BANGKOK – POLICE in Thailand have seized six tiger cubs in a raid on the home of a suspected weapons dealer, an anti-wildlife trafficking organisation said on Wednesday.
The owner, living in eastern Sa Kaeo province, did not have a permit so the tigers have been taken into the care of the Department of National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, according to the Freeland Foundation.
It said that tigers can fetch US$30,000 (S$38,000) on the black market and despite their endangered status continue to be purchased for their bones and organs used in medicines, while their skins are prized as trophies and ornaments.
The conservation group WWF has warned that tigers could become extinct within 12 years, with the number of the big cats worldwide plunging 97 per cent from its peak to around just 3,200. — AFP
