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Killing Tigers to Save Them: Fallacies of the Farming Argument
Conservation Biology
Abstract
The lucrative, illegal trade in tigers (Panthera tigris) remains a major conservation problem. Tiger farming has been proposed as a potential solution, with farmed tigers substituting for wild tigers. At first glance, this argument's logic seems simple: farming will increase the supply of tigers, prices will fall, and poaching will no longer be profitable. We contend, however, that this supply-side argument relies on mistaken assumptions. First, tiger markets are imperfect, meaning they are dominated by a few producers who control price. Second, consumers prefer wild tigers to farmed tigers and therefore the two are not pure substitutes. In economic terms, products from wild tigers are luxury goods, commanding a price premium. Third, there is no evidence that farmed tigers can be produced or sold more cheaply than wild tigers. In sum, it is unlikely that farming will drive down the price of wild-caught tigers or decrease profitability for tiger poachers. Rather, tiger farming is more likely to increase aggregate demand for tiger products and stimulate higher levels of poaching.
... The Chinese government has considered partially removing the domestic tiger trade ban to allow products from farmed tigers to supply to the traditional medicine market (Coals et al., 2020). But the potential effect of tiger farming on poaching of wild tigers remains highly controversial (Abbott and Van Kooten, 2011;Kirkpatrick and Emerton, 2010;Gratwicke et al., 2008;Dinerstein et al., 2007;Jiang et al., 2007;Lapointe et al., 2007;Mitra, 2006). ...
... Proponents of tiger farming argue that products from farmed tigers would satisfy consumer demand and reduce the economic incentives for poaching (Abbott and Van Kooten, 2011;Jiang et al., 2007;Lapointe et al., 2007;Mitra, 2006). Opponents, on the other hand, argue that lifting or weakening the trade ban would remove the stigma on using tiger products and increase demand, which in turn will increase poaching (Kirkpatrick and Emerton, 2010;Gratwicke et al., 2008;Dinerstein et al., 2007). However, economic analyses of wildlife farming, including tigers, is constrained by a lack of reliable data on consumer preferences and trade-offs, and particularly about the price elasticity of demand. ...
... Our study supports these findings. Motivations for using wildlife products in traditional medicines (e.g., rhino horn and tiger bone) differ from those of use as fashion accessories and decoratives (e. g., crocodile skin, vicuña wool) (Kirkpatrick and Emerton, 2010). Exploring the heterogeneity of preferences, we found that a legal trade would shift the preferences of about two-thirds of the respondents (Class 1 members) to farmed products, for which they could be better ensured about quality, food safety, and legal compliance. ...
Demand for tiger parts and products has fuelled the poaching of wild tigers. As the supply of wild tigers has become scarce, tiger farming has emerged as an alternative source and proliferated in several Asian countries with unclear implications of a legalized trade in farmed tigers on wild tiger demand. We conducted a choice experiment with 228 Vietnamese tiger bone glue consumers investigating their preferences and trade-offs for different attributes of their purchase choice, including legality, source, purity, and price. We calculated consumers' willingness to pay for each attribute level under the current trade ban and in a hypothetical legal trade. Consumers preferred and were willing to pay more for wild than farmed tiger glue and a higher proportion of tiger bone in the glue. Consumers also preferred legal over illegal sufficiently for most to switch from illegal wild to legal farmed tiger. Hence, a legal trade will shift preferences significantly towards farmed tiger glue from legal sources but will not eradicate demand for wild tigers, likely leading to the parallel operation of legal and illegal markets. We discuss the implications of the results for conserving wild tigers through efforts to manage demand in Vietnam.
... Commercial captive breeding of wildlife, also known as wildlife farming, has been suggested as a potential instrument to address illegal hunting and wildlife trade through the provision of legal, cheap, and sustainable sources of wildlife for the trade in wild meat and medicines (Drury 2009). However, several studies show that wildlife farms and legalized trade have often exacerbated illegal hunting and trade (Kirkpatrick & Emerton 2010). On the one hand, farming animals often increases the aggregate demand for species, whereas on the other hand wildsourced animals are often considered more desirable than their farmed alternatives (Drury 2009;Brooks et al. 2010;Kirkpatrick & Emerton 2010). ...
... However, several studies show that wildlife farms and legalized trade have often exacerbated illegal hunting and trade (Kirkpatrick & Emerton 2010). On the one hand, farming animals often increases the aggregate demand for species, whereas on the other hand wildsourced animals are often considered more desirable than their farmed alternatives (Drury 2009;Brooks et al. 2010;Kirkpatrick & Emerton 2010). Among urban consumers, wild meat and wildlife-derived medicinal products are often luxury goods and people are prepared to pay a premium for wild-sourced products to demonstrate wealth and status (Brooks et al. 2010;Kirkpatrick & Emerton 2010). ...
... On the one hand, farming animals often increases the aggregate demand for species, whereas on the other hand wildsourced animals are often considered more desirable than their farmed alternatives (Drury 2009;Brooks et al. 2010;Kirkpatrick & Emerton 2010). Among urban consumers, wild meat and wildlife-derived medicinal products are often luxury goods and people are prepared to pay a premium for wild-sourced products to demonstrate wealth and status (Brooks et al. 2010;Kirkpatrick & Emerton 2010). ...
... Commercial captive breeding of wildlife, also known as wildlife farming, has been suggested as a potential instrument to address illegal hunting and wildlife trade through the provision of legal, cheap, and sustainable sources of wildlife for the trade in wild meat and medicines (Drury 2009). However, several studies show that wildlife farms and legalized trade have often exacerbated illegal hunting and trade (Kirkpatrick & Emerton 2010). On the one hand, farming animals often increases the aggregate demand for species, whereas on the other hand wildsourced animals are often considered more desirable than their farmed alternatives (Drury 2009;Brooks et al. 2010;Kirkpatrick & Emerton 2010). ...
... However, several studies show that wildlife farms and legalized trade have often exacerbated illegal hunting and trade (Kirkpatrick & Emerton 2010). On the one hand, farming animals often increases the aggregate demand for species, whereas on the other hand wildsourced animals are often considered more desirable than their farmed alternatives (Drury 2009;Brooks et al. 2010;Kirkpatrick & Emerton 2010). Among urban consumers, wild meat and wildlife-derived medicinal products are often luxury goods and people are prepared to pay a premium for wild-sourced products to demonstrate wealth and status (Brooks et al. 2010;Kirkpatrick & Emerton 2010). ...
... On the one hand, farming animals often increases the aggregate demand for species, whereas on the other hand wildsourced animals are often considered more desirable than their farmed alternatives (Drury 2009;Brooks et al. 2010;Kirkpatrick & Emerton 2010). Among urban consumers, wild meat and wildlife-derived medicinal products are often luxury goods and people are prepared to pay a premium for wild-sourced products to demonstrate wealth and status (Brooks et al. 2010;Kirkpatrick & Emerton 2010). ...
Although deforestation and forest degradation have long been considered the most significant threats to tropical biodiversity, across Southeast Asia (Northeast India, Indochina, Sundaland, Philippines) substantial areas of natural habitat have few wild animals (>1 kg), bar a few hunting-tolerant species. To document hunting impacts on vertebrate populations regionally, we conducted an extensive literature review, including papers in local journals and reports of governmental and nongovernmental agencies. Evidence from multiple sites indicated animal populations declined precipitously across the region since approximately 1980, and many species are now extirpated from substantial portions of their former ranges. Hunting is by far the greatest immediate threat to the survival of most of the region's endangered vertebrates. Causes of recent overhunting include improved access to forests and markets, improved hunting technology, and escalating demand for wild meat, wildlife-derived medicinal products, and wild animals as pets. Although hunters often take common species, such as pigs or rats, for their own consumption, they take rarer species opportunistically and sell surplus meat and commercially valuable products. There is also widespread targeted hunting of high-value species. Consequently, as currently practiced, hunting cannot be considered sustainable anywhere in the region, and in most places enforcement of protected-area and protected-species legislation is weak. The international community's focus on cross-border trade fails to address overexploitation of wildlife because hunting and the sale of wild meat is largely a local issue and most of the harvest consumed in villages, rural towns, and nearby cities. In addition to improved enforcement, efforts to engage hunters and manage wildlife populations through sustainable hunting practices are urgently needed. Unless there is a step change in efforts to reduce wildlife exploitation to sustainable levels, the region will likely lose most of its iconic species, and many others besides, within the next few years. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
... It is better described as an oligopolistic market, in which prices are set by intense competition (Bulte and Damania, 2005). Conventional economics predict that producers will increase the volume of the market to maintain profit as imperfect competition remains with the cartels (Kirkpatrick and Emerton, 2010). This has been the case for bear bile, for which an expanding supply from farmed stocks led to a larger market (Servheen, 1994). ...
... This shows that spiritual beliefs outweigh scientific reasoning, which is the underlying problem of the second criterion stating that farmed products should satisfy consumers' needs, thereby substituting for products retrieved from the wild (Biggs et al., 2013). The main issue is that consumers of traditional medicines often prefer wild over farmed animal products because they have a higher spiritual value and are believed to generate more medical strength (Hall et al., 2008;Kirkpatrick and Emerton, 2010). For example, 71% of the consumers of tiger derivatives prefer wild over farmed products (Gratwicke et al., 2008). ...
... Due to consumer preference for wild and rare species, farmed products form a separate, parallel market (Chen, 2015;Drury, 2009;Phelps et al., 2013). Mainly consumers of traditional medicines and bush meat show a strong preference for wild over captive bred products (Nooren and Claridge, 2001;Gratwicke et al., 2008;Hall et al., 2008;Kirkpatrick and Emerton, 2010;Drury, 2011). This is, however, not the case for all species and facets of the wildlife trade. ...
