Southeast Asian Countries Struggle to Preserve Wild Tigers

BOKEO PROVINCE, Laos -- Visit the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone in Laos' northwestern Bokeo province, ask about a local "tiger zoo," and most people will deny its existence.

"It's not here. There are no more tigers," says the manager of a coffee shop in the zone, a region devoted to commercial development, as he silenced a junior employee who appeared to be trying to provide more information about the attraction.

Similar requests to other residents in the economic zone were met with the same response: there were no longer any tigers in the area.

The live animal enclosure was documented in a March 2015 report by the Environmental Investigation Agency, an international nongovernmental organization, that examined illegal wildlife trade in the zone. The agency's report described the enclosure as housing 26 tigers and 38 Asiatic black bears, overseen by a head keeper who "boasted of being an experienced tiger breeder and butcher."

The report, "Sin City: Illegal wildlife trade in Laos' Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone," described the zone as "a lawless playground" catering to mainly Chinese tourists who "can openly purchase and consume illegal wildlife products and parts, including those of endangered tigers."

Despite the denials of some of the zone's residents, the animal enclosure exists, hidden away from public view between a sports field and a building a short walk from the casino that the zone is best known for. During a visit in October, there were no bears kept at the compound, but about 20 tigers were roaming in decrepit cages with no keeper in sight. The conditions and security were so poor that a member of the group that toured the enclosure was attacked by a tiger through the cage, and was fortunate to escape with just a few cuts to his arm.

The existence of these enclosures underscores the challenges countries face in trying to preserve endangered animals, particularly in remote areas where law enforcement is problematic.

Activity in Region Draws U.S. Sanctions

The Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone is located on the banks of the Mekong River, close to the intersection of the Laos border with Thailand and Myanmar. Its name is derived from the notoriety of the region, which emerged in the late 20th century as the world's biggest producer of heroin. Today it is known as an area where the U.S. government and international rights groups say people illegally traffic drugs, animals and people.

In 2007, the Hong Kong-registered Kings Romans Group (KRG), signed an agreement with the Laos government for a 99-year lease on 10,000 hectares (24,700 acres) of land in Bokeo province. The agreement included 3,000 hectares designated as a duty-free zone, known as the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone. KRG is headed by Chinese businessman Zhao Wei, who started out in trading timber before moving to Macau in the 1990s, where he became involved in the city's gambling industry.

Much of the activity in the zone centers around the King Romans Casino, which opened in 2009, as well as a nearby shopping and restaurant area called Chinatown. Currently the area is undergoing significant development, and is dominated by a 20-story golden building, which residents say will be a hotel. Despite being officially in Laos, the area feels like a Chinese city. Clocks run on Beijing time, the yuan is the favored currency and the majority of workers are Chinese -- with some Myanmar migrants. At night in particular, sex workers can be seen openly walking the streets, or working in massage parlors dotted around the town.

The stated aim of the economic zone was to attract foreign investment in trade and tourism in order to drive local economic growth and alleviate poverty, but it has developed a reputation for a much more sinister side.

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In January 2018, the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control placed sanctions on four individuals, including Zhao Wei, as well as three entities for their activities in the economic zone. It accused them of engaging in "an array of horrendous illicit activities, including human trafficking and child prostitution, drug trafficking and wildlife trafficking." It also accused KRG of storing and distributing heroin and methamphetamine, as well as engaging in wildlife trafficking of "endangered and vulnerable animals," including tigers, rhinos, pangolins (a form of anteater), Asiatic black bears and elephants.

The U.S. government also accused Zhao Wei of engaging in "extensive bribery to facilitate money laundering, narcotics trafficking, and wildlife trafficking at the King Romans Casino."

KRG representatives could not be reached for comment, but at the time Zhao Wei strongly denied the accusations, calling them a "unilateral, extraterritorial, unreasonable and hegemonic act of ulterior motives and malicious rumor-mongering."

But the U.S. sanctions did stir some action. In August 2018, local media reports said that four shops in the SEZ were closed after "they were found illegally selling wildlife and ornamental goods made from protected animal species."

During the October visit, there was no evidence of exotic animals being sold on the streets, and the restaurants named in the EIA report as selling tiger meat or bones were either closed or had disappeared.

The Spread of Tiger Farms

Estimates indicate that at least 8,000 tigers are currently being held in more than 200 facilities across East and Southeast Asia, says Leigh Henry, director of wildlife policy for the U.S. chapter of the World Wildlife Fund. Of these, the vast majority (about 80%) of the tigers are being held in China, followed by Thailand, Laos and Vietnam.

"There is a huge variation in the scale of tiger farms, from the very small -- one or a few individuals -- to huge operations containing more than 1,000 tigers," Henry says. "Although tiger farms have been around since at least 1986, the number of captive tigers has spiked considerably during the last 15 years, highlighting the need to stop the breeding of these tigers before the problem gets even more difficult to manage."

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The issue is problematic in all countries where tiger farms exist, but particularly in Laos. A recent study in Global Conservation and Ecology found that the country has no wild tigers left, the final one disappearing after 2013 from the Nam Et-Phou Louey National Protected Area in the north of the country.

Tiger farms are one reason to blame, observers say.

Henry says the current scale of captive breeding operations within tiger farms is "a significant obstacle" to the protection and recovery of wild populations, claiming that it undermines enforcement efforts and also contributes to growing demand.

"The availability of any tiger products or derivatives from tiger farms serves to legitimize and normalize demand for such items in a region currently experiencing profound and sustained growth of consumer classes," she says.

In May 2018, the Laos government issued an order from the prime minister instructing such farms to be transformed into a "safari or zoo environment for the purpose of conservation, tourism and scientific purposes only." The Laotian government has made little comment since then, but at the time the World Wildlife Fund said that, if strictly enforced, the move could "mark a turning point for wildlife conservation."

However, other conservationists say that such measures need to go further, especially in areas that are operated by crime syndicates.

"Simply declaring them as tourist attractions is not addressing this problem," says Debbie Banks, campaign leader (Tigers and Wildlife Crime) at the EIA. "Laos needs to phase these tiger farms out."

"If the government of Laos shows that it is serious about this, I think they'll find there will be a lot of interest from organizations who have experience in running genuine sanctuaries," Banks adds. "The type of places where there is no breeding, buying, selling, or handling of the tigers, where these tigers could live out their natural lives, bringing an end to tiger farming."

Oliver Slow is a journalist based in Yangon, Myanmar. He can be followed on Twitter here.