Sumatran Tigers and Asian Medicine: Sumatra, Indonesia

By Wombat | February 20th, 2006 | 2 Comments »

A disturbing report from Bankgkok last week was the soaring prices for Sumatran Tiger bones used in Asian medicines. International agencies and National Park heads are up in arms at the possibility of the tigers being hunted down and killed.

Prices soar for Sumatran tiger bone used in Asian medicines

BANGKOK (AP): Prices for Sumatran tiger bones used in traditional Asian medicines have more than tripled in the past two years because of declining numbers of the endangered animals, an environmental group said Wednesday.

Shortages due to tougher law enforcement have also contributed to the price increase from US$25 per kilogram in 2003 to more than US$84 per kilogram last year, Britain-based Flora and Fauna International said in a report.
Sumatran tigers, which now number less than 700, are under increasing threat from habitat destruction and trafficking syndicates that sell their bones for traditional medicines.

“It’s straight economics,” said Debbie Martyr, who prepared the report and works in the Kerinci-Seblat National Park in Indonesia’s Sumatra island.

“Tigers are being wiped out in India. They’ve been almost wiped out in Thailand and parts of Indochina. The last substantial population of tigers may very well be in Sumatra. “She said tougher law enforcement measures that led to the seizure of 24 tiger skeletons last year in Taiwan has contributed to the spike in prices.

However, habitat loss from the construction of roads through the Kerinci-Seblat park, as well as the destruction of forests on the edge of the 259,000-square kilometer park, is “the biggest threat” to the endangered animals, she said.

“You once had very large areas of forest adjacent to the park which made access to the park difficult,” she said. “Those forests are now being cleared for palm oil plantations. What happens is that you have people coming in contact with wildlife and it becomes a great deal easier to hunt, conduct illegal logging and other things that damage the park,” she said.