Wild animals and their derivatives are traded worldwide. Consequent poaching has been a main threat to species conservation. As current interventions and law enforcement cannot circumvent the resulting extinction of species, an alternative approach must be considered. It has been suggested that commercial breeding can keep the pressure off wild populations, referred to as wildlife farming. During this review, it is argued that wildlife farming can benefit species conservation only if the following criteria are met: (i) the legal products will form a substitute, and consumers show no preference for wild-caught animals; (ii) a substantial part of the demand is met, and the demand does not increase due to the legalized market; (iii) the legal products will be more cost-efficient, in order to combat the black market prices; (iv) wildlife farming does not rely on wild populations for re-stocking; (v) laundering of illegal products into the commercial trade is absent. For most species encountered in the wildlife trade, these criteria are unlikely to be met in reality and commercial breeding has the potential to have the opposite effect to what is desired for conservation. For some species, however, none of the criteria are violated, and wildlife farming can be considered a possible conservation tool as it may help to take the pressure off wild populations. For these species, future research should focus on the impact of legal products on the market dynamics, effective law enforcement that can prevent corruption, and wildlife forensics that enable the distinction between captive-bred and wild-caught species.
... A wide array of wildlife species, including many animals, are used in traditional medicines across many medicinal systems [1][2][3]. In China, approximately 12,772 kinds of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) resources are used, including 1,574 (12.32%) kinds of animals [4]. ...
... In addition, captive breeding programs and research on synthetic sources of medicinal materials have been conducted in China since the 1950s in an attempt to reduce the impact of TCM on wild populations [6]. Social marketing campaigns as strategies for changing public behavior [10] have also been instituted by a number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and conservationists recently, with the primary aim of influencing and changing consumer attitudes and behaviors [11][12][13][14], and some studies also directed attention towards the possibility of farmed animals or other alternatives as substitutes for wild ones, such as tiger bone and bear bile [3,[15][16]. ...
... The success of many of these conservation mechanisms remains uncertain. In particular, while conservationists and TCM practitioners have recognized that pressure on wild populations may be relieved by captive breeding and the production of synthetic materials [1,7,15], and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) has also recognized the important role of these methods, their ability to achieve conservation is as yet unclear [1,3,[15][16]. Furthermore, consumer preferences are known to play an important role in consumer buying behaviors in the wildlife trade [3,15,[17][18], and thus are likely to be a significant factor in the success of many of these mechanisms-particularly given the significant percentage of TCMs that are over-the-counter products (access to which is not mediated by practitioners). ...
A wide array of wildlife species, including many animals, are used in traditional medicines across many medicinal systems, including in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Due to over-exploitation and habitat loss, the populations of many animals commonly used in TCM have declined and are unable to meet market demand. A number of measures have been taken to try to reduce the impact that this large and growing market for TCM may have on wild animal species. Consumer preferences and behavior are known to play an important role in the consumption and protection of wild animals used in traditional medicine, and thus are likely to be an important factor in the success of many of these mechanisms-particularly given the significant percentage of TCMs that are over-the-counter products (access to which is not mediated by practitioners). In this study we conducted questionnaires and designed stated preference experiments embodying different simulation scenarios using a random sample of the population in Beijing to elicit individuals' knowledge, perceptions and preferences toward wild or farmed animal materials and their substitutes used in traditional Chinese medicine. We found that respondents had a stated preference for wild materials over farm-raised and other alternatives because they believe that the effectiveness of wild-sourced materials is more credible than that of other sources. However, we also found that, although respondents used TCM products, they had a poor understanding of the function or composition of either traditional Chinese medicines or proprietary Chinese medicines (PCM), and paid little attention to the composition of products when making purchasing decisions. Furthermore, awareness of the need for species protection, or "conservation consciousness" was found to play an important role in willingness to accept substitutions for wild animal materials, while traditional animal medicinal materials (TAMs) derived from well-known endangered species, such as bear bile and tiger bone, show relatively higher substitutability. These results suggest that there is still hope for conservation measures which seek to promote a transition to farmed animal, plant and synthetic ingredients and provide clear directions for future social marketing, education and engagement efforts.
... Commercial captive breeding of wildlife, also known as wildlife farming, has been suggested as a potential instrument to address illegal hunting and wildlife trade through the provision of legal, cheap, and sustainable sources of wildlife for the trade in wild meat and medicines (Drury 2009). However, several studies show that wildlife farms and legalized trade have often exacerbated illegal hunting and trade (Kirkpatrick & Emerton 2010). On the one hand, farming animals often increases the aggregate demand for species, whereas on the other hand wildsourced animals are often considered more desirable than their farmed alternatives (Drury 2009;Brooks et al. 2010;Kirkpatrick & Emerton 2010). ...
... However, several studies show that wildlife farms and legalized trade have often exacerbated illegal hunting and trade (Kirkpatrick & Emerton 2010). On the one hand, farming animals often increases the aggregate demand for species, whereas on the other hand wildsourced animals are often considered more desirable than their farmed alternatives (Drury 2009;Brooks et al. 2010;Kirkpatrick & Emerton 2010). Among urban consumers, wild meat and wildlife-derived medicinal products are often luxury goods and people are prepared to pay a premium for wild-sourced products to demonstrate wealth and status (Brooks et al. 2010;Kirkpatrick & Emerton 2010). ...
... On the one hand, farming animals often increases the aggregate demand for species, whereas on the other hand wildsourced animals are often considered more desirable than their farmed alternatives (Drury 2009;Brooks et al. 2010;Kirkpatrick & Emerton 2010). Among urban consumers, wild meat and wildlife-derived medicinal products are often luxury goods and people are prepared to pay a premium for wild-sourced products to demonstrate wealth and status (Brooks et al. 2010;Kirkpatrick & Emerton 2010). ...
... But, is farming of tigers able to prevent the continued reduction in the number of wild tigers? It is still a controversial question (Huang, 2003;Mitra, 2005;Dinerstein et al., 2007;Jiang et al., 2007;Lapointe et al., 2007;Gratwicke et al., 2008a;Kirkpatrick & Emerton, 2009). Supplying farmed tigers is generally considered a new approach to further reduce poaching pressure on wild tigers (e.g. ...
... Mitra, 2005;Lapointe et al., 2007). However, there are some arguments both for and against the use of tiger farming as a tool for conservation of wild tigers, and supporters and opponents of tiger farming each have their own opinions (Gratwicke et al., 2008a;Kirkpatrick & Emerton, 2009). The public are the primary consumers of TCM products made with wildlife components. ...
... Tiger farms have complained that they cannot afford to support such large and rapidly growing captive populations, especially the large freezers where the carcasses of tigers that have died in the facilities are being stockpiled (Nowell & Xu, 2007). The continuing decline in wild tiger populations since 1993 and proposals from tiger farms to allow to sell tigers has encountered strong opposition and stimulated calls for a review of the domestic ban (Dinerstein et al., 2007;Gratwicke et al., 2008a;Kirkpatrick & Emerton, 2009). Our result showed that 'reintroduction to the wild' was mostly chosen by respondents when the population of farmed tigers reaches a larger size. ...
There are arguments in support of and against use of tiger farming as a tool for the conservation of wild tigers Panthera tigris. Public attitude toward tiger farming can be a useful reference for tiger conservation. To fill this knowledge gap, we surveyed 677 citizens and 381 college students in Beijing to understand their knowledge of tiger conservation and attitude toward tiger farming. The results of ranking questions showed that with regard to the value of tigers, ecological, cultural and aesthetic, and scientific and educational value were ranked as the top three; legislation on wildlife protection and establishment of nature reserves were ranked as the top conservation methods; and poaching and illegal trade, human disturbance and loss of habitat were ranked as the top threatening factors. Apparently, medicinal and healthcare use as well as value as status symbols can be considered the main consumption motivations that trigger poaching and illegal trade. With regard to farming of tigers and the aspects of whether tigers should be farmed, the number of farmed tigers, how to dispose of farmed tigers and so on, we found that most of respondents considered farming of tigers to be a social undertaking and found it difficult to relate to commercial purposes. The results showed that people hold clear positions on arguments for and against the ban on tiger trade and were inclined to support the ban on trading tiger products, especially college students. We also found that the respondents were more balanced toward arguments in support of the use of farmed tigers than arguments against it.
... Although widely discussed and proposed, "real life examples [of wildlife farming] are scarce and cannot guide decision making;" thus, conservation professionals have often resorted to theoretical and model-based assessments (e.g., Bulte & Damania 2005;Abbot & van Kooten 2011). Even where domesticated specimens are successfully commercialized, it remains uncertain whether they will be substitutes for wild-collected products in the marketplace (Strandby & Olsen 2008;Kirkpatrick & Emerton 2010). Clarifying conditions under which supply-side interventions can yield positive conservation outcomes remains a challenge ( Sutherland et al. 2009). ...
... Clarifying conditions under which supply-side interventions can yield positive conservation outcomes remains a challenge ( Sutherland et al. 2009). Lacking empirical study, supply-side strategies are hotly contested (Bulte & Damania 2005;Brooks et al. 2010;Kirkpatrick & Emerton 2010). ...
... Similar analyses could be implemented for other species at Jatujak Market, including trade in the genera Nepenthes, Adiantum, Platycerium, Asplenium, Cycas, Aerides, Dendrobium, Ascocentrum, and Vanda and the CITES Appendix Ilisted genus Paphiopedilum. The approach could also be applied to threatened animal species to inform associated debates, such as recent proposals to allow tiger farming to produce traditional Chinese medicines (Kirkpatrick & Emerton 2010). ...
