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Friday, September 5, 2008

Bear Bile, Tiger Parts Sold in Myanmar Markets

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Myanmar's Booming Illegal Wildlife Trade

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These bones from a male tigeron sale in Mvng La in northern Myanmar (Burma) in a photograph taken in summer 2005will likely be used in traditional Chinese medicine.

The centuries-old practice relies on natural and herbal ingredients, and advocates tiger bone to treat joint ailments such as arthritis, according to the international conservation organization WWF and TRAFFIC, a wildlife-trade monitoring network.

The organizations are working to curb poaching of tigers, whose wild populations have fallen to between 5,000 to 7,000 individuals, according to WWF. The drop is due largely to the demand for use of tiger parts in Chinese medicine.

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—Photograph by Karl Ammann