Tigers are highly endangered – there are as few as 3,200 remaining in the wild. One of the most significant threats for the survival of tigers is trade in their body parts. Almost every body part of the tiger is traded by criminals for massive profit and the trade is fuelled by corruption. The main market for tiger products is China, with other markets in Vietnam and Laos.

The trade threat is exacerbated by a marked increase in tiger 'farms' in China, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand where tigers are kept, and are often intensively bred, for trade. Facilities keeping tigers include not just large tiger farms but also circuses and smaller facilities with fewer animals which are used as a front for laundering illegal tiger parts and products. Such trade stimulates further demand for tiger parts and products and undermines enforcement operations and demand-reduction efforts

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