Market‐based, supply‐side interventions such as domestication, cultivation, and wildlife farming have been proposed as legal substitutes for wild‐collected plants and animals in the marketplace. Based on the literature, we devised a list of the conditions under which supply‐side interventions may yield positive conservation outcomes. We applied it to the trade of the orchid Rhynchostylis gigantea , a protected ornamental plant. We conducted a survey of R. gigantea at Jatujak Market in Bangkok, Thailand. Farmed (legal) and wild (illegal, protected) specimens of R. gigantea were sold side‐by‐side at market. These results suggest farmed specimens are not being substituted for wild plants in the marketplace. For any given set of physical plant characteristics (size, condition, flowers), the origin of the plants (wild vs. farmed) did not affect price. For all price classes, farmed plants were of superior quality to wild‐collected plants on the basis of most physical variables. These results suggest wild and farmed specimens represent parallel markets and may not be substitutable goods. Our results with R. gigantea highlight a range of explanations for why supply‐side interventions may lack effectiveness, for example, consumer preferences for wild‐collected products and low financial incentives for farming. Our results suggest that market‐based conservation strategies may not be effective by themselves and may be best utilized as supplements to regulation and education. This approach represents a broad, multidisciplinary evaluation of supply‐side interventions that can be applied to other plant and animal species.
Un Marco de Referencia para Evaluar la Oferta de la Conservación de Vida Silvestre
... For valuable, threatened species with large spatial and dietary requirements and low breeding frequencies, such as the tiger (Panthera tigris), profits are only obtained by farms with sophisticated, largescale breeding infrastructure (Kirkpatrick & Emerton, 2010). Profits from wildlife farming involving such taxa are concentrated in a small number of industrial-scale farms (EIA, 2013). ...
... black-winged myna, Acridotheres melanopterus), making captive-breeding in such circumstances a high-stakes strategy (Nijman et al., 2018). The failure to prioritise conservation outcomes ahead of economic opportunity has contributed to the limited conservation benefit of Chinese tiger farms (Kirkpatrick & Emerton, 2010). Wildlife farming should be considered in highstakes circumstances where alternative conservation strategies have failed to halt population decline and where governance capacity is sufficient to prevent laundering. ...
Demand for wildlife and their products continues to grow, often despite increasingly militarised regulation and consumer awareness campaigns. We review the sustainability, legality and feasibility of wildlife farming of animals, as a potential conservation tool to ensure the development of an equitable and sustainable trade model.
While there are some positive examples of well-managed wildlife farming in trade, we identify common themes of misuse including the intentional mislabelling of wild-caught specimens in global trade and the use of wild-caught individuals to supplement captive stocks.
We also highlight the frequent failure to incorporate biological data into management strategies, resulting in the widespread use of species with potentially unfavourable life history traits, which constrain the economic and biological sustainability of wildlife farming programmes.
We develop a structured decision framework to aid the examination of when wildlife farming may most benefit or hinder species conservation.
Synthesis and applications. Key opportunities include developing species suitability assessments and removing barriers to legitimate participation with wildlife farming among poor, rural communities. In the absence of management strategies that address the issues of species suitability and accessibility, wildlife farming will continue to place significant strain on wild populations while failing to provide conservation value and sustainable economic returns.
... The global captive tiger population is larger, with ∼5,000 captive tigers in the United States alone (World Wildlife Fund, 2020). Many conservation organizations would like to see this practice end, but the potential impacts of closures of farming operations for species are not entirely clear or without risk (Kirkpatrick and Emerton, 2010;'t Sas-Rolfes, 2010). For the purpose of this study, we define a tiger farm as "a facility that keeps or breeds tigers in captivity with an intent (or reasonable probability) of supplying or directly engaging in the commercial trade in tigers or tiger products, be they body parts or derivatives. ...
... Conversely, many argue that farming tigers and facilitating the use of their parts for a consumer market fuels market demand and complicates enforcement efforts to reduce wild tiger poaching (Gratwicke et al., 2008;EIA, 2017). According to this argument, the presumed benefits of legal supply might be undermined by imperfections in the tiger parts market, including dominance of a small number of producers controlling prices, the luxury status of tiger parts, and the relatively high expense of farming tigers (Kirkpatrick and Emerton, 2010). Legal markets for farmed tiger products might also lead to greater social acceptability of the product, thereby suppressing a stigma effect considered necessary to prevent unsustainable demand levels (Fischer, 2004;Rizzolo, 2021). ...
Conservation practitioners routinely work within complex social-ecological systems to address threats facing biodiversity and to promote positive human-wildlife interactions. Inadequate understanding of the direct and indirect, short-and long-term consequences of decision making within these dynamic systems can lead to misdiagnosed problems and interventions with perverse outcomes, exacerbating conflict. Participatory system dynamics (SD) modeling is a process that encourages stakeholder engagement, synthesizes research and knowledge, increases trust and consensus and improves transdisciplinary collaboration to solve these complex types of problems. Tiger conservation exemplifies a set of interventions in a complex social-ecological system. Wild tigers remain severely threatened by various factors, including habitat constraints, human-wildlife conflict, and persistent consumer demand for their body parts. Opinions differ on whether commercial captive tiger facilities reduce or increase the threat from poaching for trade, resulting in policy conflict among diverse stakeholder groups. This paper explains how we are working with international conservation partners in a virtual environment to utilize a participatory SD modeling approach with the goal of better understanding and promoting coexistence of humans and wild tigers. We highlight a step-by-step process that others might use to apply participatory SD modeling to address similar conservation challenges, building trust and consensus among diverse partners to reduce conflict and improve the efficacy of conservation interventions.
... The second and related controversy concerns the introduction of legal products from farmed wildlife: wildlife bred and/or kept in captive conditions for the purpose of consumption. It is debated whether this practice can meet demand and thus reduce poaching or if it has either a null effect or yields an increase in demand (Kirkpatrick and Emerton 2010;Phelps et al., 2014;Challender and MacMillan 2014). ...
... Since legalization connotes social acceptance of the practice, it is thought that legalization will reduce stigma and undermine demand reduction campaigns (Harvey 2016). This could amplify the number of wildlife consumers and thus increase demand (Kirkpatrick and Emerton 2010). Further, for some species such as rhinos, affecting the price mechanism through legalization is probably insufficient to conserve the species (Crookes and Blignaut 2015). ...
Many wildlife species are impacted by unsustainable consumption. Wildlife is consumed for such diverse purposes as food, medicine, ornamentation, entertainment, and social status. However, it is still debated whether legalization and wildlife farming can saturate demand and thus reduce poaching, or if these policies increase demand, and subsequently poaching of vulnerable wildlife. This paper used an experimental vignette survey in Mainland China (N=1002) to explore empirically how legalization, wildlife farming, and possible changes in consumptive acceptability affect demand for wildlife products. Each respondent read a vignette about the consumption of a wildlife product from one of four species (bears, tigers, snakes, or turtles), for one of two uses (medicinal or non-medicinal), in one of three legal situations (product is illegal, product is legal and from farmed animal, or product is legal and from wild animal). All respondents were asked about the acceptability of wildlife consumption, the social stigma around consumption, and the perceived legal consequences of consumption for eight products: bear bile, bear paws, tiger bone, tiger skin, snake bile, snake leather, turtle shells, and turtle meat. Data was analyzed using linear regression models that included interaction effects and controlled for age, gender, education, income, and attitudes towards specific species, towards wildlife consumption, and towards Traditional Chinese Medicine. Wildlife product bans decreased the acceptability and social approval of wildlife consumption and increased estimations of legal punishments. The type of ban that produced these effects depended upon the wildlife product and the measurement of wildlife consumption. The effects of wildlife farming on demand for wildlife products were particularly prominent for mammals. Bear farming increased the acceptability and perceived social approval of bear bile; it also decreased perceived legal sanctions for bear consumption. Tiger farming diminished perceived legal sanctions for tiger consumption and farming tigers for medicinal use increased the acceptability of tiger consumption. Overall, these results indicate that bans on wildlife consumption and decreased wildlife farming of mammals can have conservation benefits.
... This is yet another example of farmed wildlife failing to satisfy consumer demand and not being a like-for-like substitution (e.g. Kirkpatrick andEmerton, 2010, Dutton et al., 2011). ...
... This is yet another example of farmed wildlife failing to satisfy consumer demand and not being a like-for-like substitution (e.g. Kirkpatrick and Emerton, 2010). Bear farming in Viet Nam has only exacerbated the threats to wild bear populations in Southeast Asia, creating a network of captive facilities through which it is relatively easy to launder wild-caught bears, sometimes with the alleged complicity of the authorities mandated to monitor and enforce against this illegal activity. ...
... Even the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), a major international convention that regulates trade in endangered species, indirectly promotes this approach by permitting the sale of products derived from farmed specimens of otherwise controlled species (Cooney & Abensperg-Traun 2013;Challender et al. 2015). Despite some success stories (Platt & Thorbjarnarson 2000;Entwistle et al. 2002;Challender et al. 2015), whether farming can alleviate poaching pressure on wild populations has been debated intensely, and the assumptions that underlie this strategy have been challenged by several theoretical and empirical studies (Dinerstein et al. 2007;Kirkpatrick & Emerton 2010). For example, farmed or cultivated products may be imperfect substitutes for their wild counterparts; wild products may be more sought after and thus command a premium price in the market (Kirkpatrick & Emerton 2010;Liu et al. 2014). ...
