Malaysia tigers poached nearly to extinction
Malaysia is losing its battle to save its dwindling population of wild tigers, a conservation coalition warned Wednesday after a series of raids that netted tiger carcasses and bones. “It is clearly time to admit that we are fast losing the battle to save our tigers to an army of smugglers and poachers intent on killing every last one,” said the Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers (MyCat). “They enter our protected areas with ease, and illegally trap, kill and export our wildlife with little fear,” said the alliance which includes WWF Malaysia and watchdog Traffic Southeast Asia. MyCat demanded that Malaysian authorities take action to stop the illegal trade in tiger parts. It listed a series of seizures of dismembered tigers in recent months, from the Thai-Laos border right down to Malaysia itself, including three kilograms (six-and-a-half pounds) of tiger bones found in northeastern Kelantan state last month. … “If we cannot stop captive tigers from government-supervised institutions from being illegally traded, there is little hope of protecting wild tigers,” it said. …
