Fewer than 150 Malayan tigers remain in their home range of Peninsular Malaysia. Poaching to supply an illegal trade in their body parts is a major threat to the survival of this critically endangered subspecies of tiger, Panthera tigris jacksoni. A new study details a link between the trafficking of people and Malayan tiger parts: Vietnamese migrant workers in Malaysia, indebted to their employers, often turn to the illegal wildlife trade, while network managers and vessel captains use fishing boats to smuggle tiger parts to Vietnam.
The study, published in January in the journal Trends in Organized Crime, drew on six months of interviews with 53 people familiar with fishing-boat smuggling routes and wildlife trade networks between Malaysia and Vietnam. These individuals included poachers, transporters, brokers, wildlife traders and consumers who purchased the final products. Tiger skins, bones and other body parts are trafficked for traditional medicine and ornaments. Bones are particularly coveted for unproven treatment of ailments like joint pain, epilepsy and sexual performance issues.
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