More tigers now live in illegal captivity, on so-called "tiger farms," than in the wild. The prominence of these farms is highest in Vietnam, China and Thailand. On the farms, tigers are raised as livestock for the sole purpose of using their skeletons and body parts to produce illegal traditional medicines that are perceived as being able to treat rheumatic diseases and other ailments. In 2017, the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), an international NGO, identified more than 200 tiger farms in China, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam. Combined, these farms house between 7000 and 8000 tigers—more than twice the number of tigers remaining in the wild.
