Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Save The Tiger

Cats on TuesdayThis post is dedicated to the Malayan tiger, in the hope that action taken in the next fifty years will prevent the complete destruction of this wonderful animal living in our forests.

There are less than 500 Malayan tigers left. Defenders of Wildlife state the appalling truth of numbers worldwide today:

"In the early 1900s, there were around 100,000 tigers throughout their range. Today, an estimated total of around 4000-5500 exist in the wild. Below is a breakdown of numbers by subspecies.tiger

Bengal tiger: 3000-4000
Indochinese tiger: 750-1300
South Chinese tiger: less than 20
Siberian tiger: around 450
Sumatran tiger: 400-500
Malayan tiger: less than 500
Caspian tiger: extinct
Javan tiger: extinct
Bali tiger: extinct"

In Malaysia our tigers are suffering from forest destruction but the biggest threat are poachers. People here eat tiger meat and products thinking they have "special healing powers". Another problem are Traditional Asian Medicines and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) that uses tiger parts.

However, there is no need to use tiger parts as pig bones work just as well. Check out Alternatives to the Use of Endangered Species in Chinese Medicine for more details.
If you buy TCM, look for a label that says it does not contain endangered species. There are plenty of practitioners who sell these, just ask your local hospital or association.

MYCAT, the Malaysian NGO dedicated to saving the Malayan tiger will be holding a meeting on December 16th at Zoo Negara. They will be launching a Tiger Crime Hotline for people who want to report tiger poaching, tiger products being sold and other problems. The number will be 019 356 4194. It will be activated on the 16th December.

tigerPlease tell your friends about the plight of the Tiger. If you think money will do the trick, you might mention that according Ecotravel expert Allison Klein, approximately 700 million people spend a total of $2-3 trillion on their trips, annually. At present, ecotourism represents about 2 percent of that total. That's $40,000,000,000,000.

For more info visit: Tigers in Crisis and Save The Tiger Fund.


Gattina said...

How terrible ! They are such beautiful animals. And eating tiger meat, it's unbelievable what people invent for their well being.

claudie said...

Yes terrible! It's the word! I heard about on TV. I can't understand that in 2007 and soon 2008 such practicals exist still! How can people eat tiggers, and believe receive powers! perhaps powers to destroy the best things on our planet!

michico＊Adan said...

These are terrible >_<~~

Cheysuli and her Acupuncturist said...

Traditional herbal medicines used by TCM practitioners may offer formulas that contain tiger parts. However most industrialized countries prohibit the importation of endangered species. Doctors and herbal specialists in these countries have reformulated the traditional formulas to not use tiger parts.

There is only a very small part of the world that insists upon using the old classical formulas. For the most part TCM formulas, when purchased from a reputable doctor avoid using any type of endangered species.

Additionally, given the interest in vegetarianism in the West, many formulas that would contain any type of animal product use only vegetarian ingredients.

This is not to minimize what is going on with the Tiger. That is a horrible thing. And I do understand that there are those who would do anything to keep to the classics formulas, especially those patients who are desperate. I would like to point out that the usage of endangered species is not without alternatives and is a problem only in certain regions.

TCM has the ability to help millions of people with the chronic disease of the modern world and I hate to see it associated in only a negative way with an endangered species.

Thank you

katztales said...

Cheysuli, read the MYCAT pages and they'll tell you poaching and TMC are still happening in Malaysia. God knows why but there you go. We should all spread your message about proper TCM and hopefully one threat will be lessened.

My World said...

Tiger,tiger burning bright.
We will fight for your right,
with all our heart and might.
So Tiger,Tiger do not fright,
just look to the next day light.

Anonymous said...

Horrible! How terrible to kill such creatures for a stupid superstition!

katztales said...

There's a row about some pictures taken of supposed South China tigers - which many believe is now extinct. Read the BBC article at