Fishing Boats Fuel Malayan Tiger Trafficking Crisis

Govind Tekale

Fishing boats act as a secret "poachers' highway" connecting Vietnam and Malaysia.

Photo Source: Bernard Spragg (Public Domain Work)

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Because of poaching and habitat loss, the population of Malayan tigers has drastically decreased from 3,000 to fewer than 150.

Photo Source: B_cool (CC BY 2.0)

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In Malaysian forests, Vietnamese poaching teams have caught tigers using sturdy steel snares.

Photo Source: Tim Evanson (CC BY-SA 2.0)

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Tigers are slaughtered for their bones, which are illegally traded by boiling them into a glue-like material.

Photo Source: James St. John (CC BY 2.0)

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Smugglers transport tiger parts, concealed behind fish and ice, using fishing vessels.

Photo Source: lizardwisdom (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

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In the South China Sea, forced labor, wildlife smuggling, and illegal fishing are all related.

Photo Source: Hohum (CC BY-SA 3.0)

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To stop trafficking, Malaysian and Vietnamese officials have tightened maritime controls.

Photo Source: Jason Thien (CC BY 2.0)

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To discourage poaching, researchers recommend focused interventions in Quang Binh Province of Vietnam.

Photo Source: USAID Biodiversity & Forestry (CC BY-NC 2.0)

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Experts caution that outside Asia, fishing vessels probably facilitate international wildlife trafficking.

Photo Source: GRIDArendal (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

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