, canned hunting and trade of lions bones was given the green light to continue. It is beyond comprehension why - knowing that tiger farming and trade of tiger bone products only led to increased demand and continued poaching of wild tigers - CITES permitted the farming of lions and trade of their bones. 

FARMING ENDANGERED SPECIES TO EXTINCTION

Tiger and Bear Bile Farming in China

Economic expansion in China accelerated dramatically in the 1990's, as a result of mass privatisation, and the opening up of the country to foreign investment. Overseas firms rushed to build factories in China to take advantage of its low labour costs. Millions of Chinese had become extremely wealthy by the year 2000, due to this rapid economic growth.http://money.cnn.com/…/…/10/06/market-movers-china.cnnmoney/

It was then that millions of wealthy Chinese Businessmen started buying rare objects of prestige as status symbols, gifts, bribes or as investments. Rare and valuable items, made from of Ivory, rhino horn and tiger body parts, were sought after by the growing number of middle class consumers. Money was no object - the rarer and higher priced – the more sought after they were. http://nextshark.com/rich-people-in-china-buying-endangere…/

By farming endangered tigers, to supply products from their body parts, this lucrative market could be exploited. Domestic trade of tiger products such as tiger wine was permitted in China and demand, which had fallen away, at this time, due to the ban on trade in 1993, was encouraged and re-stimulated. Gifting expensive tiger products soon became fashionable as a way to flaunt wealth and power and to gain favour among influential people such as government officials, military officers and wealthy businessmen. Farming tigers became an extremely lucrative business.https://www.washingtonpost.com/…/6f292ea0-796b-11e4-9721-80…

Tiger farming in China began to expand in early 2000 - supposedly for ‘medical and conservation purposes - but in reality it was to profit from the hugely lucrative market potential that had emerged. By 2007 there were around 5,000 farmed tigers in China. Demand had fallen, due to the ban on trade, but by producing rare tiger products made from their skins, bones, claws and teeth, to attract newly affluent consumers, huge profits could be made. It was claimed that by farming tigers to supply demand wild tigers would no longer be poached. Yet, at the time, demand had been greatly reduced so there was no need to increase supply. By re stimulating demand for tiger products, poaching in the wild - across their range - has kept going and critically endangered wild tiger populations continue to dwindle. http://e360.yale.edu/…/how_tiger_farming_in_china_thr…/2839/

The State Forestry Administration in China started encouraging tiger farming and the industry grew from fewer than 100 farmed animals in 1995 - to around 6,000 today. Permitting the number of tiger farms to keep increasing had sent the message that farming tigers - and trading and consuming tiger products was acceptable. Yet evidence shows that thousands of tigers, bred for trade, are kept in cruel conditions behind the scenes. Tigers need space to roam and should never be caged! Farming tigers has not stopped poaching in the wild. As numbers of farmed tigers have increased to more than 6,000, numbers in the wild have decreased to around 3,400. https://www.theguardian.com/…/china-accused-of-defying-its-…

Industrial-scale tiger farming has increased demand for tiger products and now makes millions of dollars for a handful of people. Speculators are also collecting tiger skin rugs and cases of tiger bone wine - made from wild tiger bones (vintage brewed from wild tigers is most valuable) - and watching their investment grow as the numbers of wild tigers dwindle while the demand keeps increasing. The speculators are banking on extinction in the wild! http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/…/industrial-scale-ti…/

If laws encourage production and consumption of products from endangered species and Governments lend their support to making them available, by permitting farming and legalising domestic trade - removing the stigma of consumption - demand for those products will increase, regardless of what source they come from. Tigers, lions, rhinos and bears should not be farmed for their body parts or products from them. Yet tigers, lions, rhinos and bears are being farmed in unatural, overcrowded conditions, breeding them as fast as possible - to harvest bones, horns and bile - while keeping costs as low as possible. In countries such as Zimbabwe wild lions are being captured inside protected National Parks and exported to China. http://savetheelephants.org/about-elep…/elephant-news-post/…

In South Africa farmers are permitted, by CITES, to farm thousands of lions for canned trophy hunting and trade of their bones. As the history of tiger farming has shown, this will lead to ever increasing demand and to poaching of wild lions across their range. http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/…/2015-08-11-trophy-hunting…/

