N.J. senator introduces tiger-tracking bill to prevent illegal parts trading
A lawmaker hopes New Jersey will become a model for protection of tigers even though a fraction of the threatened animals are in the state.
State Sen. Ray Lesniak is sponsoring a bill that would require New Jersey’s captive tigers to be counted, registered and tracked to ensure their body parts don’t end up on the black market.
Tigers claws, teeth, whiskers and bones are thought to have medicinal value. The Democrat says he hopes to cut into the flourishing illegal tiger parts trade.
The bill would create a tiger registry and require environmental regulators to keep track of the population living in zoos and preserves.
Lesniak’s bill faces its first legislative hearing on Thursday.
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