Chinese Medicine Rejects Tiger Bone Remedies

by Stephanie Feldstein · 2010-03-15 09:00:00 UTC
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The first day of the major international conference on endangered species brought potentially good news for tigers. The World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies released a statement admitting that tiger bone doesn't offer some of the medicinal benefits attributed to it. The WFCMS said the use of endangered species negatively affects the image of traditional Chinese medicine in the international community, and they're urging their members not to use tiger bone or any other parts from endangered wildlife.

Traditional Chinese medicine has always been a major consumer of tiger parts, and their rejection of tiger remedies could deal a major blow to the illegal trade. One of the proposals being considered at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) conference is a permanent ban on trading tiger products.

Wildlife organizations are also calling for a reduction in commercial captive breeding operations. Tiger farms encourage the illegal trade by funneling tiger products into the black market. They're also notoriously cruel operations.

In a heartbreaking expose, reporter Richard Jones visited a tiger farm in Guilin, China. The facility houses 1,500 tigers in cramped, dirty conditions; some crammed several to one small cage, others live in concrete enclosures with only a slit window for exposure to the outdoors. (There are several disturbing pictures and more details in Jones' article.)

It's not worth it for the farm owners to invest in the tigers' basic needs, like food or vet care, because they're worth more dead than alive. By letting them die slow deaths, they can slip into a loophole in Chinese law that allows the sale of parts from tigers that have died "naturally" in captivity. As if that weren't enough, many tiger farms, like the one Jones visited, are "parks" where visitors pay to be amused by the neglected animals. The public doesn't have access to full operation, of course, but a few young, relatively tame tigers are trotted out for various performances and other attractions a couple times a day.

The wealthy businessmen who own these places are a powerful lobby in favor of legalizing the tiger trade. The ticket sales aren't enough to cover the cost of housing so many tigers, so the majority of the parks' income comes from tiger bone wine and other traditional medicines. If the market for tiger remedies disappears, tiger farms won't be nearly as lucrative for their owners.

If CITES passes stronger protections for tigers, it could add the necessary international pressure for China to crack down on enforcing the tiger trade ban and, hopefully, put some of these tiger farms out of business and protect the few remaining tigers in the wild.

There might be hope yet for the species to survive the Year of the Tiger.

Photo credit: B_cool

Stephanie Feldstein is a Change.org Editor who has been part of the animal welfare and rescue community for over a decade, and most recently worked for an environmental organization.
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