Tigers in Malaysia are more likely to be eaten by people than the other way around, the conservationist group WWF said Thursday, launching a campaign urging Malaysians to boycott meat from wildlife.

WWF Malaysia's executive director Mikaail Kavanagh Abdullah said that while much attention had recently been given to tiger attacks which killed three people in Kelantan, the animals themselves were under greater threat.

"It is far more likely that a person will eat a tiger in this country than the other way around," he said in a statement. "We have heard about man-eating tigers. But what about 'man-eaten' tigers? Do we care about them?"

Kavanagh said restaurants in several parts of the country served wildlife meat - including leopard, monkey and bear - and while tigers were "rarities on most menus, they too end up in the cooking pot".

He called for a boycott of such restaurants, saying anyone who was already at the table when they realised wildlife was on the menu should get up and leave - naming the campaign "Walk out for Wildlife".

They should then report the restaurant to government authorities or the local branch of the international WWF.

"When there is no market for wildlife meat, no animals will be killed for the market. This will save tigers and other endangered species," he said.

Killing plans

Earlier this month Kelantan state announced plans to use the army to hunt and kill all tigers in part of its territory after a rash of attacks on humans, provoking an outcry from conservationists.

Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, chief minister of the opposition-ruled state, issued the shoot-on-sight order after tigers killed three rubber tappers this year and mauled another in the Jeli district.

"Malaysia already has far too many tigers... they are better off dead," he said.

A 1997 survey carried out by the wildlife department estimated there were some 600-650 tigers left in peninsula Malaysia, down from 5,000 in the 1950s.

Tigers are a protected species in Malaysia and Environment Minister Law Hieng Ding has said that anyone killing tigers without a permit would be prosecuted. AFP