Tiger parts are still being widely sold in Sumatra, Indonesia, warns a new report. However, with tiger numbers dwindling, the illegal trade is looking like an increasingly unsustainable, as well as unsavoury, business.

Traffic, a wildlife monitoring network which works with WWF and the World Conservation Union, says the number of Sumatran tigers that are being illegally poached and sold is dropping. But that is not good news.

The group surveyed 326 shops across the Indonesian island of Sumatra in 2006 and found that 33 were selling body parts amounting to at least 23 tigers.

"This is down from an estimate of 52 killed per year in 1999-2000," says Julia Ng, lead author on new report. "Sadly, the decline appears to be due to the dwindling number of tigers left in the wild."

Conservation groups say the Indonesian government is not doing enough to protect the tiger subspecies despite ample evidence of their decline.

Tiger body parts, including canine teeth, claws, skin and whiskers, are believed to bring good luck to those who wear them and to give protection from black magic. The bones of the right front paw are sometimes "infused" in a glass of warm water, which is then drunk to treat headaches.

(New Scientist)