Illegal Tiger Farms are Expanding in Laos, Investigation Reveals
New covert footage released by EIA shows the huge expansion of captive-breeding facilities in Laos for tigers and bears.
A shocking new investigation has revealed that ‘criminal-run’ tiger and bear breeding farms in Laos have expanded, doubling the number of captive animals being held in prison-like, concrete cages.
The new, covert footage, released by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), shows bears and at least 70 tigers pacing in factory-farm-like conditions. The drone evidence stands in sharp contrast to the international ruling that tigers should not be bred for the commercial trade of their parts or products, as well as the government of Laos’ promise to close down these facilities.
It’s estimated that less than 4,000 tigers remain in the wild, with the species considered extinct in Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Meanwhile, more than 8,000 tigers are being held captive in facilities in these countries, as well as China. Some operate under the guise of tourism and are marketed as zoos, conservation centers, and entertainment attractions.
“This is clearly not a zoo – there is no conservation or educational value in keeping tigers and bears like this and it is plainly a commercial tiger and bear farm,” said Debbie Banks, EIA’s Tiger and Wildlife Crime Campaign Leader.
The tiger and bear captive-breeding farm documented by EIA in December 2021, is located in The Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ), along the Mekong River in the country’s Bokeo Province. Despite being subject to the laws of Laos, 80 percent of the GTSEZ is owned and controlled by The Kings Romans Group, a Hong Kong-registered company headed by the Zhao Wei organized crime organization.
The US Department of Treasury designated Zhao Wei and affiliates as a Transnational Criminal Organisation for human, wildlife, and drug trafficking, money laundering, and bribery in 2018.
Tiger skins for sale in the GTSEZ in 2015. Credit: EIA
In 2015, EIA released a report entitled Sin City, exposing the GTSEZ as a hub for trade in illegal wildlife products and parts, including tigers, leopards, elephants, rhinos, pangolins, helmeted hornbills, snakes, and bears, all smuggled in from Asia and Africa. There were six tigers when the EIA first began its investigation in 2014. Nine months later there were 35. Today, there are around 70.
“This footage shows how the organized crime group clearly has no intention of ending its business – and that the Government of Laos is egregiously failing to meet its international commitments to end tiger trade and tiger farming,” said Banks.
Captive tiger in the GTSEZ, December 2021. Credit: EIA
The species is farmed and trafficked to satisfy the demand for their parts, from the bones, which are used for wine or medicinal paste, to the skin and teeth, which may be used as decorative items, such as furniture or jewelry.
Experts say that captive breeding does nothing to protect wild tiger populations, instead perpetuating the demand for tiger products, acting as a cover for illegal trade, and undermining enforcement efforts. Since 2000, more than 2,940 tigers have been seized in trade - the majority originated from the wild.
Banks added: “Contrary to the arguments of proponents of tiger farming and trade that the practice will relieve pressure on wild populations, wild tigers continue to be poached and trafficked to supply the demand it spurs.”
Dead tiger cubs offered for sale on WeChat by Vietnamese traders and, right, the end product, tiger cub wine. Credit: EIA
In 2007, the countries party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) decided that tigers should not be bred for trade. Then, in 2018, Laos' five remaining tiger farms were ordered to close, including the one at the GTSEZ, by the country’s then Prime Minister. However, he created a major loophole that permitted them to become ‘zoos’.
“Some have refused and some are zoos in name only, but they’re all still run by the same criminal enterprises as before,” said Banks. “Trade in tigers from these facilities has continued, with seizures, arrests and convictions in Vietnam of tigers and traders connected to the Laos farms.”
Solutions for change
EIA is calling for trade suspensions on Laos until the government demonstrates its willingness to take steps to eliminate tiger farming.
The group has also identified actions that could be implemented by the Laos government, including the establishment of the stripe pattern database. This groundbreaking new tool uses artificial intelligence to help identify individual tiger stripe pattern profiles, which allows the identification of tigers and skins seized in illegal trade.
Other measures recommended by EIA include high-level intervention from the Laos Government to assert jurisdiction and take enforcement action against criminal operations at the GTSEZ, the suspension of the breeding of tigers in all captive facilities, and the establishment of an advisory group to focus on the phasing-out of tiger farms.
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