News Headline

Tiger bones? Lion bones? An almost extinct cycad? On-the-spot DNA checks at ports of entry

Source
Phys.org

Publication Date
2017-11-17

Wildlife traffickers do their best to make animal and plant parts unidentifiable. When customs officials find bones, maybe all they can say, is that the bones belonged to large cats. Then they have to ask: are those tiger bones? Tigers are threatened with extinction and an international convention (CITES) forbids any trade of any parts. Or are those African lion bones? No parts from wild populations of African lions may be traded, but a global quota for captive-bred animals is still to be determined.

Content
https://phys.org/news/2017-11-tiger-bones-lion-extinct-cycad.html