Tigers get own ID cards

PROTECTED SPECIES

Tiger identification cards will be issued for captive tigers at private farms and zoos nationwide to help authorities verify the protected animals' sources of origin.

The ID card will be accompanied with a photograph of the tiger's skin print, which is a unique characteristic of each tiger.

"A tiger's skin print is like a human's fingerprints. In foreign countries, wildlife authorities use the skin print to prove a tiger's origin in an illegal wildlife trade case," said Saksit Simcharoen, director of the wildlife protection division in Nakhon Sawan province.

Mr Saksit last year led a team of officials to make skin-print profiles of 30 tigers raised at Wat Pa Luangta Bua Yannasampanno forest monastery, better known as the Tiger Temple, in Kanchanaburi province to help monitor its tiger population.

A wildlife protection group has asked the authorities to check the tiger population at the temple for fear they might be sold to wildlife traders.

Temple officials claimed the first 10 tigers came from private owners but the number later increased to over 30, making the temple popular among tourists who wish to have a close encounter with the beasts.

Mr Saksit said Sri Racha Tiger Zoo, the largest private tiger farm in Chon Buri province, is the major target of the tiger ID scheme, as there are over 400 tigers kept at the zoo.

Under the law, owners of private zoos and animal farms are required to inform authorities about the birth and death of members of protected animal species, including tigers. A new-born tiger must also be planted with a microchip as an official record of registration.

However, many tigers are believed to remain unregistered.