Chinese government
The Chinese government has been taking action towards preserving the South China Tiger (Panthera tigris amoyensis) since 1980. Currently, the government has undertaken a variety of measures to ensure that the population remains stable, including:
- Legislation: The South China Tiger is protected under first-level national protection, with any and all hunting or killing of the animal completely prohibited; individuals deemed to have conducted illegal activities involving these actions, or commercial usage and trading of tiger-products, can be subjected to imprisonment for up to seven years.
- Establishment of Nature Reserves: The Chinese government has been seriously promoting the establishment of nature reserves. With the purpose of preventing damage to the habitats of the tigers and improving the overall quality of their environment. Currently, there are seven national and fourteen local nature reserves available, covering an area of 5000 square kilometers.
- Ban on Trade of Tiger Products: In 1993, the State Council of the People's Republic of China issued a ban on the trade of tiger bones, in addition to fully prohibiting any domestic use and trade of bone, skin and other parts of tiger. Furthermore, the majority of tiger-based products were destroyed, regardless of purpose.
- Captive Breeding: China has established a co-ordination committee designed to promote the captive breeding of the South China Tiger. In addition to increasing the size of the population, a gene bank has been established in the Shanghai Zoo to improve the genetic structure of future generations; the bank contains information on the health, genealogy, mating pattern and current management procedures of each individual tiger.