19/09/2026
Building a Tiger Population Management System to Combat Transnational Wildlife Trafficking in Lao PDR
Since August 2024, the Government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic has been working in cooperation with Save Elephant Foundation to strengthen technical and veterinary support for the management of captive tiger populations and to support national efforts to prevent illegal breeding and wildlife trafficking.
Illegal trade in tigers and tiger parts remains a serious threat to tiger conservation across Asia. Wildlife trafficking networks operate across national borders, particularly throughout Southeast Asia, connecting source and transit countries with consumer markets in other parts of the region and beyond.
Investigations by the Wildlife Justice Commission have documented trafficking networks involving Lao PDR, Thailand, Vietnam, and other countries, including trade in both wild and captive tigers, as well as bones, skins, canines, and other tiger products.
One of the greatest challenges for law enforcement is determining the true origin of each tiger. Without a reliable registration and identification system, gaps can potentially be exploited to launder wild-caught tigers, remove cubs from the registered population, or use breeding facilities and other establishments to conceal illegal trade.
The tiger (Panthera tigris) is listed in Appendix I of CITES and is therefore subject to the Convention’s highest level of international trade protection. International commercial trade is consequently subject to strict restrictions and conditions.
In response, the Government of Lao PDR has been strengthening the management of captive tiger populations and working with Save Elephant Foundation to survey tigers in facilities across the country. Our veterinary teams have also been supporting sterilization efforts to control population growth.
At the heart of this project is one fundamental principle:
Every tiger must have an identity within the system and must be traceable.
The work therefore includes building a comprehensive database, implanting microchips, and recording each tiger’s s*x, age, identifying characteristics, location, health history, and reproductive status, together with records of births, deaths, and movements.
DNA samples are also collected to establish genetic information that can help confirm individual identity and biological relationships between tigers. Genetic records can provide an additional tool for investigating the possible origin of a tiger—or tiger parts—when questions or suspected trafficking cases arise.
To date, our veterinary teams have surveyed and assessed tigers at all six identified facilities across the country. The number of tigers at each facility varies considerably, ranging from approximately 50 to 300 animals.
But this mission is not simply about sterilization.
Equally important is creating a system capable of continuously tracking changes in the population—knowing which tigers have been born, which have died, which have been moved, and which remain at their registered locations.
When these records are connected, a tiger that suddenly appears without a documented origin can be questioned. Likewise, the unexplained disappearance of a registered tiger can be investigated.
Sterilization is carried out alongside the separation of males and females to reduce unplanned breeding, maintain captive populations at manageable levels, and reduce the risk that surplus tigers could enter illegal wildlife trade networks.
For this reason, databases, microchips, and DNA records are about far more than simply counting animals.
Together, they create a traceability system in which every tiger has an identity, a documented history, and a record that can follow that animal throughout its life.
Such a system can strengthen law enforcement in Lao PDR, support implementation of CITES obligations, and help close gaps that may otherwise be exploited to move tigers or tiger parts into illegal markets.
This cooperation also builds upon Save Elephant Foundation’s previous support for elephant identification, microchipping, and database development in Lao PDR—applying the same principle that every animal should be individually identifiable and traceable.
Together, these initiatives reflect a shared commitment to using science, veterinary standards, and transparent, verifiable data systems as practical tools for wildlife conservation and the prevention of illegal wildlife trafficking.
We would like to express my sincere gratitude to the veterinarians and veterinary assistants of Save Elephant Foundation who have worked continuously throughout this project. Their work has involved extensive field travel, health examinations, sterilization procedures, microchipping, DNA sampling, and the painstaking collection and organization of individual animal records.
Today, an important phase of this work has been completed, and the resulting information can be provided to the Government of Lao PDR to support captive tiger population management, law enforcement, and the development of stronger measures to combat transnational wildlife trafficking.
Protecting tigers does not begin only when a tiger is discovered being trafficked across a border.
It begins with knowing where every tiger is, where that tiger came from, its parentage, and whether it remains within the registered system.
When every tiger has an identity, a record, and a traceable history, the space in which illegal wildlife trafficking can operate becomes smaller.
This is another important step in protecting tigers before they become commodities in the illegal wildlife trade.
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