Chinese Medicine: Activists argue traditional medicines threaten mass suffering and extinction.
Where do we draw the line when it comes to culture and sustainability?
Few would argue there’s justification for deliberately causing pain or risking extinction to the living resources of our planet. Yet equally few of us might drop our cultural heritage, passed down through generations, at the drop of a hat.
This is the fine balance to be trodden with Eastern medicine, or indeed any practice which damages our resources but remains a key part of human belief systems. Whether considering such beliefs barbaric or archaic actually means they are so is a tough question to answer.
“Undoubtedly the most threatened species is the tiger,” says Colman O’Criodain, who works on wildlife trade issues for WWF International. “Poaching is the biggest threat to the tiger. International trade is banned and most consumer countries, including China, prohibit domestic trade.”
“However, in some countries, such as Malaysia and Indonesia, there are loopholes in the law or enforcement is a low priority. Tiger numbers continue to decline across their range; the latest estimate is 3,200 in the wild. Other species threatened are Asian bears, rhinos or pangolins. As you can see, mammals are the most vulnerable group.”
Criodain explains various things have been tried to find a balance. “Tiger has been removed from many Chinese pharmacopoeias and other bone products have been advocated instead. There is certainly a need for more stringent law enforcement. China, Russia and India are reasonably proactive but other range States, e.g. Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar and Vietnam are less so.”
It’s not just about animals. “There are issues around the sustainability of some medicinal plant trade and some species, including the dessert cistanche and certain yew species, are regulated in international trade. However, subject to proper regulation, the problems are less acute than for some animal species.”
Cultural change
Developing any change is challenging, requiring a gentle touch. “It is difficult and sometimes the advocacy around species conservation can be counterproductive. One problem is that sometimes western aesthetics or animal welfare considerations can get mixed up with conservation issues.”
“Some uses of charismatic animals can be repugnant to many observers but still be sustainable. Also, while those that have strict beliefs on any consumptive uses of animals have a right to take the moral high ground, we sometimes fail to ask ourselves if our attitudes towards killing animals in other continents is consistent with ‘western’ practices and pursuits, such as force feeding geese, wildfowl shooting, sport fishing or factory farming.”
“Zoos could never supply these products on a commercial scale and most of them would not want to,” continues O’Criodain, describing potential solutions. “Most of them follow international standards that limit the productivity of the breeding animals. Essentially, they just breed for other zoos or for reintroduction projects, not for consumptive use.
“In the case of fecund animals like lions they actually take steps to avoid the birth of unwanted surplus animals. More importantly, the widespread conventional wisdom that captive breeding or farming can replace the demand for the wild animals is not always the case.”
“It is true in the case of crocodiles because they are cheap to feed and the farmed skins are superior in quality. In the case of tigers, on the other hand, these animals are very expensive to feed and house and it will always be cheaper, especially as long as enforcement remains patchy, to poach them.”
“Furthermore, the products of wild tiger are believed to be more efficacious than those of farmed animals. Indeed, farmed bear products have been on the market for some time and they do not appear to have significantly reduced poaching of wild bears.”
Political will
Maybe more political clout could be the answer? “The fact that China has been considering allowing trade in farmed tiger products is undermining the will and capacity to address the situation internationally.” says O’Criodain. “However, in the long run resource and governance issues are more of a problem, countries with adequate resources and good governance can get on top of the problem.”
“Certainly, some species like tigers are at real and acute risk. Already, there are more tigers in captivity in the world than in the wild. However, the problem is a facet of the wider issue of the much higher purchasing power in China in recent years, which is also driving demand for sharks, live reef food fish, tortoises, turtles or timber. to unsustainable levels.”
“We also have to see it in the context of overconsumption across the richer parts of the planet in general, which is leading to unsustainable practices such as forest clearing and overfishing.”
There are agencies seeking other solutions. On 22 December 2009, 18 of mainland China’s 31 provinces and districts committed to remaining bear farm free and rooting out any hidden bile farms.
“Sadly, because of breeding on the farms and continued illegal trapping in the wild, the number of bears on farms in China has probably increased. But the action of the progressive leaders of these 18 regions in standing up publicly against this terrible industry is groundbreaking,” said Animals Asia Founder and CEO Jill Robinson MBE.
“We cannot commend these provinces highly enough for their courage and commitment, and we’re grateful for the leadership role shown by the CWCA in Beijing in saying a very powerful ‘no’ to the exploitation of one of China’s endangered flagship species.”
