Rhinoceros Horn And Tiger Bone In China

In China, domestic trade in both tiger and rhinoceros products has been banned since 1993 and the maximum penalty for illicit trade is death. However, in this report TRAFFIC documents that Tiger and rhinoceros-based and traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) continue to be available.

In parts of Korea and China, moon bears, black but for the crescent-shaped patch of white on their chests, are captured in the wild and brought to "bear farms" where they are imprisoned in squeeze cages, and a steel catheter is inserted into their gall bladders. The dripping bile is collected as a cure for ailments ranging from an upset stomach to skin burns. The bear may live as long as fifteen years in this state. Rhinos are being illegally poached for their horns, as are tigers for their bones, thought to improve virility. Booming economies and growing wealth in parts of Asia are increasing demand for these precious medicinals. Already endangered species are being sacrificed for temporary treatments for nausea and erectile dysfunction. Richard Ellis, one of the world's foremost experts in wildlife extinction, brings his alarm to the pages of Tiger Bone & Rhino Horn, in the hope that through an exposure of this drug trade, something can be done to save the animals most direly threatened. Trade in animal parts for traditional Chinese medicine is a leading cause of species endangerment in Asia, and poaching is increasing at an alarming rate. Most of traditional Chinese medicine relies on herbs and other plants, and is not a cause for concern. Ellis illuminates those aspects of traditional medicine, but as wildlife habitats are shrinking for the hunted large species, the situation is becoming ever more critical. One hundred years ago, there were probably 100,000 tigers in India, South China, Sumatra, Bali, Java, and the Russian Far East. The South Chinese, Caspian, Balinese, and Javan species are extinct. There are now fewer than 5,000 tigers in all of India, and the numbers are dropping fast. There are five species of rhinoceros--three in Asia and two in Africa--and all have been hunted to near extinction so their horns can be ground into powder, not for aphrodisiacs, as commonly thought, but for ailments ranging from arthritis to depression. In 1930, there were 80,000 black rhinos in Africa. Now there are fewer than 2,500. Tigers, bears, and rhinos are not the only animals pursued for the sake of alleviating human ills--the list includes musk deer, sharks, saiga antelope, seahorses, porcupines, monkeys, beavers, and sea lions--but the dwindling numbers of those rare species call us to attention. Ellis tells us what has been done successfully, and contemplates what can and must be done to save these animals or, sadly, our children will witness the extinction of tigers, rhinos, and moon bears in their lifetime.

This study systematically examines how states implement and comply with international environmental accords.

Reviews the key legal and policy innovations along endangered flora and fauna value chains for CITES to promote more sustainable development.

The second edition of Tigers of the World explores tiger biology, ecology, conservation, management, and the science and technology that make this possible. In 1988, when the first edition was published, tiger conservation was still in its infancy, and two decades later there has been a revolution not only in what is known, but how information about tigers is obtained and disseminated. In the fast changing world of conservation, there is a great need to summarize the vast and current state-of-the-art, to put this into historical perspective, and to speculate in what yet remains to be done. Tigers of the World, 2e fulfills this need by bringing together in a unique way the world’s leading tiger experts into one volume. Despite the challenges ahead, there are bright spots in this story and lessons aplenty not only for tiger specialists but large carnivore specialists, conservation biologists, wildlife managers, natural resource policymakers, and most importantly the caring public. *Examines the past twenty years of research from the world’s leading tiger experts on biology, politics, and conservation. *Describes latest methods used to disseminate and obtain information needed for conservation and care of this species. *Includes coverage on genetics and ecology, policy, poaching and trade, captive breeding and farming, and the status of Asia’s last wild tigers. *Excellent resource for grad courses in conservation biology, wildlife management, and veterinary programs. *New volume continues the classic Noyes Series in Animal Behavior, Ecology, Conservation and Management.

Meticulous research, chilling facts.... an important and much needed book. -- Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, Founder, The Jane Goodall Institute If it is understanding you seek, turn these pages. -- Virginia McKenna, OBE, Founder, The Born Free Foundation If you care about elephants and rhinos, and the poaching onslaught that threatens their extinction in the wild, this is the book for you. -- Ian Redmond, OBE, Ambassador, UN Great Apes Survival Program As recently as ten years ago, out of every ten African elephants that died, four fell at the hands of poachers. The figure today is eight. Over sixty percent of Africa's Forest Elephants have been killed by poachers since the turn of the century. Rhinoceroses are being slaughtered throughout their ranges. The Vietnamese One-horned Rhinoceros and the Western Black rhino have become extinct in the last decade, and the Northern White Rhinoceros, the largest of them all, barely survives in captivity. This alarming book tells a crime story that takes place thousands of miles away, in countries that few of us may visit. But like the trade in illegal drugs, the traffic in elephant ivory and rhinoceros horn has far-reaching implications not only for these endangered animals, but also for the human victims of a world-wide surge in organized crime, corruption and violence. Since the worldwide ban on commercial ivory trade was passed in 1989, after a decade that saw half of Africa's elephants slaughtered by poachers, Ronald Orenstein has been at the heart of the fight. Today a new ivory crisis has arisen, fuelled by internal wars in Africa and a growing market in the Far East. Seizures of smuggled ivory have shot up in the past few years. Bands of militia have crossed from one side of Africa to the other, slaughtering elephants with automatic weapons. A market surge in Vietnam and elsewhere has led to a growing criminal onslaught against the world's rhinoceroses. The situation, for both elephants and rhinos, is dire.