Thursday 7 November 2002

Asian Leopards was released in collaboration with the International Snow Leopard Trust at the Twelfth Conference of the Parties (CoP12) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). It coincides with a resolution at the conference that calls on all governments to make conservation of snow leopards and other Asian big cats a priority.

The publication highlights the threats - such as the illegal trade in skins - to the Asian leopard, the clouded leopard and the snow leopard. Recently gathered evidence shows that high numbers of clouded leopard skins were on sale in Myanmar and that large seizures in India included more than 100 leopard skins, as well as 18,000 leopard claws. In Kyrgyzstan, where a snow leopard skin is worth several times the annual wage of a state worker, as many as 300 snow leopards have been killed for trade alone over the past decade. Snow leopard skins have also been seen in growing numbers in rural Chinese wildlife markets and even in Beijing fur shops. It takes between six and eleven snow leopard skins to make one fur coat yet there are only an estimated 3,500-7,000 snow leopards left in the world.

The plight of Asian leopards and tigers faced with extinction was one of the key driving forces in the formation of CITES in 1973. "CITES has proved a success story for tigers. Now it's time for the 160 governments at CoP12 to take the plight of Asian leopards seriously," said Callum Rankine, WWF Species Officer. "If they don't, these beautiful animals could be lost forever."

Like tigers, Asian leopards are also killed for their bones, which are used in traditional Asian medicine. Efforts to control trade in tiger bones through CITES have benefited the tiger but this has led to an increasing demand for bones from other big cats.

Asian leopards are listed in CITES Appendix I, meaning that all trade is prohibited. However, poor enforcement of CITES regulations has led to increased poaching. In addition, trade in leopard pelts is often a by-product of conflicts between these cats and farmers, who kill them to protect their livestock.

"Addressing trade issues alone, without taking into account the social and economic causes of killing leopards, will not be effective in conserving these endangered cats," said Dr Susan Lieberman, Director of WWF International's Species Programme. "It is vital to increase the value of Asian big cats to the people who live in their range by providing incentives that favour conservation over killing. In addition, effective management controls must be established, capacity increased and anti-poaching teams set up."