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| Tigers - thought to number just 22 in Myanmar - can now be bred for their meat and skin. (AFP/Chaideer Mahyuddi |
[아시아뉴스통신=레악카나 기자] Conservationists have warned a sudden change in Myanmar's law allowing the commercial farming of tigers, pangolins and other endangered species risks further fuelling demand in China for rare wildlife products. The Southeast Asian nation is already a hub for the illegal trafficking of wildlife.
The trade is driven by demand from neighbouring China and worth an estimated US$20 billion worldwide.In June, Myanmar's Forest Department quietly gave the green light to private zoos to apply for licences to breed 90 species, more than 20 of which are endangered or critically endangered.It was an unexpected move that caught conservation groups off-guard.
The Forest Department explained it was a way to help reduce poaching of wild species and illegal breeding.Tigers - thought to number just 22 in Myanmar - pangolins, elephants and various vulture species as well as the critically endangered Ayeyarwady dolphin and Siamese crocodile can now also be bred for their meat and skin.
But conservationists say commercial farming in the long-term legitimises the use of endangered species and fuels market demand. Experts also fear Myanmar's lack of capacity to regulate the trade raises the risk of disease spillover to humans from animals and even the "next COVID-19".