In China, since the sale of tiger wine and tiger skins was permitted domestically, demand has increased dramatically, when it had been waning after the CITES ban on trade had been enforced. Poaching of more highly valued wild tigers, across their range has continued - to supply the ever growing demand. Tigers are now being farmed in many other Asian countries too, in order to profit from the growing demand for high value tiger products such as tiger skins, jewellery made from claws and teeth and expensive tiger wine, (made by soaking tiger bones in rice wine, supposedly to infuse the wine with the life force of a tiger). Even tiger cubs are now used to make tiger wine. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-36424091

In truth farming tigers is about wealth - not health or conservation of wild tigers! It is extremely cruel to cage tigers yet thousands of tigers are caged in appalling conditions - bred on farms for their body parts to create demand for luxury goods such as tiger bone wine, tiger skin rugs and for their meat - to take advantage of the growth in the market. Warehouses across China currently hold hundreds of tiger corpses soaking in tanks of herbs and rice wine. The longer they soak the more valuable the wine becomes. A few investors are creating a multi-billion-dollar a year business at the expense of wild tigers, across their range, that are now facing extinction due to poaching because of the value and level of demand being created for their body parts. http://www.ifaw.org/…/demand-parts-endangered-species-immor…

Farming tigers and supplying products such as tiger bone wine, tiger skin rugs, tiger meat, lucky charms, tiger skin wallets, and jewellery made from tiger claws and teeth etc. is about producing products and creating more demand to re-stimulate markets for them. There's a strong suspicion that corrupt officials and powerful businessmen are behind this million dollar trade in tiger parts. Yet polls have shown that most people in China do not want tiger products, nor do they support tiger farming. Even Traditional Chinese Practitioners no longer use tiger bone in TCM - nor do they want to any longer. They want Chinese Traditional Medicine to be accepted globally and believe farming tigers damages China’s image. ‘Using tiger products and body parts does not provide necessary medical treatment as claimed, nor is it upholding sacred cultural tradition – it’s simply about money, influence and speculation’ says Lixin Huang, the president of the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine.https://www.theguardian.com/…/tiger-temple-scandal-billion-…

Once demand for products from endangered species such as tigers, lions and rhinos is encouraged, by permitting legal trade, it will keep on increasing because of the size of markets across Asia alone – not to mention TCM high street outlets worldwide - and via Internet sales. If only a small percentage of China’s 1.4 billion people consume tiger, lion bone and rhino products, for instance, demand would soon outstrip supply. Even a mere 1% increase of consumers in China represents 14 million new customers. There are around 5,000 farmed rhinos and 6,000 farmed tigers to supply demand, at the moment, in huge markets across Asia and the Middle East where millions of millionaires would buy these products if trade was legalised. As demand and trade - legal and illegal keep increasing - so poaching increases to supply markets - causing wild tiger, lion and rhino numbers to keep on falling. Then, as tiger, lion and rhino numbers decrease in the wild - products from them are increasingly seen as investments whose values will rise once they become extinct. Legal Trade does not stop poaching - it encourages it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waEfAFF34a8

Since tiger products, ivory, rhino horn and lion bones have been made available and accessible on both legal and illegal markets from early 2000, the demand for such products has grown in increasingly affluent markets of Asia. Since tiger farming began, thousands of tigers have suffered cruelty and starvation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dYfG1PkDsc

Many tiger farming facilities have opened in other Asian countries too, where tiger cub petting and posing with tigers is permitted to attract tourists. But in reality the 'tiger sanctuaries' are just a front and illegal trade of tiger products goes on behind the scenes. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/…/Thai-police-tiger-slaughter-ho…

Thousands of other endangered species, worldwide, such as helmeted horn-bills are also being illegally traded to supply insatiable demand for high value products made their bills. Legal trade of endangered species creates loopholes for well connected traffickers to take advantage of in Africa and Asia where bribery and corruption are rife. Because insiders and authorities are often involved, and blind eyes are turned - when pockets are lined - illegal trade and poaching of endangered species is impossible to prevent as long as demand is encouraged. The CITES bans are not properly policed or enforced by sanctions and legal trade is used as a cover by illegal wildlife traffickers. A blind eye is also turned to sales of meat from endangered sharks, turtles, bears and tigers - presented as a rare delicacy in consumer countries. Tiger meat is served at dinner parties where wealthy guests are treated to a ‘visual feast’ before eating – watching their meal killed and butchered before them. Tiger meat is often supplied by criminal gangs who smuggle tigers, ordered for banquets, from other countries. http://www.scmp.com/…/arrested-gang-believed-have-slaughter…

