Poaching and illegal wildlife trade

Poaching is a serious threat in all tiger range countries, which is why WWF works with local partners to strengthen anti-poaching efforts and intelligence networks.

Together with TRAFFIC, we address the threat of the illegal trade in tiger products. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) prohibits international trade in the tiger and its parts and products. Even so, trade continues relentlessly in range, transit and consumer states.

In order to enhance tiger conservation efforts, WWF and TRAFFIC employ several strategies to reduce and ultimately eliminate this trade. These include:

• anti-poaching efforts in and around protected areas;
  
  
• improving the understanding of tiger trade issues and dynamics (as well as the related trade in similar species such as the snow leopard) in range and consumer countries through research and trade monitoring, so that effective ways to address this trade and reduce demand can be developed;
  
  
• working nationally, regionally and internationally to improve law enforcement capacity, intelligence gathering, information-sharing and awareness of the trade’s impact, as well as strengthening international cooperation between range and consumer countries, in order to detect and halt the trade;
  
  
• exploring the potential to replace the use of tiger parts and derivatives in traditional Asian medicines with alternatives;
  
  
• researching the impact of trade in tiger prey species in order to improve protected area management;
  
  
• researching social and cultural aspects of the use of tiger and leopard skins in traditional Himalayan clothing; and
  
  
• developing educational materials for use among people who treasure the skins of big cats, and those who practise traditional medicine.