Animal parts are believed to have special medical properties that are considered to be very potent and they are exceptionally valued in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Just to name a few, TCM relies heavily on Bear Bile, Rhino Horns and powder grind from Tiger bones to cure various illnesses. The Chinese believes by ingesting the animal, you are also consuming all of its attributes and vitality.

However, more often than not, most of these species consumed are often obtained in illegal and cruel manners. Tigers and Rhinos are poached unscrupulously from the wild; sun bears are captured and kept in “crush cages”, while a tube would be unethically inserted into their gall bladder just to obtain their biles.

Photo Credits: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/radical-conservation/2015/apr/09/bear-bile-china-synthetic-alternative

Photo Credits: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/radical-conservation/2015/apr/09/bear-bile-china-synthetic-alternative

 

Photo Credit: http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2014/04/29/tigers-in-traditional-chinese-medicine-a-universal-apothecary/

Photo Credit: http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2014/04/29/tigers-in-traditional-chinese-medicine-a-universal-apothecary/

A Tiger Skeleton soaked in rice wine on display in Hangzhou, China.
Tiger Bone Wine is also extremely popular and expensive in China – It is believed to give the individual great strength when consumed and it’s recognised as a status symbol in China, only consumed by the wealthy.

Despite the obsession towards wildlife parts, some of its medical properties have been debunked by scientific research. They are not as potent as they are believed to be, and these animals might have died in vain under the pursuit of a claimed remedy. For example, the Vietnamese believe that consuming Rhino Horn can help to cure cancer. However, researchers from the University of Ohio has found that the main component in Rhino Horns is keratin, which is the same component found in our nails and hair.  All the miraculous medical properties sung about it are also nothing but speculations.

Photo Credits: http://english.tinmoitruong.vn/home/print_detail/23155

Photo Credits: http://english.tinmoitruong.vn/home/print_detail/23155

Thus, it only pains us further to know how many more of these animals we could have saved if the information was made known earlier to the general public.