Bear Bile farming not only causes great cruelty, synthetic alternatives are safer to use. Research carried out by experts has shown that bear bile extracted from farmed bears should be considered unsafe, and that bear farming causes great cruelty to farmed bears. Furthermore, there are synthetic alternatives that can be used instead. 'Professor Jiang Qi, ex-vice president of the Shenyang Pharmaceutical University and deputy chief of the synthetic bear bile research institution, produced research results showing that synthetic bile produced by his team contained 40 percent ursodeoxycholic acid (UCDA), the active ingredient in bear bile.https://www.animalsasia.org/…/bear-bile-harmful-to-human-he…

Pangolin farming is not Viable it only served to increas demand and poaching in the wild. Experimental pangolin farming was tried in China also, as an investment opportunity, to supply demand for their scales and meat. But farming pangolins is not viable and it simply served to increase demand for pangolin products and led to poaching in the wild - when pangolins were already critically endangered across Asia. Poaching of wild pangolins led to near extinction in Asia and spread to other range states such as India and Africa. Instead of farming pangolins to profit from the sale of their scales and meat there should have been a total ban on all trade in all pangolin species by CITES - and high profile demand elimination campaigns launched by Governments in range and consumer states to end demand for all pangolin products. Pangolins are now being poached in thousands, across their range, to supply the insatiable demand for their scales and meat in Asian markets. Today, pangolins have become the world’s most trafficked animal. All trade of pangolins, and products from them, should be banned because demand in Asia is insatiable and unsustainable. Hopefully all species of pangolins will all be upgraded to App. 1 at CoP17 and the ban on trade enforced with the threat of global trade sanctions. http://www.pangolins.org/…/medicinal-use-pangolin-farms-in…/

Conclusion: History shows that farming Endangered Species does not stop poaching in the wild - it encourages and creates unsustainable demand and leads to more poaching in the wild.
The only long-term solution to ending illegal trade and poaching of endangered species in the wild is to ban all trade and eliminate all demand. In this day and age, and with numbers falling so rapidly in the wild for many reasons, endangered species need total protection! History has shown that regulated trade inevitably leads to more poaching – not less! Farming endangered wild animals, to supply their body parts, does not stop poaching. All it does is encourage demand and create loopholes for traffickers who will continue to supply that demand with more highly valued products from wild endangered species.
http://www.smh.com.au/…/seven-deadly-sins-the-rare-animals-…

Next blog: How sales of stockpiles of ivory stimulated unsustainable demand and caused an elephant poaching crisis across Africa. Raising awareness that hundreds of African elephants are being exported to China. Why? And - instead of fighting to eliminate all demand for rhino horn at a time when the trade ban had finally been enforced, and poaching and demand had fallen to an all time low - farming of rhinos in hundreds to 'harvest' their horns for trade began as did the export of live rhinos to Asia.

Secretary Bird sets off to collect five types of fish, expertly caught by five amazing fishing birds, to make a tasty treat for Lion who want's something different to eat for a change.

Illustration by Martin Aveling



A TASTY TREAT TO SET BEFORE THE KING

One morning lion woke up in a grumpy mood.

Sniffing the air, he snarled at last night's leftovers and groaned.

“Same thing to eat day after day! Steak for breakfast, steak for lunch, steak for supper! – I’m tired of eating steak.” he moaned.

Staring into the distance, he watched Secretary Bird who seemed to be finding all sorts of tasty treats for her breakfast!

“Secretary Bird”, he called, “I’m bored with eating tough, chewy steak day after day! – Can you suggest a tasty treat for me to eat?”

Secretary Bird thought for a moment and then replied, “Snakes are my favorite treat Sire!”

“Snnnnaaakes!” groaned Lion, “Yuck! – I tried one once – It tasted bland! - Nothing but skin and bones!”

“Can’t you think of something succulent – something tender – something full of flavour?” he pleaded.

“Aaah!” exclaimed Secretary Bird, “Have you ever tried the delicate flavour of fish Sire?”

                          

“Fish?” said the King, brightening up, “Oooooh – I’d love to try fish! I pounce on them in the river!” he grinned.

“But fish are such slimy, wriggly things  – they slip through my claws! Who could catch such slippery, slithery creatures?” he asked.

“Leave that to me Sire,” said Secretary Bird, “Many of my friends are fishing birds. I know just who to ask! I will prepare a 'Five Flavours Fish Dish' for your supper tonight!”

