Hundreds of snow leopards are killed illegally every year in remote mountains from China to Tajikistan, further endangering the big cats, which number only a few thousand in the wild, a report said on Friday.
Prices ranged up to $10,000 for the carcasses, prized for thick light-colored fur with dark spots, according to the study by Traffic, an international network that monitors wildlife trade.
An estimated 221 to 450 snow leopards were killed annually since 2008 despite bans in 12 Asian nations where they live, it said. Traffic said there were many uncertainties because the leopards live in inaccessible regions including the Himalayas.
About half were shot by farmers to protect goats, sheep and other livestock, with many carcasses then sold, it said. Others were targeted by poachers or trapped in snares meant to catch other animals such as deer.
Still, it said there were some successes in protecting the animals. Only one leopard skin was found on sale in the central Chinese city of Linxia in a 2011 survey, against 60 in 2007.
A Red List of endangered species estimates the global population of snow leopards at between 4,080 and 6,590. International trade in snow leopards has been banned since 1975.