The
WILDLIFE PROTECTION SOCIETY OF
INDIA (WPSI) works with government enforcement agencies to apprehend
tiger poachers and traders throughout India. WPSI also makes every
effort to investigate and verify any seizure of tiger parts and
unnatural tiger deaths that are brought to our notice.
The
following figures represent
only a fraction of the actual poaching and trade in tiger parts in
India. The details below are compiled from reports
received by WPSI from enforcement authorities, work carried out by
WPSI, and other sources.
To
date, WPSI has documented the following cases:
95 cases of
tigers known to
have been killed in 1994 121 tigers killed in 1995 52 tigers killed in 1996 88 tigers killed in 1997 39 tigers killed in 1998 81 tigers killed in 1999 52 tigers killed in 2000 72 tigers killed in 2001 46 tigers killed in 2002 38 tigers killed in
2003
38
tigers killed in 2004 46
tigers killed in
2005
37
tigers killed in 2006 27 tigers killed in
2007 29 tigers killed in 2008 32 tigers killed in 2009 30 tigers killed in 2010 13 tigers killed in 2011 32 tigers killed in 2012 43 tigers killed in 2013 23 tigers killed in 2014 26 tigers killed in 2015 50 tigers killed in 2016 38 tigers killed in 2017 34 tigers killed in 2018 38 tigers killed in 2019 31 tigers killed in 2020 56 tigers killed in 2021 39 tigers killed in 2022 56 tigers killed in 2023
WPSI also has records of a large
number of tigers that were "found dead". Without verification of
poaching evidence these deaths have not been included in the above
figures. To reach an estimate of the magnitude of the poaching of
tigers in India, it may be interesting to note that the Customs
authorities multiply known offences by ten to estimate the size of an
illegal trade.
The
illicit demand for bones from
wild tigers for use in traditional oriental medicine, coupled with the
international trade in tiger skins, continues to be the main reason for
the unrelenting poaching pressure on tigers in India. There is
virtually no demand for either bones or skins of tigers within India.
Note:
For tiger bone seizures,
in the absence of skulls the number of dead tigers have been calculated
by using an average of 12 kg of bones per tiger.
95 cases of
tigers known to
have been killed in 1994 
