Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has roots within the chinese culture, being the main form of medicinal practice in the early Chinese civilisation over 2000 years ago. Although most societies, even predominantly chinese ones, are more inclined towards allopathic medications in the present day, TCM still has a significant influence on majority Chinese societies. Even though TCM also includes other physiological practices, such as acupuncture, tui na (massages), and mediation (influenced by Buddhism), it also has a focus on the use of medicinal herbs and certain animal parts to treat patients of their ailments. However, in recent years, due to increasing affluence among the Chinese, poaching of these animals for their parts, such as tigers and rhinoceros, had seen them being brought to the brink of extinction. The market for the bear bile had also seen the entrapment of bears in cruel and inhuman conditions. Hence, the practice of using animal parts in TCM has some detrimental impact on the natural wildlife, as it had partially encouraged the wildlife trade that occurs around the world.
Tigers
Image credit: USFWS Mountain-Prairie
Tiger parts had been used in TCM for over many centuries. It was thought to be able to treat certain illnesses such as ulcers and rheumatism. For instance, the bones of a tiger are used to brew tiger wine, which is purported to have anti-inflammatory properties and increase sex drive in men. However, despite there being little research to support these alleged properties, the demand for these “medicinal” commodities had increased over the years, leading to an increase in tiger farms across China and countries in Southeast Asia such as Vietnam and Laos. These countries, while not predominantly Chinese, are influenced by the Chinese culture as well. With the rampant poaching of tigers, tiger species across different countries have seen a fall in their population. For example, of the nine subspecies, three had already met it’s untimely end due to rampant poaching and loss of habitat, while the remaining six are at risk of having a similar fate.
Image credit: http://www.ispyanimals.com/
Rhinoceros
Image credit: Save the Rhino
Asian rhinoceros had also been poached to the brink of extinction for their horns, which are touted to have medicinal properties that can cure a wide variety of illnesses, including cancer. As such, two prominent Asiatic species of rhinoceros – Javan and Sumatran, are critically endangered. As seen in the image above, Javan and Sumatran rhinos numbered around or less than a 100 each in the wild.
Asiatic bears
Image credit: Mike Seamons on Flickr
Bears are also implicated in the practice of TCM, as they are exploited in atrocious conditions for their bile. Bear bile has been an ingredient used in TCM for more than 3,000 years, as they contained a high concentration of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) that can help to treat gallbladder and liver conditions. Disturbingly, bear farms that are set up specifically to harvest bile is legal in China. Furthermore, more illegal bear farms had begun to sprout up in Vietnam and Laos due to the lack of enforcement. The bears are usually kept in cramp conditions that prevent them from moving around, as a tube is inserted directly into their gallbladder to extract the bile. These extraction devices can even be inserted in permanently into their gallbladder via risky surgeries that see many dying during the process. Due to the unsanitary conditions that they live it, these bears are also highly susceptible to infections and diseases. These extraction methods cause immense physical and psychological damage to the bears, as they are subjected to “milking” as early as 3 years of age. The practice of farming bears for bile had seen some species of bears becoming extinct or endangered across Asia. For example, the Malayan sun bear has seen its population fall by 30% over the past 30 years, due to a mix factors of poaching and destruction of their habitat (IUCN Red List, 2008).
Caveat: While the use of animal parts in TCM had helped to fuel the demand for them, leading to increase in poaching and the creation of illegal (or legal) farms, there are multiple factors that had lead to the species loss, such as the encroachment and destruction of their natural habitats by humans. For rhinoceros horns, they are also used as a symbol of wealth, instead as a medicinal ingredient. Furthermore, TCM is not the only culprit using animal parts for some of their remedies. Traditional medicinal use of slow loris in Cambodia had also caused a decline in their numbers.