SAVE the Wild Tigers~ International Fund for Animal Welfare

"An animal's eyes have the power to speak a great language." ~ Martin Buber

im passionate about tigers.

This is "Narrow Vision", a 10x20" acrylic on

Russian Linen Gallery Wrap, part of the Vision Series

created to show rare and endangered animals~

Please take a moment, & read the following newsletter from

International Fund for Animal Welfare, from Fred O'Regan. IFAW President

Thanks, Darcy





You can help us save wild tigers before it's too late

Tigers farms are threatening the survival of wild tigers.



International Fund for Animal Welfare
http://www.ifaw.org/ifaw_international/index.php






Click here to urge the U.S. the lead the way in saving wild tigers

Wild tiger numbers have dwindled in recent years to perilously low numbers - there are now less than 4,000 remaining. Already under threat from habitat and prey loss, wild tigers now face a serious threat to their existence from tiger farming.

Well the time has come to stop tiger farming in its tracks! Tiger farms are a big cat's worst nightmare: tigers are used to roaming large areas of land, but in farms they're confined in small cages...and they're "speed-bred" and even in-bred!...and the babies are torn from their mothers at three months - as opposed to three years in the wild - so the mothers can breed again and again.

And if that's not bad enough, tiger farming has become a serious threat to the survival of wild tigers as well.Here's why: Tigers were once hunted for their pelts, and for their bones which are used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for treating arthritis and rheumatism. The result is that tiger populations were hunted down to dangerously low levels, so low that China banned the domestic trade in tiger bone in 1993.

So it seemed that wild tigers were safe from hunters...but not for long.In the late 1990's, wealthy businessmen began farming tigers and making tiger bone available for trade. Tiger farming stimulates the market demand for tiger parts. However, not every tiger trader has a farm - many of them illegally hunt wild tigers, and then sell their parts on a thriving black market.

The United States, historically a leader on global tiger conservation, has proposed a new international effort to end tiger farming that it hopes to present at the next CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) conference.

I need you to send a message to U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Salazar, strongly supporting his proposal to end tiger farming.

I've drafted an e-mail for you - click here to open it and then follow the simple instructions to send it.

We CAN stop tiger farming in its tracks - but only if we act quickly. Please send your message of support today while it's still fresh in your mind.

Thank you,Fred O'Regan

IFAW President

p.s. Tiger farming businessmen disguise their money-making ventures as "conservation breeding," but the truth is that tigers bred on these farms lack the vital skills needed to survive in the wild - so the farms have absolutely no value for conservation of the species.

Please help us put an end to tiger farming by sending an e-mail to Secretary Salazar today.