Maria Daines
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8/21/2006 9:22:51 PM
So bears are not enough, now they want to incarcerate Tigers...
Sent: Monday, August 21, 2006 8:27 AM
In a country where animal welfare laws are entirely absent and where
existing wildlife farms (which are sanctioned and considered legal)
are mired in appalling welfare conditions and rampant illegal
practices, it is undeniably short sighted to promote tiger farms as
the 'cure all' that will accelerate and solve in-situ conservation of
the species in the wild.
Whilst veterinary practices are broadening in scope and expertise in
China, it remains a fact (even by Chinese vets' own admission) that
animal husbandry, clinical and surgical expertise, and even basic
veterinary practices are at least 30 years behind the West. At a time
when hundreds of thousands of dogs are being cruelly bludgeoned to
death in the streets to solve the problems of rabies; when animal
anaesthesia is still largely practiced using drugs now redundant in
the West; and where the import of reliable drugs and anaesthetics
remains difficult at best and impossible at worst, it seems a little
incongruous, if not premature, to be sanctioning the so-called
'humane' rearing and slaughter of tigers on the farms.
Animals Asia team members - including professional veterinarians -
have been studying, researching and condemning bear farms almost
since they were first proclaimed as the saviour of the species in the
wild. Since the early 1990's we have repeatedly found that the
regulations which the Government promote as hygienic, humane and
conservation-based, actually fail to meet even the most basic
international requirements - and fail the animals themselves who
suffer a tortured, miserable existence at the hands of people who
cleverly disguise the reality of the facilities they run.
The evidence we have gathered through investigations of over 30 bear
farms in China and over 200 surgeries performed on rescued bears;
together with interviews with bear farm owners themselves, confirms
that the farmers are deliberately flouting current welfare
regulations on these farms at all levels. They are also paying local
villagers in rural areas to trap cubs to supplement the trade.
Despite the existence of laws authorising domestic trade only, there
is substantial evidence that medicines and parts from this CITES
Appendix I endangered species are finding their way into illegal
markets across the world.
I cannot imagine therefore, why people with the same vested interests
in promoting tiger farms in China would act any differently to those
who farm the bears.
My own visits to tiger farms - both overt and covert - have also
proven that what "official" guests and visitors are shown and told is
far removed from the actual practices of a cruel and illegal trade
which is allowed to continue unabated. Vendors desperate for sales
actively promote the purchase and sale of tiger parts and even advise
on ways to circumvent customs regulations in virtually any country in
the world to eager consumers who couldn't give a damn about domestic
or international laws.
Bear farmers are clearly not meeting dismal domestic welfare and
conservation standards, let alone internationally accepted levels.
Neither can those who run current tiger "breeding" facilities be
prevented from engaging in the illicit sale of tiger bones and other
parts. So why on earth should we be so naive and complacent to accept
that a new breed of tiger farms, run by the very same people who are
at the forefront of these cruel and illegal practices, could save the
tiger from its current path of doom.
Jill Robinson MBE
Founder & CEO
Animals Asia Foundation
ANIMALS ASIA HAS A BRAND NEW WEBSITE!
Find out more about the "China Bear Rescue" and "Friends.....or Food"
http://www.animalsasia.org
For more information on Asian animal issues, please use the search feature on the AAPN website: http://www.aapn.org/ or search the list archives at: http://groups.yahoo.com
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