... Despite some success stories (Platt & Thorbjarnarson 2000;Entwistle et al. 2002;Challender et al. 2015), whether farming can alleviate poaching pressure on wild populations has been debated intensely, and the assumptions that underlie this strategy have been challenged by several theoretical and empirical studies (Dinerstein et al. 2007;Kirkpatrick & Emerton 2010). For example, farmed or cultivated products may be imperfect substitutes for their wild counterparts; wild products may be more sought after and thus command a premium price in the market (Kirkpatrick & Emerton 2010;Liu et al. 2014). Legal trade in farmed products provides a channel for wildlife laundering (i.e., wild specimens sold as farmed specimens) (Lyons & Natusch 2011) and may incentivize excessive harvesting of wild-origin parental stock for artificial breeding (Williams et al. 2014;Rochette et al. 2015). ...
Overharvesting is one of the greatest threats to species survival. Farming overharvested species is a conservation strategy that can meet growing market demand and conserve wild populations of the target species. This strategy is compatible with the international community's desire to uphold the right of local communities to use biological resources to support their livelihoods. However, studies investigating whether farming can alleviate poaching pressure have focused almost exclusively on animals. To address the shortfall in plant‐focused studies, we compiled information on commercial cultivation of threatened plants to assess its conservation benefits. Because China's rising middle class has rapidly intensified demand for wildlife products, we searched the scientific literature published in Chinese (China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Baidu) and in English. We found 32 reports that contained data on 193 internationally or nationally threatened plant species that were under commercial cultivation. These reports showed that cultivations of 82% of the 193 species were sustained by collecting whole plants from the wild periodically or continuously. Although based on a small sample size, species that were maintained in cultivation only through artificial propagation or seeds collected in the wild were likely associated with a reported reduction in wild harvesting of whole plants. Even so, results of correlation analyses suggested that production system, scale, and when a species began being cultivated had little effect on conservation status of the species, either globally or in China. However, species brought into cultivation relatively recently and on a smaller scale were more likely to have undergone a reduction in collecting pressure. Farming of nonmedicinal plants was most problematic for species conservation because wild plants were laundered (i.e., sold as cultivated plants). For effective conservation, policy to guide cultivation operations based on the target species’ biological characteristics, cultural significance, market demand, and conservation status is needed.
... Consumers of traditional medicinal products often prefer wild over farmed products because they are perceived to be more potent (Gratwicke et al., 2008b). Farmed and wild rhino horns are not pure substitutes (Kirkpatrick & Emerton, 2009). This belief may lead to price differentials with a premium for illegal wild products, creating profit margins that may spur poaching even after the introduction of farmed supplies (Drury, 2009;Gratwicke et al., 2008b;Kirkpatrick & Emerton, 2009). ...
... Farmed and wild rhino horns are not pure substitutes (Kirkpatrick & Emerton, 2009). This belief may lead to price differentials with a premium for illegal wild products, creating profit margins that may spur poaching even after the introduction of farmed supplies (Drury, 2009;Gratwicke et al., 2008b;Kirkpatrick & Emerton, 2009). The reality is probably more complex than reproduced here, characterized by imperfect competition arising from shifting consumer preferences, laundering and the response of criminal supplier networks (Damania & Bulte, 2007;Prins & Okita-Ouma, 2013) and the possibility of anthropogenic Allee (Courchamp et al., 2006) and snob effects (increased liking as a function of rarity) weakening the effect of supplyside antipoaching efforts (Chen, 2016). ...
We examined utilitarian and hedonic values as motivations for rhino horn use in Vietnam. We also evaluated consumers’ response to consequences of the illegal trade in behavior modification campaigns and the likely outcome of a legalized trade. The most prevalent use was for treatment of hangovers indicating utilitarian values, although difficult to separate from the hedonic value in projecting success in business. A ritualized way of honoring terminally ill relatives represented a hedonic value replacing belief in effective treatment. Demand reduction campaigns need to appropriately reflect all relevant values determining specific uses. The plight of rhino populations, Vietnam’s penal code, and the possible contribution to international crime mattered little to consumers. Horn from wild rhino was preferred over farmed, and respondents would demand more if available in a legalized trade. This suggested that a legalized trade could maintain or even increase demand for poached rhino horn.
... This is yet another example of farmed wildlife failing to satisfy consumer demand and not being a like-for-like substitution (e.g. Kirkpatrick andEmerton, 2010, Dutton et al., 2011). ...
... This is yet another example of farmed wildlife failing to satisfy consumer demand and not being a like-for-like substitution (e.g. Kirkpatrick and Emerton, 2010). Bear farming in Viet Nam has only exacerbated the threats to wild bear populations in Southeast Asia, creating a network of captive facilities through which it is relatively easy to launder wild-caught bears, sometimes with the alleged complicity of the authorities mandated to monitor and enforce against this illegal activity. ...
... And now, there need some increasing recognition of the need for more multifaceted responses [6]. Some studies indicated that consumers of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prefer products made from wild-source, believing they are more potent than farm-raised ones [7][8][9]. For example, consumers showed a willingness to pay considerably more for wild bear bile than farmed, and the ability of farmed bear bile to reduced demand for wild bear bile is at best limited and, may be have the opposite effect [9]. ...
... For example, consumers often prefer wild animal products to those from farms. This belief leads to price differential and profit margins that may continue to spur wild collection even after the introduction of farmed supplies [7][8][9]. And some surveys of public attitude demonstrated that Chinese people were generally supportive of wildlife tiger conservation [14][15][16][17]. ...
China has a history of using wildlife or for their parts and products, but now the sustainability use of endangered medicinal wildlife face challenges. Understanding the behavioral change and making effective behavioral change approaches and strategies are essential to strengthen demand reduction efforts on endangered wildlife products in China. The work described how we can make approaches and strategies to change consumer behavior to do this.
... More generally, the effectiveness of farming wildlife to relieve pressure on wild populations requires comprehensive and critical evaluation to ensure that it does not have unforeseen negative consequences, such as increasing demand or providing a cover for laundering of illegal products (e.g. Kirkpatrick and Emerton (2010); Lyons and Natusch (2011);). More research is, therefore, needed to understand the complex dynamics of pangolin trade, to ensure that commercial farming would not pose additional threats to wild pangolin populations (Challender et al. 2019;Chen and 't Sas-Rolfes 2021). ...
Wildlife conservationists are increasingly concerned about Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) due to the demands it places on many threatened species. In particular, pangolin populations in both Asia and Africa have experienced drastic declines driven by illegal trade. However, few studies have attempted to determine the level of this demand for traded species. In this study, we use social science approaches to investigate the pangolin scale trade within China, based upon interviews with informants from hospitals and pharmaceutical shops in two Chinese provinces (Henan and Hainan). Doctors from 41 hospitals and shop owners or shop assistants from 134 pharmaceutical shops were interviewed between October 2016 and April 2017. We show that pangolin scales are under heavy demand and products are available in 34% of the shops and 66% of the hospitals included in this study. Sale quantities were found to vary substantially amongst sellers and no significant factors were found to correlate with sale quantity. Moreover, quantities of products traded by permitted legal sellers are estimated to greatly exceed the supply capacity of legal sources. There is an urgent need to reduce demand from TCM on pangolin scales and revise the current legal pangolin scale trade system. We also highlight the importance of incorporating the TCM sector into combating illegal wildlife trade and species conservation beyond pangolins.
... , efforts to establish commercial-scale pangolin farming have so far been unsuccessful. More generally, the effectiveness of farming wildlife to relieve pressure on wild populations requires comprehensive and critical evaluation to ensure that it does not have unforeseen negative consequences such as increasing demand or providing a cover for laundering of illegal products (e.g.,Kirkpatrick & Emerton 2010;Lyons & Natusch 2011;Turvey et al. 2021). Indeed, beside the technical difficulties, farming pangolins to replace wildsourced products has many other barriers, and more research is needed to understand the complex dynamics of pangolin trade to ensure that commercial farming would not pose additional threats to wild pangolin populations; pangolin farming is highly unlikely to displace wild collection in the near future and is considered unlikely to benefit the conservation of wild populationsChen & 't Sas- Rolfes 2021). ...
The demand for wildlife products around the world is growing rapidly according to various researches. As a result, trade in, and consumption of, wildlife products has become a major threat to global biodiversity. Pangolins are currently recognised as one of the most trafficked mammalian taxa globally, due to the high international and local demand for their products. Many recognize China as one of the biggest markets for pangolin products. Thus, its role in tackling illegal pangolin trade is a crucial responsibility for China globally. However, pangolin trade and markets in China have been little investigated in any holistic and in-depth way. My study uses social science approaches and aims to provide insights on pangolin trade and markets in China to help suggesting more effective conservation interventions. Literature, regulations, and seven online trade platforms related to pangolin trade and conservation were searched and relevant data were collected to provide background knowledge of current pangolin trade and markets in China. Fieldwork was conducted in the two Chinese provinces of Henan and Hainan from Sept 2016 to Apr 2017. Questionnaire surveys, semi-structured interviews, in-depth discussions with stakeholders along the pangolin trading chain were the main social science methods used in this research. Market Reduction Approaches (Schneider 2008) and Theory of Planned Behaviour (Ajzen 1991) were used as theoretical frameworks to design the research questions. One pangolin hunter, 131 individual villagers, four villager groups (four to ten people per group), 34 reserve workers, two pangolin meat dealers, four pangolin meat consumers, five restaurant owners, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioners in 41 hospitals, sellers in 134 pharmaceutical shops, two TCM wholesalers, and 2168 members of the general public were interviewed or surveyed in this study. Results show that illegal pangolin trade is widespread in the two study provinces of mainland China, especially in TCM markets, which were active both online and offline. The wild pangolin populations on Hainan Island still face threats from poaching and local demand for wildmeat. The main contributors to the widespread illegal trade were the lack of adequate law enforcement; poor awareness of trade related regulations among public and some key stakeholders; and the absence of certain key stakeholders in pangolin conservation process, such as the TCM community. Through this study, I suggest enforcement could be strengthened through increasing public participation in the process, in ways of reporting illicit trade and products. This requires enhancing public knowledge and awareness on pangolin trade and related regulations. On the other hand, to deal with the lack of representation of TCM community in pangolin conservation, their unique function and role in the overall conservation blueprint needs to be highlighted and targeted interventions are needed. In summary, achieving effective pangolin conservation in China needs close collaboration between all key stakeholders to correspondingly address the multiple types of demand on pangolin products. Methodology and insights from this study can also contribute to helping conservation in China or globally, and not only for pangolins, but for other threatened species as well.
