Indian wildlife experts have urged the government to be vigilant against poaching of tigers and rhinos after China eased a 25-year ban on the trade of body parts of the animals, and said New Delhi should also raise their concern with Beijing at international fora.
They said that the decision by China is likely to result in a decline in the population of the animals and has potential “grave and devastating” implications for tiger and rhino conservation in India.
According to media reports, China has partially lifted the ban on the use of tiger bones and rhino horns for medicinal uses. The ban was imposed in 1993 to save the endangered species.
Dipankar Ghose, director-species and landscapes programme at WWF-India Secretariat, said the consequences of such a reversal is likely to adversely affect the population of the two species across the globe.
According to the latest survey, India has 2,226 tigers and 3,500 rhinos are left in both India and Nepal.
“People involved in illegal wildlife trade of tiger bones and rhino horns might target the wild populations in India. Our country, with 60 per cent and 85 per cent of global populations of wild tigers and greater one-horned rhinos respectively, will be under threat of poaching,” Ghose said.
