Download - Global Tiger Initiative

Snow Leopard skin carpet at a tourist camp, in Mongolia. It is reported that confiscated
Snow Leopard skins were given to the tourist camp for use as decoration, in the absence
of any other known use. Objections were raised by tourists who knew the species to be
endangered.
Credit: B. Munkhtsog and L. Purevjav
sale at a government department store in Ulaanbaatar. However, following strong lobbying
from local NGOs and increased media coverage, the Ministry of Environment investigated the
case and seized the Snow Leopard products in 2001, since which time Snow Leopard skin items
have not been seen for sale in this store (Munkhtsog, 2002).
Based on the data shown in Table 7, more than 10 Snow Leopard skins were sold annually at
Altay market in the early 1990s, but by 2000 around four to five skins per year were reported
sold. This indicates that the trade in Snow Leopard skins has decreased since the mid-1990s in
Altay. This could be owing to increased awareness of the illegality of this trade among traders
and customers. Most traders interviewed during the surveys conducted in the summer of 2002
were well aware that the Snow Leopard is a protected species in Mongolia and that trade in its
skin is illegal. The traders further explained that they found it increasingly difficult to attract
customers and that the value of Snow Leopard skins had fallen since the mid-1990s. Nowadays,
most trade was said to be confined to high-ranking officials, for whom it is easier to avoid legal
controls, or professional traders who are also involved in the trade of other wildlife products
(Munkhtsog, 2002).
Prices for Snow Leopard skins in Mongolia, 1990-2002, are shown in Table 7. These ranged
from USD55-200 in rural areas, but were considerably higher in Ulaanbaatar, where skins were
offered for USD180-800. A skin exported in November 1999 from Ömnögovi province, to
China, sold for USD360 (Munkhtsog, 2002) and, in April 2003, the owner of a Snow Leopard
skin and skull stated he expected these to fetch USD880 in Ulaanbaatar. The man claimed he
had bought the Snow Leopard products for around USD175 in his home province of Hovd
(B. Munkhtsog, in litt., 2003). Skins traded across the border to the Russian Federation were
reported to be sold at USD50 (four to five times less than the price of the cheapest Snow
Leopard skins from the Russian Federation) (Koshkarev, 2002).
34 FADING FOOTPRINTS: the killing and trade of Snow Leopards