Khammouane Provincial authorities have provided the bodies of three deceased tigers to the Faculty of Forest Science at the National University of Laos (NUOL) for study.
According to a report by the Pasaxon Newspaper, authorities donated the bodies of the tigers to NUOL on Wednesday in Khammouane Province.
The three tigers were found dead on 12 January, with their internal organs removed. The bodies weighed a total of 434 kilograms.
Authorities in Khammouane Province confiscated the three tiger carcasses from a businessperson on his way to Yommalad District for illegal transportation.
The offender was investigated and prosecuted in accordance with the law.
Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Forest Science, NUOL, Mr. Sithong Thongmanivong, says the three tigers’ bodies are extremely significant, especially in the education and research sectors.
“We will maintain the bodies in their original state, especially the skeleton and skin texture sections, in order to preserve future generations’ ability to research,” said Mr. Sithong Thongmanivong.
Even though wild tigers are a legally protected species in Laos, they remain illegally farmed and traded in response to the increasing demand in neighboring countries for tiger parts, which are used for traditional medicine.
The Lao government announced it would phase out tiger farms in 2016.
