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Ten thousand tigers in the USA

The good and the bad. Words: David Helton
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Bad news
The US administration has recently authorised, in violation of 30 years of wildlife-trade commitments, the import of animals and parts of animals that are endangered in other countries. It means that circuses, the pet industry and hunters are free to bring into the US any animal and anything from skins to ivory to trophies. Why? Because, administration officials say, there's a lot of money involved, and a lot of that can be used for conservation.
Good news
Last November, soon after all the tiger news was in the media, the US House of Representatives voted 419-0 to ban interstate trade in dangerous exotic animals, including big cats. Earlier the Senate had passed a similar bill, and as BBC Wildlife went to press, it only remained for the two houses of Congress to agree on a unified version and for President Bush to sign it. Since the bill also bans the import of dangerous exotic animals, it will be interesting to see if it clashes with the administration's new policy of allowing the import of endangered species.
The proposed new UK Criminal Justice Act will make trade in endangered species an automatically arrestable offence and the maximum sentence for wildlife trafficking five years.
News both good and bad
In a crackdown on wildlife-product dealers and tiger farms, Thailand's forestry police have revealed a huge trade in tiger and leopard skins and other parts - mostly destined for India, Nepal and China - and that tigers are being bred for their meat, served in several Bangkok restaurants. The Environmental Investigation Agency has been calling for this kind of enforcement since 2001, and there's a strong suspicion that the police have finally decided to act because the next meeting of the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) will be hosted by Thailand.
Links outside the BBC
The Born Free Foundation
The Captive Wild Animal Protection Coalition
Every animal-welfare organisation worth its name is opposed to exotic pet-keeping and canned hunting, but the following have particularly strong stands on one or both:-
Humane Society of the United States
Fund for Animals
League Against Cruel Sports
Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa
Kalahari Raptor Centre
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