Then, plucking a quill from behind her ear, Secretary Bird made a list, slung a sack on her back and stalked off across the plains.

The first on the list was a tiger-fish so Secretary Bird headed straight for a lake.

There, perched at the top of a tree, sat a majestic bird whose snow-white feathers gleamed in the morning sun.

"Fish Eagle," called Secretary Bird,
"Please catch a Tiger Fish for the King."

"Tiger Fish for the King? ... What a curious thing!" thought Fish Eagle. But he was happy to oblige. 

"No trouble at all!" came his plaintive call.





He scanned the water with his razor-sharp eyes till he spotted a Tiger Fish that looked king-size. Then swooping low, he caught it fist go with talons that grip like a vice!

Secretary bird held the sack open wide and Fish Eagle dropped the Tiger Fish inside.

"Thank you Fish Eagle," said Secretary Bird.

Next on the list were two Catfish so Secretary Bird stalked off to a river. 





There stood a strange looking bird whose beak was shaped like a spoon! 

"Spoonbill," called Secretary Bird, "Please catch two Catfish for the King!"

"Catfish for the King? ... What an unusual thing!" thought Spoonbill - but she was happy to oblige. 

"Though this water is muddy and the river is wide, I can find Catfish no matter where they try to hide!" said Spoonbill.





And stirring the mud with her feet, Spoonbill swept her sensitive spoon from side to side.

Swish, swish, swish, swish.

Then suddenly, with a snip and a snap two Catfish were caught and sent flying through the air and into the sack! 

"Thank you,"Spoonbill said Secretary Bird.

Next on the list were three Lungfish so Secretary Bird marched to a swamp.






There, among the reeds, stood a mysterious looking bird whose bill was shaped like a shoe!

"Shoebill," called Secretary Bird, "Please catch three Lungfish for the King."

"Lungfish for the King? ... What a peculiar thing!" thought Shoebill - but she was happy to oblige. 

"To catch one of those, I just wriggle my toes, then, standing still, I wait until a Lungfish swims right under my bill!"   





Then down with a splash, her mandibles gnashed and with a crunch and a crash, three Lungfish were caught and sent flying through the air - into the sack! 





"Thank you Shoebill!" called Secretary Bird and off she strode down to a stream because next on her list were four tasty Bream! 

There, in the sunshine, drying his glossy black feathers, stood a sleek black bird with a pointed beak. 





"Black Heron," called Secretary Bird, "Please catch four Bream for the King. 

"Bream for the King? ... What a very strange thing!" thought Black Heron. But he was happy to oblige. 

"I have a trick up my sleeve - I can catch fish with ease!" ...

"Watch - this works like a dream - using my shadow - I'll soon catch four Bream!"

Then Black Heron did an extraordinary thing!

Circling his wings - he made an umbrella, and, with his head tucked under, his neck coiled back and his sharp beak ready to strike - he froze! 





Beneath the shadow, where the bream came to hide, quick as a flash, with a dart and a flap - four bream were snapped and sent flying through the air - into the sack! 

"Thank you Black Heron," said Secretary Bird.

Next on the list were five bottle-nose fish so Secretary Bird headed back to the lake.

There, on an island, sat five swan-like birds with enormous bills.  






"Pelicans," called Secretary Bird, "please catch five bottle-nose fish for the King."

"Bottle-nose fish for the King? ... What a very odd thing!" thought the Pelicans. But they were happy to oblige.

"Using synchronized skills, our pouches we fill so we'll soon catch five fish for the King."  





Then, diving as one, with a whoosh and a splash, they scooped five bottle-nose fish and sent them sailing through the air - into the sack. 

"Thank you Pelicans," said Secretary Bird.

"Now, that's all on my list and the sack's full of fish," said Secretary Bird, "so it's time to head for home!"

And while the King was still taking his afternoon nap Secretary Bird emptied the sack and began to prepare a big surprise - A 'Five Flavours Fish Treat' -  A feast for the eyes! 





Just as the sun was about to vanish the King woke up feeling totally famished! 

"Dinner is served!" called Secretary Bird,and the King tucked in with relish.

Oh how he savored the flavour of fish! The taste of each was delicious! 





"Aaaah! That was superb!" the King praised Secretary Bird, "Thank you for such a tasty treat!" 

But poor Secretary Bird heard not a word - after such a long day she had fallen asleep! 


The End

  (Illustrations will be used - photos for reference only)                                                   © Shirely Aung 2016