... Plant secondary metabolites are predominately liable for their antimicrobial activity [25]. Likewise, many animals and their products have been used in traditional medicines across numerous medicinal systems [26][27][28]. In recent years, indiscriminate uses of antibiotics have generated the problem of antibiotic resistance. ...
Background and Objective. Tibetan medicine is one of the earliest-known traditional medicines. This study aimed to evaluate the antioxidant, cytotoxic, and antibacterial potential of ethanolic extracts of nine common Tibetan formulations. Materials and Methods. An open-ended and semistructured questionnaire was used for an ethnomedicinal survey of the Tibetan formulations practiced in four Tibetan refugee settlements in Gandaki Province, Nepal. Based on the ethnomedicinal survey data, commonly used nine formulations were selected (Aru-18, Basam, Dadue, Dashel, Mutik-25, Raab Ga Yangzin Tea, Serdok-11, Sugmel-10, and Yungwa-4) to test biological activities. Antioxidant activity was evaluated using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging method. The cytotoxicity was examined by using the Allium cepa L. root tip meristem model. Similarly, the antibacterial effect was assessed by using well diffusion and broth dilution methods. Results. An ethnomedicinal survey showed a total of 52 Tibetan formulations were generally used by respondents for common diseases such as stomach disorders, diabetes, and migraine. From the antioxidant activity test, Sugmel-10 showed the highest DPPH free-radical-scavenging activity (IC50 1.8 μg/ml) and Yungwa-4 showed the lowest activity (IC50 5.2 μg/ml). Also, from the cytotoxic activity, the A. cepa root meristem model exhibited significant dose- and time-dependent growth suppression in Basam, Dadue, Mutik-25, and Serdok-11 as compared with cyclophosphamide standard drug. Similarly, Basam showed a good antibacterial effect having MIC 20 mg/ml and MBC 100 mg/ml against Enterococci faecalis. Conclusion. Research showed that Tibetan people preferred Tibetan formulations for the treatment and mitigation of several diseases. The result of antioxidant, cytotoxic, and antibacterial activities experimentally justified the ethnomedicinal value of nine common formulations (Aru-18, Basam, Dadue, Dashel, Mutik-25, Raab Ga Yangzin Tea, Serdok-11, Sugmel-10, and Yungwa-4). To the best of our knowledge, this study was performed for the first time in Nepal. Results from this preliminary study open the door to the scientific world to perform extensive pharmacological studies for designing and developing new therapeutic agents.
1. Introduction
Tibetan medicine (TM) is one of the earliest-known traditional medicines, and its history goes back approximately 2,500 years. In this system of medicine, a Tibetan doctor formulates an anticipative diagnosis and personalized treatment plan, where the treatment may last several months to years for chronic diseases [1]. In TM, particular treatment is codified in the form of sacred texts or pharmacopeia elucidated with the Buddhist understanding of herbal remedies [2]. There are more than 20 different dosage forms in traditional TM such as pills, powders, decoctions, lotions, ointments, and medicinal liquors [3]. Dried raw materials are ground, mixed homogenously, and ultimately pressed into pills, powder, or decoctions. Mantras are chanted to enhance the potency of the remedy in the course of blending [4]. In a particular formula, ingredients are blended as a dry powder where galenical forms are chiefly pills and medicinal powders in comparison to medicinal butter, plasters, and decoctions. An entire formula can be considered as a pharmacologically active entity with distinct pleiotropic effects [5]. The dosage form of this system constitutes several ingredients, which is through combinations of up to 108 or more ingredients. The governing research concerning multi-ingredient formula came from the Padma, a Swiss pharmaceutical company that develops standardized herbal formulas that originated from Tibetan medical knowledge [6–9].
Along with TM, traditional Iranian medicine (Persian medicine), traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), and Ayurveda are very popular in Asian countries. All these traditional systems of medicine use herbal drugs or extracts, acupuncture, massage, diet therapy, physical activity, and exercise. Like TM, Persian medicine, TCM, and Ayurveda follow humoral theory. Historically, different formulations and potential herbs are used in the abovementioned traditional system of medicines as evidence-based therapy. The integration of their principles, techniques, medication, and knowledge with modern medical sciences is the field of tremendous ongoing efforts and interests to develop new therapeutic options in current medicine. The effective management as suggested by traditional medicines regarding the human body is based on maintaining balance in body fluids and temperament, along with therapeutic and supportive strategies [10–13].
Antioxidants antagonized the damaging effects of free radicals and helped to prevent or repair that deleterious phenomenon in living cells [14]. Bioactive phytochemicals present in traditional medicines possess antimutagenic, anticancer, and antioxidant properties that provide a protective effect against various kinds of cellular injury. For instance, phenolic compounds (caffeic acid and ρ-coumaric acid) and flavonoids (kaempferol) are responsible for antioxidant activity; terpenoides (ρ-cymene and γ-terpinene) and essential oil (cuminaldehyde) are liable for antimicrobial effects [15, 16]. Also, natural antioxidants present in various plants decrease oxidative damage and help in inhibiting aging, mutagenesis, and carcinogenesis considering their radical scavenging activities [17]. The A. cepa root tip meristem model has been extensively used for the assessment of antimitotic and cytotoxic properties [18–22] by utilizing the growing roots of A. cepa. The cell division in its meristematic cells resembles normal human cancer cell division. Thus, these meristematic cells can be used in the analysis of drugs with possible human anticancer activity [23]. Using plant extract to treat infections is an ancient practice in traditional medicine. For this intent, humans have used natural products derived from plants, animals, and microbial sources for millennium either in the crude extracts or pure forms [24]. Plant secondary metabolites are predominately liable for their antimicrobial activity [25]. Likewise, many animals and their products have been used in traditional medicines across numerous medicinal systems [26–28]. In recent years, indiscriminate uses of antibiotics have generated the problem of antibiotic resistance. Similarly, the quest for new antimicrobial agents is a worldwide concern as herbal medicine from natural sources showed lesser side effects than synthetic medicines. Furthermore, some traditional TM may suggest promise in clinical treatments as plants, animals, trace elements, and minerals are the abundant sources used in such traditional medicines including biologically active substances and amino acids. Plants used are mostly cold and drought resistant, and they perform thorough photosynthesis [3].
Tibetan traditional medicines are being practiced more in the Himalayan region and are recommended by Amchis (Tibetan medicinal practitioners) in the northern belt of Nepal, the border of Tibet (autonomous region of China). Tibetan people residing in the country and families in the Tibetan refugee camp more preferred these formulations. This system of medicine is not normally assessed by the people in the central or southern parts of the country. This may be due to the limited number of general health practitioners available in that region or due to the insufficient scientific evidence of these traditional medicines.
Antioxidant, cytotoxic, and antibacterial studies of nine common Tibetan formulations (described briefly in Table 1) have not yet been studied and justified. Therefore, in this study, we performed the ethnomedicinal survey, and based on the survey data, we collected nine formulations and evaluate their effectiveness against antioxidant, cytotoxic, and antibacterial activity.
