IFAW in Doha, Qatar Attending the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species

My name is Grace Ge Gabrel and I am leading on IFAWs work at the CoP to ensure that measures are taken to protect the last of the world's wild tigers.

I attended the Standing Committee meeting today which is before the official start of the Conference and already the debate on tigers is getting heated.

As a member of the International Tiger Coalition, IFAW made an intervention to urge the 174 countries to CITES to stop the trade of tiger parts from all sources. The demand for tiger parts is being stimulated by the growing tiger farming industry that is actively selling products purported to contain tiger bone. I have personally investigated the trade. In the underground cellar of a tiger farm, I was horrified to see 400 huge vats of wine, each containing a tiger carcass, brewing tiger bone wine!

In the Chinese Year of the Tiger, these practices breaks laws, confuse consumers and create a demand for dead tigers, that is further threatening the survival of the world's only remaining population of fewer than 3000 wild tigers.

The debate on stopping commercial tiger farming will only intensify in the next two weeks. We will continue to advocate for strong measure to control trade in this highly endangered species. I will bring you news as it develops.