Tigers are vanishing, and the illegal trade in their parts for use in traditional medicines is largely to blame. If it's hard to imagine that anyone would be willing to kill one of these exquisite creatures to use its penis in some half-cocked virility potion, well, just think about how big a market bogus fertility drugs are in this country: A bazillion spam messages can't be wrong!

According to a recent report by the BBC, World Bank Chief Robert Zoellick estimated the annual trade in animal parts at $10 billion. It is the third highest commodity on the black market index, right behind drugs and weapons.

To slow the trade, penalties have to be harsher on both the supply and the demand sides. Perhaps we should[...]

[Published in NonProfitBlogs - Read the original article]