S. no.
Formulations
Ingredients
Uses/actions
Applications
References
1
Aru-18 (myrobalan 18)
Carthamus tinctorius, Caesalpinia bonducella, Cupressus torulosa, Elettaria cardamomum, Eugenia jambolana, Malva verticillata, Mucuna prurita, Rubia cordifolia, Swertia chirata, Symplocos crataegoides, Terminalia chebula, Verbascum thapsus, vermilion, and crabshell
Inflammation of the kidney; kidney disorder giving rise to stooping; pain in hip and waist region; imbalance of kidney channels
2-3 g once daily in the afternoon with warm water
[29]
2
Basam (medicinal butter)
Angelica species, Asparagus spinosissimus, Emblica officinalis, Mirabilis himalaica, Polygonatum cirrhifolium, Terminalia belerica, Terminalia chebula, Tribulus terrestris, clarified butter, honey, and milk
Kidney diseases; leg cramps; tonify body, promotes longevity; pain in the bones, hip joint, and lower back muscles; male-specific diseases such as impotence, prostatitis, and decreased libido
1–4 g daily with warm water
[29, 30]
3
Dadue
Carthamus tinctorius, Crocus sativas, Dracocephalus tanguiticum, Inula racemosa, Saussurea lappa, calcium carbonate, iron powder, and mineral pitch
Liver disorder, gastric problem, food poisoning, indigestion, chronic fever, colic pain, eye problem, all kinds of chronic diseases, and general tonic
1-2 pills daily in the morning or evening with warm water
[30]
4
Dashel
Aconitum heterophyllum, Aconitum orochryseum, Adhatoda vasica, Amomum subulatum, Bainbusa textilis, Beaumontia grandiflora, Carthamus tinctorius, Commiphora mukul, Corydalis stracheyi, Crocus sativus, Cynanchum thesioides, Dracocephalus tanguiticum, Elettaria cardamonium, Emblica officinalis, Eugenia caryophyllata, Cerinthe gymnandra, Herpetospermum pedunculosum, Inula racemosa, Lagotis kunawurensis, Meconopsis species, Moschus moschiferus, Myristica fragrans, Pedicularis oliveriana, Picrorhiza kurroa, Piper longum, Pterocarpus santalinus, Punica granatum, Rheum spiciforme, Santalum album, Saussurea costus, Saussurea lappa, Saxifi aga umhellulata, Strychnos nux-vomica, Syzigium aromaticum, Taraxacum officinale, Terminalia chebula, Ursus thibetanus, Vincetoxicum sibiricum, calcitum, mineral pitch, and smithsonite (calamine)
Gastrointestinal diseases; gastrointestinal tumor; cholecystitis; hepatitis; nausea; belching; constipation; chronic diseases of the stomach, liver, and skin; anti-inflammatory action in the gastrointestinal tract
1-2 g in the morning or evening with warm water
[30]
5
Mutik-25 (Pearl 25)
Amomum subulatum, Bambusa textilis, Bos taurus domesticus, Carthamus tinctorius, Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Cuminum cyminum, Emblica officinalis, Elettaria cardamomum, Eugenia caryophyllata, Gmelina arborea, Margaritum, Myristica fragrans, Nigella sativa, Piper longum, Polygonum aviculare, Potamom yunnanensi, Pterocarpus santalinus, Punica granatum, Saussurea lappa, Terminalia belerica, Terminalia chebula, Malva verticillata, Moschus moschiferus, Santalum album, and vermiculite
Hypertension, stroke neuralgia, hemiplegia, palpitation, tranquilizer, facial paralysis, unconsciousness, delirious mania
1-2 pills one hour before or after meals with warm water daily
[30]
6
Raab Ga Yangzin Tea (herbal tea)
Carthamus tinctorius, Elettaria, Rosa bronunii, Rubus hoffmeiteriannus, Symplocos paniculata, and Zingiber officinalis
Provides body energy; promotes skin health; appetite; relaxation; assists in cold, flu, and poor digestion
Pour hot water on the teabag, infuse for few minutes, then relish it purely or with salt or sugar
[31]
7
Serdok-11
Carthamus tinctorius, Crocus sativa, Cuminum cyminum, Emblica officinalis, Herpetospermum caudgerum, Myristica fragrans, Punica granatum, Rosa bronunii, Saussurea lappa, Terminalia chebula, and mineral pitch
Acute and chronic diseases of the liver and gall bladder (cirrhosis, cholecystitis, and gallstone disease); protects liver cells; restores the function of the pancreas; normalizes metabolism
2 pills daily with hot water
[30, 32]
8
Sugmel-10 (cardamom 10)
Caesalpinia bonducella, Elettaria cardamomum, Eugenia jambolana, Hedychium spicatum, Malva verticillata, Piper longum, crab shell, and sodium chloride
Kidney disorders, removes kidney stones, clears obstruction of the urinary tract, removes tumors and stones from the urinary bladder
2-3 g daily at night with hot or warm water
[30]
9
Yungwa-4 (decoctions of turmeric)
Berberis dictyophylla, Curcuma longa, Emblica officinalis, and Tribulus terrestris
Antipyretic, diuretic, inflammation of the urethra
3–5 g decocted to one-third water level and taken twice daily
[29]
... The fidelity of respondents to the farmed designation could indicate that farmed bone trade does not directly stimulate the trade in wild felid bones (though other factors should be considered -see Kirkpatrick & Emerton, 2010). Our results indicate that the majority of respondents who preferred farmed tiger or lion would choose another farmed felid product as their second choice over a wild product, which suggests limited potential for transfer between product origins. ...
A controversial, multifaceted debate surrounds the trade in commercially captive-bred (farmed) lion skeletons. A prominent topic relates to relative preferences for tiger and lion bone in Asian consumer countries. To contribute preliminary information on this subject we conducted the first quantitative study to assess the consumer preferences of the urban public in China and Vietnam for lion versus tiger and wild versus farmed bone wine products. Using an online questionnaire we ranked respondents’ stated preference for wild tiger, farmed tiger, wild lion, and farmed lion bone, and tested for the effect of demographic and attitudinal variables on product preferences. Our findings indicate that in both China and Vietnam tiger bone wine is greatly preferred over lion bone wine, and that respondents showed high levels of fidelity to their choice of farmed or wild designation across species. We emphasise the real-world complexity of lion and tiger bone product interactions and highlight opportunities for further in-depth study.
... The demand for a given product may also be influenced by availability and price of substitutes for that item. Scarcity, due to the crackdown on trafficking in tiger parts (Kirkpatrick & Emerton 2010), may have raised the price of tiger parts to a level where consumers will accept potentially cheaper substitutes from other big cats, including those not native to Asia (Kernam 2010;Fraser 2018). ...
Seizures of hundreds of jaguar heads and canines in Central and South America from 2014 to 2018 resulted in worldwide media coverage suggesting that wildlife traffickers are trading jaguar body parts as substitutes for tiger parts to satisfy the demand for traditional Asian medicine. We compiled a data set of >1000 seized wild cats (jaguar [Panthera onca], puma [Puma concolor], and ocelot [Leopardus pardalis]) from 19 Central and South American countries and China. We ran generalized additive mixed models to detect trends in wild‐cat seizures from 2012 to 2018 and assess the effects of socioeconomic factors of source countries and between those countries and China on the number of wild cats seized. Jaguar seizures increased over time, and most of the seized jaguar pieces were canines (1991 of 2117). Around 34% (32 of 93) of the jaguar‐part seizure reports were linked with China, and these seizures contained 14‐fold more individuals than those intended for domestic markets. Source countries with relatively high levels of corruption and Chinese private investment and low income per capita had 10–50 times more jaguar seizures than the remaining sampled countries. The number of Chinese residents in Central and South America was not significantly related to the number of jaguars seized. No socioeconomic factors influenced the seizures of puma and ocelots. Legal market chains may provide structure for the illegal chain; thus, the influx of illegal jaguar products is potentially a side effect of the economic partnership between Central and South American countries and China. Poverty and high levels of corruption in the source countries may motivate local people to engage in illegal activities and contribute to the growth of this trade. Supply‐side interventions to curb this threat to Neotropical wild cats may include improved training for officials and promotion of governance and the value of protecting these animals to local people.
... Traditional Chinese Medicine makes large use of animal products, creating an environmental impact as well as health hazards [45]. Because this medicine is widespread and growing, there is increasingly higher demand for wildlife species and for the products obtained from them [46]. ...
The Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (JEET), throughout its 15 years of existence, has tried to provide a respected outlet for scientific knowledge concerning the inextricable links between human societies and nature, food, and health. Ethnobiology and ethnomedicine-centred research has moved at the (partially artificial and fictitious) interface between nature and culture and has investigated human consumption of wild foods and wild animals, as well as the use of wild animals or their parts for medicinal and other purposes, along with the associated knowledge, skills, practices, and beliefs. Little attention has been paid, however, to the complex interplay of social and cultural reasons behind the increasing pressure on wildlife. The available literature suggest that there are two main drivers that enhance the necessary conditions for infectious diseases to cross the species barrier from wild animals to humans: (1) the encroachment of human activities (e.g., logging, mining, agricultural expansion) into wild areas and forests and consequent ecological disruptions; and, connected to the former, (2) the commodification of wild animals (and natural resources in general) and an expanding demand and market for wild meat and live wild animals, particularly in tropical and sub-tropical areas. In particular, a crucial role may have been played by the bushmeat-euphoria and attached elitist gastronomies and conspicuous consumption phenomena. The COVID-19 pandemic will likely require ethnobiologists to reschedule research agendas and to envision new epistemological trajectories aimed at more effectively mitigating the mismanagement of natural resources that ultimately threats our and other beings' existence.
... However, there is no consensus that this is the case in other endangered species domestic trade ban contexts. Findings have been, to say the least, mixed (see, for example,Kirkpatrick and Emerton 2010;Abbott and Van Kooten 2011;Conrad 2012; Tensen 2016). ...
The legalization of rhino horn ‘domestic’ trade in South Africa potentially unleashes market forces featuring new entry, new tastes and new rhino horn products. This risks escalating the rhino-poaching crisis further. It is argued that institutional contradictions have been engendered by the South African High Court ruling in Kruger and another v Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs and others [2015] JOL 34725, whose assumptions are shown to be highly restrictive and seemingly poorly informed about the true nature of demand for rhino horn and the dynamics of poaching. The shortcoming in the legal decision-making pertains to not taking account of the absence of any evidence for the existence of domestic demand for rhino horns in South Africa. The key arguments presented herein align with support for the reinstitution of the rhino horn trade moratorium, as well as administrative measures implemented effectively to contain the poaching crisis.
... Overexploitation, (including for trade), is a major driver of global biodiversity decline, although habitat loss and invasive alien species generally pose much more significant threats [2]. Those species are common used by local people or international markets for consumptive use may be at greater risk of overexploitation [3][4]. While there do not appear to be any documented examples of species extinction driven by international trade, harvest for international trade (legal or illegal) has clearly led to the overexploitation of some species. ...
Viet Nam harbors a high level of biological diversity in the world. However, Viet Nam is also known as one of the countries having a high demand of biological resource use in Asia. The illegal trade and consumption of wildlife products have become a major threat to the biodiversity. The consequences of unsustainable use in recent decades have led to a rapid population decline many animal and plant species particularly endangered species and many species are now facing extinction. A total of 179 species of animals and 94 species of plants was listed in the governmental decree as endangered and with a high priority of conservation concern.. A number of large mammals or flagship species have become extinct or their populations have been severely declined due to overexploitation and illegal collecting, for example: Javan Rhinoceros (extinct), Indochinese Tiger, Gray Gaur, Wild Buffalo, Golden Deer, and Eld’s Deer. Viet Nam has also known as an important hub and hotspot in Southeast Asia for the consumption of plant and wildlife products, and transit point for the illegal wildlife trade in Asia. Thousands of wildlife animals (more than 20, 000 tons per year) have been exploited and consumed for traditional medicine or trade purposes in Viet Nam. This article focuses on the challenges of prosecution and crimes relating to wildlife trade in Viet Nam. It also provides an analytical framework for assessing the impact of wildlife trade and criminal status relating to wildlife in Viet Nam on conservation and local livelihoods.
