Aug. 31 – Representatives from India’s Ministry of Environment and Forests, the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, and the National Tiger Conservation Authority arrived in Beijing on Monday evening for a five-day visit aimed at curbing the illegal tiger trade that is prevalent in China.

The upcoming meetings will mark the first ever round of talks between India and China regarding wildlife conservation and management, according to the Hindu. During discussions, the Indian delegation is expected to urge their Chinese counterparts to continue to enforce their current ban on any domestic trade in tiger parts. It has been reported that Beijing was considering caving in to pressure from “tiger farm” owners who want the Chinese government to permit the trading of tiger parts.

Wild tigers are becoming scarce throughout Asia as they are poached for their skins and for their parts to be used in virility wines and tonics. India believes that many of its tigers are being hunted and smuggled into China due to the country’s lucrative tiger parts market. Chinese traditional medicine, in particular, calls for the use of tiger penises and bones in certain concoctions believed to increase sexual potency and treat illnesses.

India is worried that if China lifts the trade ban on farm raised tigers, wild tigers could easily be smuggled into the country and marketed as the farm raised variety.

Some estimate that India may now have less than 800 tigers living in the wild while China likely has fewer than 20 left. China, though, keeps as many as 6,000 living in captivity and can breed up to 1,000 a year.