U.N. talks rebuke China for considering tiger trade

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - A U.N. wildlife conference rebuked China on Wednesday for considering lifting a 14-year-ban on domestic trade in farmed tiger parts amid fears that it would drive the cats to extinction.

"Tigers should not be bred for trade in their parts or derivatives," according to a document approved by the 171-nation U.N. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

Beijing told CITES last week it would allow trade in parts from captive-bred tigers if a scientific review proved it would reduce poaching and help stocks of wild tigers worldwide. China outlawed domestic sales of tiger parts in 1993.

Many countries fear that trade in parts of the cats, used in traditional medicines, would encourage poaching in other Asian nations where tiger numbers have also plunged. China has about 5,000 tigers in farms and only about 30 in the wild.