... Bile farms have been "rebranded" as a conservation-positive measure, but numerous studies have found that for endangered animal farming this is usually not true (Damania and Bulte, 2007, Drury, 2009, Kirkpatrick and Emerton, 2010and Livingstone and Shepherd, 2014. This is particularly relevant in countries such as Vietnam, where bile farming maintains the accessibility of bile (Crudge et al., 2018 andDavis et al., 2019). ...
... Much of the scepticism toward endangered species farming comes from studies examining controversial species and those that are challenging to rear, such as tigers and pangolins (Challender et al., 2019;Kirkpatrick & Emerton 2010). In these cases, farming can be expensive-often significantly more expensive than poaching. ...
Thousands of species worldwide are threatened with extinction due to human activities. For some animals, such as elephants, totoaba, and bluefin tuna, population declines are largely driven by hunting. High prices and large profits create a strong incentive for illegal hunting, even in the face of penalties and strict international restrictions against trade. One innovative solution to help reverse the declines of such species is to farm them to increase supply, thereby reducing prices and decreasing hunting incentives. However, this idea has been criticized as impractical, though some examples exist of successful implementation. Here, we evaluate the hurdles facing endangered species farming as a market‐based mechanism to reduce illegal harvest of wild populations and provide guidance on when it is most likely to be effective. Using a simple model, we show how farming costs and enforcement of anti‐poaching measures are key drivers of success for this solution. We also argue that many of the most promising candidates are aquatic species that have been largely overlooked. Thus, while conservation farming may not be a solution for all endangered species, it should be more seriously considered for species that could be produced quickly and cost‐effectively.
... Bone products from legally farmed tigers are not a complete substitute for illegally supplied tiger bones in what is likely to be the same market to which farmed lion bones are now contributing [41] (see also [42]). This circumstance is further indicated by forthcoming work focused on consumer preferences for bones derived from farmed and wild lions [43]. ...
Public reason is a formal concept in political theory. There is a need to better understand how public reason might be elicited in making public decisions that involve deep uncertainty, which arises from pernicious and gross ignorance about how a system works, the boundaries of a system, and the relative value (or disvalue) of various possible outcomes. This article is the third in a series to demonstrate how ethical argument analysis—a qualitative decision-making aid—may be used to elicit public reason in the presence of deep uncertainty. The first article demonstrated how argument analysis is capable of probing deep into a single argument. The second article demonstrated how argument analysis can analyze a broad set of arguments and how argument analysis can be operationalized for use as a decision-making aid. This article demonstrates (i) the relevance of argument analysis to public reasoning, (ii) the relevance of argument analysis for decision-making under deep uncertainty, an emerging direction in decision theory, and (iii) how deep uncertainty can arise when the boundary between facts and values is inescapably entangled. This article and the previous two make these demonstrations using, as an example, the conservation and sustainable use of lions.
... "Supply-side" economic approaches can theoretically reduce the incentive to poach endangered species by flooding the market with farmed product (Damania & Bulte, 2007). The potential for mariculture to produce high volumes of endangered marine species, such as totoaba (Totoaba macdonaldi, Sciaenidae), at low cost makes supply-side approaches promising relative to terrestrial species, for which the efficacy has been repeatedly questioned (Kirkpatrick & Emerton, 2010;Rueda-López, Lazo, Reyes, & Viana, 2011). ...
Aquaculture surpassed wild fisheries as the largest supplier of fish for human consumption in 2014 and is expected to supply the majority of seafood for future increases in demand. Marine and coastal aquaculture, collectively referred to as mariculture, currently represents just 36% of aquaculture production but is poised to expand in the decades ahead. One of the most commonly cited concerns regarding this likely expansion is ecological and socioeconomic interactions with wild‐capture fisheries. While attention has largely been drawn to high‐profile negative externalities from fed finfish and crustacean mariculture, not all marine‐based practices are equivalent. Empirical evidence for the different interactions between mariculture and wild fisheries is often sparse. While negative consequences can arise, positive synergies can also occur. By considering mariculture development in the context of fisheries interactions, we suggest that it is possible to minimize conflicts and maximize positive connections between the two sectors. We provide the first comprehensive synthesis of the interactions between mariculture and wild fisheries, characterizing the types of interactions, evaluating available empirical evidence and identifying where management (sector‐specific and cooperative) can play an important role. We highlight potential effects of mariculture on the efficiency, sustainability, and equity of seafood production and identify remaining knowledge gaps.
... Economic, animal welfare and ethical concerns are also often raised (e.g. Gratwicke et al., 2008;Kirkpatrick & Emerton, 2010;Lyons & Natusch, 2011;Sheng et al., 2012). A comprehensive discussion of arguments for and against wildlife farming, including sea turtles, is provided in Campbell (2002) and Tensen (2016). ...
Conflicts over natural resource use and management often arise where groups have different goals or priorities. The media can play an important dual role in these conflicts; article content might offer insights about public opinion, whilst media may shape debates and how issues are perceived by the public and decision-makers. Wildlife farming is a contentious conservation tool attracting the attention of worldwide media, and associated conflicts among different interest groups may undermine its applicability. We investigated the media's portrayal of the Cayman Turtle Farm (CTF), a facility in the Cayman Islands which breeds green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) for human consumption, to investigate how the media presents information about wildlife farming (i.e. framing), consider its potential roles influencing conflicts and explore how it can be used for conservation conflict management. Content analysis was used to compare framing, article valence, and stakeholder representation in 634 newspaper articles from the international and local media. These media stories were framed in terms of: tourism, conflict, conservation, culture/community, management, and utilisation. International articles most often described CTF as a tourism facility. However, during a media campaign by an international animal welfare group, CTF was also often depicted as a source of controversy. Trade in turtle products was mostly debated in older articles. Local media mainly had a financial focus. Conflict framing was associated with a negative article valence, and conflict framed articles were significantly more likely to contain no conservation information. Mentions of environmental interest groups were significantly associated with negative articles, whereas academics were significantly more likely to be mentioned in positive articles. Conservationists must consider stakeholder objectives from the outset of interventions and be aware of the multiple roles the media might play. Media analysis and effectively harnessing the potential of media outlets should be considered as tools for managing conservation conflicts.
... Whilst the extent to which these approaches have been successful at promoting sustainable trade can be context-dependent, uncertain and/or hotly debated (e.g. Kirkpatrick & Emerton 2010;Biggs et al. 2013), characterizing wildlife markets and understanding consumer behaviour is an often neglected, but essential, step required to effectively design interventions. For example, although widely discussed, suitable real-world studies of wildlife farming are rare (Phelps et al. 2014), hampering its assessment relating to consumer behaviour. ...
Unsustainable wildlife trade affects biodiversity and the livelihoods of communities dependent upon those resources. Wildlife farming has been proposed to promote sustainable trade, but characterizing markets and understanding consumer behavior remain neglected but essential steps in the design and evaluation of such operations. We used sea turtle trade in the Cayman Islands, where turtles have been farm raised for human consumption for almost 50 years, as a case study to explore consumer preferences toward wild‐sourced (illegal) and farmed (legal) products and potential conservation implications. Combining methods innovatively (including indirect questioning and choice experiments), we conducted a nationwide trade assessment through in‐person interviews from September to December 2014. Households were randomly selected using disproportionate stratified sampling, and responses were weighted based on district population size. We approached 597 individuals, of which 37 (6.2%) refused to participate. Although 30% of households had consumed turtle in the previous 12 months, the purchase and consumption of wild products was rare (e.g., 64–742 resident households consumed wild turtle meat [i.e., 0.3–3.5% of households] but represented a large threat to wild turtles in the area due to their reduced populations). Differences among groups of consumers were marked, as identified through choice experiments, and price and source of product played important roles in their decisions. Despite the long‐term practice of farming turtles, 13.5% of consumers showed a strong preference for wild products, which demonstrates the limitations of wildlife farming as a single tool for sustainable wildlife trade. By using a combination of indirect questioning, choice experiments, and sales data to investigate demand for wildlife products, we obtained insights about consumer behavior that can be used to develop conservation‐demand‐focused initiatives. Lack of data from long‐term social–ecological assessments hinders the evaluation of and learning from wildlife farming. This information is key to understanding under which conditions different interventions (e.g., bans, wildlife farming, social marketing) are likely to succeed.
... Disputes about extracting bile from living bears involve conservation biology, economics, ethics, and animal welfare (Primack, 1993;Rolston, 1988). Conservation policy cannot be removed from the social and political environment in which the policy is implemented (Kirkpatrick & Emerton, 2010). The usage of bear bile was described in the earliest official pharmacopoeia of TCM in AD 659, and the current dispute about extracting bile is a problem of history, culture, and economy (Dutton et al., 2011;Feng et al., 2009). ...
Bear bile is a traditional Chinese medicine that has been used for millennia. Several arguments support and oppose the use of bear farming in terms of conservation and nonhuman animal welfare. This study involved designing a questionnaire and surveying a random sample of general citizens and college students in Beijing to elicit their attitudes on bile extraction from living bears. Older people and people with lower education levels used more bear bile medicines. In total, 29.47% (n = 204) of citizens and 23.14% (n = 81) of students surveyed used bear bile medicine since 1990. Students were less willing to use bear bile medicines than citizens (p < .05). The level the respondents agreed with the blue side (against the extraction of bile from living bears; anti for short) was significantly higher than that for the red side (support the extraction of bile from living bears; pro for short; p < .05). Additionally, college students had a more distinct attitude toward the opposing views, which indicates they were more inclined to oppose bile extraction from living bears.
