SHENYANG - A shortage of funds is the greatest barrier to feeding the growing number of captive bred Siberian tigers in China.

Two Siberian tigers wrestle at the Heilongjiang Siberian Tiger Park. The number of the captive tigers is increasing even as they are threatened in the wild. [Photo/Xinhua]

Up to 109 captive bred Siberian tigers, also known as Amur tigers, live in the Strange Slope Northeast Tiger Park in Shenyang, Northeast China's Liaoning province.

The park is under the Siberian Tiger Park based in Harbin, Heilongjiang province, the country's largest breeding base for the big cat.

But to Liu Xinmin, a tiger breeder in the park in Shenyang, feeding so many tigers is so expensive that it's hard for the facility to carry on.

Each tiger eats 5 kg of chicken bones, 5 kg of beef and some eggs each day, all of which costs about 150 yuan ($23.50) a day.

The current food supply can't really satisfy the tigers - it can only meet their basic energy needs, especially in the winter, he said.

"The happiest moment for these big cats is when many tourists come to the park, since the tigers get additional food, such as goats and pheasants, during show times," he said.

Zheng Xuefeng, office director of the park, told China Daily that visitor fees are the major source of funds for feeding the tigers.

The park attracted more than 40,000 visitors in October, a peak season for the park, with total income of 2.2 million yuan.

But there is a sharp decrease in visitors and income in the winter.

"We can make ends meet, but things will be more difficult when the park has more tigers in the future," he said.

China has seen a boost in the population of captive Siberian tigers in the past few decades, with the number reaching 5,000 to 6,000 now, statistics from the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) show.

But animal rights groups are concerned about the tigers' living conditions, since they believe that some zoo owners care more about profits than animal welfare.

At least 11 Siberian tigers starved to death within three months at a wildlife zoo in Shenyang in 2010, local media reported.

China has banned the trade of tiger parts products since 1993. But for many zoo owners, easing the ban on captive tigers that die of natural causes would be a way to ease their fund shortages when it comes to feeding tigers.

The number of captive tigers increased from 28 in 1996 to more than 1,000 now in the Siberian Tiger Park in Harbin. Every year, about two or three tigers die.

"Because of the ban, the bodies of dead tigers can be only kept in a freezer. Now we are begging with a gold bowl in our hands," Zhang Chengzhong, a manager of the park, said.

He declined to say how many dead tigers were being preserved in the park.

"If the ban is lifted, it will greatly ease the shortage of funds for raising tigers, which I've expected for a long time," he said.

However, Mang Ping, a professor from the Central Institute of Socialism, told China Daily that there would surely be a risk of poaching of wild tigers if the ban is lifted.

"It is difficult to judge whether tiger parts products come from wild tigers or not. Therefore, wild tigers will be in danger," she said.

"To limit the current growing number of captive tigers is an effective way to guarantee their living conditions," she said.