The NGO WWF called on Tuesday to seven countries in Asia where wild tigers still but whose population declined by 97% in a century to make a census of cats as a necessary measure to protect them.
"Until we know how many there are or where wild tigers are found, we can not know how to protect them effectively," estimated in a statement the director of the Global Tiger Initiative of WWF, Michael Baltzer.
The call is directed to Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Burma, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.
In 2010, the heads of state of the 13 countries that constitute the habitat of the wild tiger pledged to double their numbers by 2022 the population was estimated at about 3,200 individuals.
"That figure was a mere estimate," Baltzer said. "We have already come a third of the way to 2022 and it is necessary to go up a gear if we are to achieve our goal."
The tiger is primarily a victim of poaching. The route covers traffickers from India to China, where various parts of the cat are worth very expensive, since from 1,500 years ago are used in traditional medicine or for their supposed aphrodisiac qualities.
At least 1,590 tigers were seized between January 2000 and April 2004, according to the Traffic program, a network monitoring wildlife trade, quoted by the WWF.
Other Asian countries conduct regular national censuses are India, Nepal, Russia, Bhutan, Bangladesh and China.
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