A resolution, endorsed by India, China, Nepal and Russia, says that those countries which breed tigers on a commercial scale (a reference to China) “should implement measures to restrict the captive population to a level supportive only to conserving wild tigers.”

In other words, China, which has at least five tiger breeding farms with a total population of 5000 — almost double the number of tigers in the wild — has committed itself to using these farms purely for conservation, not for trade.

By signing the resolution, India is also acknowledging, for the first time, that tiger farms are legitimate as long as they are not detrimental to the wild tiger population.

So far, China has been the black sheep. Trade in tiger parts has been banned for 14 years and this year China was expected to propose that ingredients such as bone and skin — for traditional Chinese medicine — be allowed to be sourced from tigers bred in its farms.

“This would have been disastrous for us. For, Indian tigers would have been laundered under farmed tigers,” Rajesh Gopal, director, Project Tiger, told The Indian Express from the Hague. “The reason is it’s much more lucrative to poach wild tigers than to spend money to breed tigers.”

Meanwhile, a group led by Barun Mitra of the Liberty Institute has been pushing for captive breeding, even for India. His coalition of NGOs, Sustainable Development Network, believes that the only way to ensure the survival of the tiger is to breed it and legalise trade.

“When trade is outlawed, only outlaws trade,” said Mitra. He cites the crocodile example: because of successful breeding, its skin is freely available and its numbers in the wild are up. Mitra is at CITES too to garner support.