“We have never been more hopeful of seeing the last bear farm close as this vision spreads into other provinces of China, one by one, until bear bile usage is a distant memory, and moon bears are accorded the same protection and respect as their endangered cousins, the pandas.”
There are risks to humans too. Extractions from bears pumped with antibiotics and farmed intensively can be contaminated. “The Anti-Poison Centre at Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi, Vietnam revealed it had treated a number of people who had been rushed to the centre with acute inflammation of the wall of the stomach after consuming bear bile,” explains Animals Asia’s China Director of External Affairs, Toby Zhang.
The front line
Clearly, persuading actual practitioners of medicine to use alternatives, and in turn persuade their customers, would be a great way to move the debate forward.
“Recently, we co sponsored a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) conference in Beijing that was attended by 250 practitioners and specialists, all committed to finding ways to end the use of endangered species in TCM.” says Zhang. “A number of speakers warned about the health effects of consuming bear bile, so the message is definitely getting out there.”
According to Animals in Asia, bear farming is still legal in China, however it has been illegal to set up a new farm since 2000. This illustrates the legal complexities underlying attempts for change. But many within the actual industry itself might welcome tougher rules.
“In the past, there were several species threatened, including tiger and rhino,” says
Lixin Huang, MS President, American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
“In China, it has been illegal to use tiger bone and rhino horn in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) since 1993. Since this time, a different industry, the ‘health and nutrition’ industry, has been a major source of these illegal materials.”
“This industry is not regulated by the government, as the TCM industry is. As such, illegal trade is more rampant. TCM practitioners in China, and the rest of the world, are educated and committed to species preservation. Individuals who use these endangered species as part of nutritional supplements or food, however, are not as regulated or committed.”
“Examples would be things like shark fin soup, turtle soup, or supplements using turtles, bear, crocodile or sea horses.” Huang continues. “TCM does not use, or advocate the use, of any of these. However, these soups can be found by other avenues, and often at a steep price. Some consider these items a ‘luxury’. This is the case in China, Vietnam, Cambodia and other countries.”
Endangered education
Trying to illustrate the true risks of these practices may be another way to mitigate damage. “While those in the conservation communities and governments are generally well educated about, and committed to this issue, there is still a great need to educate other populations about it,” says Huang.
“Many are not aware of the degree to which we've lost species, or how close we are to losing even more. This applies to the general public, as well as those who use products that contain these endangered species. Generally, there needs to be more awareness of this issue.”
History itself can present issues. “Cultural change is challenging. For example, TCM has a history of over 2,000 years. Change can come slowly and often needs legislation by the government to start the process. But, it can happen, as we've seen with the ban on the use of tiger and rhino in TCM.”
“The key is to offer sustainable alternatives to the endangered species to truly foster change. Without these alternatives, many will find it hard, or impossible, to change. For example, tiger was banned in the use of traditional medicine. Practitioners then started substituting it with leopard. Now, the leopard is in danger of facing the same fate.”
“There definitely is a will and a commitment by the conservation community and national governments. But, the challenge is that this is only one part of the solution,” continues Huang. “These groups need more funds to really do the work that needs to be done.”
“They also need more manpower, they need the support of the people living in these communities. Without the support of the communities themselves, laws can be hard to enforce.”
“We feel this support will come from education about this topic, from offering both individuals and companies incentives for not using endangered species, and from providing sustainable alternatives to these groups to ensure a long term solution.”
Huang reckons it is helpful when governments allocate the needed funds towards conservation and education, to support the creation and enforcement of laws that protect endangered species. Working together with NGOs and the conservation community is very important. Long term solutions for economic development are vital, many times, this comes at a steep price, paid in loss of habitat and species.
“We will be honest about this when we say, the future is not optimistic,” concludes Huang. “If we remain passive, the situation will only worsen. An example of continued efforts is the World Bank working with 14 countries to double the tiger population during the next 10 years.”
“Also, CITES will be hosting a meeting in 2010 with 170 countries present. The meeting will address and discuss the issue of the illegal trade in endangered species. We also find hope in major companies, like Home Depot and Starbucks, who are employing global environmental initiatives.”
“We hope that many others will follow in the future. With government support, citizen education, adequate funding, law enforcement, sustainable planning, consumer incentives and alternatives, all hope will not be lost.”
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Picture: Chengdu Truth. Credit: AAF
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