Tiger farms in China and Southeast Asia breed thousands of tigers for traditional medicine markets, with severe welfare conditions and conservation concerns driving international opposition.
Tiger farm welfare conditions represent some of the most severe welfare compromises for large cats in captivity. Small cages prevent all natural behavioral expression. Social conditions are incompatible with tiger natural history as solitary territory holders. Tigers born into farms experience lifelong confinement with no socialization to species-typical environments or behaviors. The commercial incentive to maintain large numbers reduces individual care resources per animal. International conservation and welfare campaigns have achieved some restrictions on tiger farm operations, but enforcement remains inconsistent.