Friend of the Earth programs needs your signature to request the Governments of China and Vietnam and companies involved to ban the sale and trade of big cats products. We will send all signatures of this petition to the decision-makers in the governments and companies and we will ask for feedback and updates on the undertaken measures. We will then provide you with update here.
The term Big Cat according to various Organizations includes only the Panthera genus with its five species, namely the tiger, the leopard, the lion, the jaguar and the snow leopard. But others also include the cheetah and the puma in this group.
They live in countries stretching the globe, from the highlands of Russia, Mongolia, Central Asia and India, through Africa, Central and South America.
Hunting for illegal trade it another issue facing big cat species. Tigers, leopards, lions and snow leopards in particular are commonly killed and their parts sold for the traditional Chinese medicine market. The demand for big cat products in health supplements is high in some parts of Asia. They are also hunted for their fur, which is used to make clothing and other fashion items.
Given the 2015 IUCN report, of all species of big cats, 5 tigers are considered extinct or regional extinct, and all the remaining species still existing instead oscillate between Vulnerable (VU), Endangered (EN) and Critically Endangered (CR).
All big cats play a vital role in maintaining ecosystem function. If any of the big cat species were to go extinct, as primary predators, the ecosystem would undoubtedly shift, likely with negative consequences for the diversity and abundance of other species.
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