By Allan Thornton, et al.

A report into how the first CITES-approved ivory sale led to an increase in elephant poaching.

In 1997, CITES Parties voted to down-list the elephant populations of Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe, followed swiftly by a supposedly one-time only sale in 1999 of stockpiled ivory to Japan.

This report provides documentation of the resulting soaring rates across the African continent, despite the predictions of ‘experts’ that such a sale would satiate the market.

London: Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), 2020. 36p.

By Jos´e Luis Carpio Domínguez , In´es Arroyo Quiroz , María Teresa Villarreal Martínez , Jesús Ignacio Castro Salazar

This study examines the possession of Tigers (Panthera tigris) as pets in Mexico through statistical analysis of governmental seizures on a period of 11 years, a review of socio-political factors related to this phenomenon and an analysis of a particular illicit supply network of a Tiger (P. tigris) specimen seized from a criminal group in northern Tamaulipas, Mexico. We found that socio-political factors such as the prohibition on the use of animals for circuses; environmental regulation strategies; the dominance of criminal groups in most of the Mexican territory and their traditional interest in exotic animals have an influence in the presence of tigers in private homes and ranches. This study contributes to the theoretical understanding of the possession of exotic animals, wildlife illegal networks and wildlife trafficking in Mexico.

Forensic Science International: Animals and Environments. Volume 2, December 2022,

By L. Musing

This report investigates the domestic legislation, and policies regarding the keeping and captive breeding of tigers and disposal of their parts in the EU, and the enforcement of these regulations. Six target countries were selected as a focus for this study: Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, and the UK, based on preliminary trade data analysis and suspected or known links to the captive tiger population and tiger trade nexus. Between February and July 2020, interviews and consultations were conducted through written questionnaires and video-calls with stakeholders, including the CITES Management and/or Enforcement Authorities of the six target countries, European and national zoo associations, and relevant NGOs. CITES trade data for the period 2013 through 2017 were used to analyse reported legal trade patterns involving tigers to and from the EU, and data for the same time period from two seizures databases: EU-TWIX and TRAFFIC’s Wildlife Trade Information System (WiTIS), were used to assess the EU’s involvement in the illegal trade of tigers and their parts and derivatives.

Cambridge, UK: TRAFFIC, and World Wildlife Fund, 2020. 53p.

By Ramacandra Wong, Kanitha Krishnasamy

Overall, whole tigers, dead and live, as well as a variety of tiger parts equal to a conservative estimate of 3,377 tigers were confiscated between January 2000 and June 2022 across 50 countries and territories, with data showing an increasing trend. According to Skin and Bones: Tiger Trafficking Analysis from January 2000–June 2022, the tigers and their parts were seized in 2,205 incidents, mostly in the 13 Tiger Range Countries (TRCs). India, home to more than half of the global wild tiger population, remains the top-ranked country with the most incidents and number of tigers confiscated. Data from the first half of 2022, the Year of the Tiger, stood out for several reasons: Indonesia, Thailand, and Russia recorded significant increases in the number of seizure incidents compared to the January-to-June period of the previous two decades.  This recent period was also particularly significant for Indonesia, home to the Critically Endangered Sumatran Tiger. It has already seized more tigers in the first half of 2022 (18 tigers) compared to all confiscations in 2021 (totalling 16 tigers). 

Selangor, Malaysia: TRAFFIC, Southeast Asia Regional Office, 2022. 52p.

By Debbie Banks and Julian Newman

This report is a call to action to stop the international illegal trade in tiger and other endangered Asian big cat skins. It draws together information from India, Nepal and China, as source, transit and destination countries. It also highlights the urgent need for governments to improve wildlife crime investigation, analysis, enforcement, communication and cooperation. Parties to the United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) need to demonstrate greater political commitment and treat wildlife crime more seriously. Key range, transit and destination countries need to establish specialised enforcement units capable of combating the organised criminal networks controlling the trade. Professional enforcement agencies need to be involved in ensuring greater cross-border communication and coordination and the international community, both government and non-government, needs to provide adequate technical and financial assistance in mobilising new enforcement initiatives. There can be no doubt that the skin trade is spiralling out of control. On a remote road in the west of the Tibet Autonomous Region (hereafter referred to as Tibet), in October 2003, customs officers at a temporary checkpoint made a startling discovery that lifted the lid on the true scale of the illegal trade in tiger and leopard skins. In a single consignment officers recovered the skins of 31 tigers, 581 leopards and 778 otters. The skins came from India and were on route to Lhasa, capital of Tibet, a major hub for the trade.

London; New York: Environmental Investigation Agency, 2004. 24p.

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