Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Dangerous proposal

The proposal to breed tigers in captivity and to lift the 14-year-old Chinese ban on the trade in tiger parts for use in traditional medicine, if implemented, will no doubt have an adverse impact on Indian wildlife ("Selling the tiger to save it: will it work?" Feb. 21). Thanks to the stringent wildlife laws, India still has a respectable number of tigers.

Captive farming will increase the number of consumers, which, in turn, will boost the demand for tiger parts. With poached tigers being cheaper than the farmed ones, soon there will be dwindling of tiger population leading to the destruction of the forests.

Shaik Abdul Khadar,
Kurnool

The advocates of tiger farming ignore the fact that it is not poaching alone that threatens the animal today. It is the loss of wildlife habitat and prey that is causing the decline in the tiger population. Harvesting tiger parts is no remedy. It will only prop up the demand for the products and endanger the tigers further.

Vivek Thuppil,
Bangalore

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