Research overview: tiger trade and seizure analyses

Monitoring the illegal trade in tiger parts relies heavily on analyzing seizures of skins, bones, claws, and other products intercepted by authorities. This overview surveys research, much of it compiled by trade-monitoring organizations, that uses seizure records to estimate the scale, routes, and trends of tiger trafficking across Asia. Studies translate seizures into minimum numbers of tigers affected, identify trafficking hubs and consumer markets, and track shifts in trade dynamics over time. Researchers acknowledge that seizures capture only a fraction of actual trade and are shaped by enforcement effort, complicating interpretation. The overview frames seizure analysis as the primary window into a clandestine trade that drives tiger poaching, providing the evidence base for international policy and enforcement priorities. It matters because demand for tiger parts remains a leading threat, and understanding the trade's structure is essential to disrupting the supply chains that incentivize poaching across tiger range.