Tiger farms

Some countries, such as China, still allow breeding of captive tigers as well as the domestic trade, resulting in legal production of tiger products. Because of these tiger ‘farms’ people are often given the false impression about the amount of wild tigers alive. Over 6,000 tigers are estimated to be held captive at tiger ‘farms’ with many visible signs of severe malnutrition and abuse.

In China, there are over 200 operating tiger ‘safari parks’ where visitors come to watch tigers perform tricks such as jumping through hoops, riding on the backs of horses and balancing on balls. Many of these tigers have been de-toothed or de-clawed, in order to perform these tricks. The tigers are kept in small cages when not performing and ‘speed-bred’ so they can produce as many tigers as soon as possible

 

Private owners

In the United States, the estimate of captive tigers is 5,000. People can legally keep a tiger on their property without having to report it to the local authorities. The issue then is, what is done with their body parts after they die? Because of this poor regulation and lack of governmental control, tiger parts become a target for the black market, and due to its continuous availability, the demand will remain high.

How ethical and morally acceptable this is, is yet another major issue to consider..