... Encouraging artificial cultivation of plants or farming of animals to meet the market demand and thus reduce wild-collecting pressure, is a national conservation strategy adopted by the Chinese wildlife protection agencies (Staff of the China State Forestry Administration, personal communication). The efficacy of this (Kirkpatrick and Emerton 2009;Conrad and Conrad 2010). Regardless, motivated by market demands in the face of depleted natural resources, mass artificial cultivation of Dendrobium orchids, including that of D. catenatum, using modern in vitro seed germination and tissue culture techniques, was developed recently. ...
Achieving the balance between economic development and biodiversity conservation has become increasingly difficult. Here we propose a conservation model for medicinal orchids using Dendrobium catenatum as an example. Specifically we suggest establishment of production and advance processing facilities in the developed regions, and using organization systems involving companies working with forestry farms, and forestry farms in turn working with farmers who cultivate the orchids. In addition, we promoted cultivation
of these orchids in natural environments in the Karst and Danxia economically poor regions, for the purpose of restoration and/or augmentation of wild populations while promoting sustainable harvest of their populations. Such profit generating species restoration will increase incentives for habitat protection. This conservation model for an endangered species is different from those developed in the West, but is better suited to the situation in China.
... Environmental Investigations Agency (EIA) 2013). Broadly, there are concerns that these operations are stimulating demand for cheaper more preferable wild caught specimens (Kirkpatrick and Emerton 2010;Gratwicke et al. 2008), creating a legal loophole for the illegal laundering of wild animals and their derivatives (Gratwicke et al. 2007;Dutton et al. 2013). Others have highlighted that they typically involve animals that cannot be successfully released as part of wild reintroduction programs due to concerns relating to survivability, human-wildlife conflicts, the introduction of disease and genetic pollution (Schmidt-Burbach et al. 2015). ...
In the first global review focused specifically on clouded leopard trade, we assess its impact on the basis of information gathered from annual CITES reports, literature and expert opinion. Although international and domestic trade regulations are in place, in ‘exceptional circumstances’ trade in Asian big cats is legally permitted. More generally, and irrespective of its legal status, trade also has potential to compromise wild animal welfare. We report an apparent shift toward commercial trade in captive bred clouded leopards, trade irregularities that point toward possible laundering of wild caught animals, and document the presence of individuals on ‘tiger farms’ in south-east Asia and a ‘lion park’ in South Africa. We found CITES records contradictory and incomplete, with data on source country particularly lacking. This study highlights ‘legal loopholes’ that apply to all Asian big cat species. As a precautionary measure, we support calls to extend existing bans on Asian big cat trade so that they include commercial trade in captive bred individuals. Illegal trade in derivatives can openly be observed online and at wildlife markets in range countries where enforcement is weak. However, an energetic search has revealed that specific information regarding clouded leopards is lacking. We argue that this is not grounds for complacency, but rather suggests a need for research into trade dynamics, cooperation between national enforcement agencies, improved compliance with trade data management systems, the destruction of private held stockpiles and the revision of existing legal frameworks to prevent illegal trade in these and other threatened wild felids.
... Overexploitation (including for trade) is a major driver of global biodiversity decline, although habitat loss and invasive alien species generally pose much more significant threats (see e.g. Kirkpatrick and Emerton, 2010). Those species valued on local or international markets for consumptive use may be at greater risk of overexploitation (e.g. for marine species, see Purcell et al., 2014;Darwall et al., 2009). ...
This paper provides an analytical framework for assessing the impact of international trade in wildlife and
wildlife products on conservation and local livelihoods. It also explores the role of factors related to
particular species and their habitat, governance settings, the supply-chain structure, and the nature of the
end market. The framework is relevant for importers and exporters, regulators, policymakers, nongovernmental
organizations, community representatives and researchers seeking to improve the
sustainability of international wildlife supply chains.
... The domestication of valued wild species is frequently proposed as a method to reduce pressure on wild harvested populations while potentially improving local livelihoods (Nogueira andNogueira-Filho 2011, Sarasan et al. 2011). Many projects have been initiated to supply animals or their parts from captive sources, including the production of bear bile medicine (Dutton and Hepburn 2011), tiger skins (Kirkpatrick and Emerton 2010), and pythons for the pet trade (Lyons and Natusch 2011). Although appealing, evidence supporting such wildlife farming as a conservation strategy is scarce (Bulte and Damania 2005). ...
Captive breeding and cultivation of overharvested species is frequently proposed as a conservation strategy, yet there is little evidence under what conditions, if at all, the strategy is effective. We created a bioeconomic model to investigate the socioeconomic conditions favoring cultivation over wild harvesting and likely impacts on the wild population. We parameterize the model with the case study of illegal xaté palm (Chamaedorea ernestiaugusti) harvesting in Belize and Guatemala. We examine how changes in law enforcement, a price premium for cultivated leaf, land ownership, and alternative income might affect decisions to cultivate and the impact of cultivation on wild populations. We show that those switching to cultivation are largely not wild harvesters because of barriers such as land ownership. We also find that if harvesters do switch to cultivation, they may have a negative effect on the wild population through harvesting of material to set up plantations. We found increasing alternative income reduces harvesting pressure and suggests the provision of alternative livelihoods would more directly reduce pressure on the wild population. Although schemes to encourage cultivation seem an appealing conservation intervention, we urge caution in assuming that people will readily adopt cultivation of wild harvested species or that this would necessarily reduce impacts on wild populations.
... Encouraging artificial cultivation of plants or farming of animals to meet the market demand and thus reduce wild-collecting pressure, is a national conservation strategy adopted by the Chinese wildlife protection agencies (Staff of the China State Forestry Administration, personal communication). The efficacy of this (Kirkpatrick and Emerton 2009;Conrad and Conrad 2010). Regardless, motivated by market demands in the face of depleted natural resources, mass artificial cultivation of Dendrobium orchids, including that of D. catenatum, using modern in vitro seed germination and tissue culture techniques, was developed recently. ...
About a quarter of Chinese wild orchid species are used in traditional medicine or as health food supplements. The market demand for some species, such as those in the epiphytic genus Dendrobium, has diminished many wild populations to local extinction or dangerously small numbers. Conservation of these heavily exploited orchids currently relies on a two-pronged approach: establishing nature reserves and encouraging massive commercial cultivation in artificial settings. We argue that these measures are not sufficient to restore or maintain healthy wild populations, and augmentation and reintroduction of these species in natural forests are needed. We argue for an unconventional reintroduction approach, in which populations planted in natural forests are allowed to be sustainably harvested (restoration-friendly cultivation). Because Dendrobium orchids are epiphytic, restoration-friendly cultivation of these species will not be at the expenses of other native plants. In addition, market premiums on wild-collected medicinal plants will generate incentives for farmers who participate in restoration-friendly cultivation to preserve natural forests. With proper policy and oversight, the restoration-friendly cultivation of medicinal Dendrobium orchids will facilitate the conservation of these threatened species, encourage protection of natural forests, and benefit marginalized rural communities. Adding this restoration-friendly cultivation into the current mix of conservation approaches has the potential to turn deeply-entrenched traditional uses of orchids from a conservation challenge to a conservation success.
... With reduced poaching and farming, the majority of consumption could comprise farmed products, Q P to Q F in Figure 4, with supply from the wild reduced, from Q 1 to Q P . Although opponents of wildlife farming have suggested that this is not a solution (e.g., Mockrin et al. 2005;Gratwicke et al. 2008;Kirkpatrick & Emerton 2010), the option needs to be considered carefully based on more, impartial and in-depth research into supply and demand for farmed wildlife products given the potential conservation gains, not least the sustainable flow of money legal trade could create, and should not be overlooked because conservation groups are ethically opposed to producing animals to be killed for human consumption. Figure 5 A reduction in demand from D 1 to D 2 theoretically reduces both price, from P 1 to P 2 , and quantity consumed, from Q 1 to Q 2 , of a given wildlife product. ...
Today record levels of funding are being invested in enforcement and antipoaching measures to tackle the “war on poaching,” but many species are on the path to extinction. In our view, intensifying enforcement effort is crucial, but will ultimately prove an inadequate long-term strategy with which to conserve high-value species. This is because: regulatory approaches are being overwhelmed by the drivers of poaching and trade, financial incentives for poaching are increasing due to rising prices and growing relative poverty between areas of supply and centers of demand, and aggressive enforcement of trade controls, in particular bans, can increase profits and lead to the involvement of organized criminals with the capacity to operate even under increased enforcement effort. With prices for high-value wildlife rising, we argue that interventions need to go beyond regulation and that new and bold strategies are needed urgently. In the immediate future, we should incentivize and build capacity within local communities to conserve wildlife. In the medium term, we should drive prices down by reexamining sustainable off-take mechanisms such as regulated trade, ranching and wildlife farming, using economic levers such as taxation to fund conservation efforts, and in the long-term reduce demand through social marketing programs.
We provide a preliminary assessment of a previously overlooked wildlife trade, the legal trade in badgers (Meles leucurus and Arctonyx spp.) and badger-derived products in South Korea. A new phase of the trade emerged in the 1990s with the establishment of wildlife farms to supply demand for badger as an edible and medicinal resource, including as a substitute for Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus), a Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendix I species. We trace the continued existence of badger farms to supply trade between 2001 and 2020, supplemented by imported badger-derived products and some apparent illegal harvesting of wild Meles leucurus in South Korea. The range of badger-derived products available to consumers has diversified during the last two decades and now encompasses human food, traditional medicine, cosmetics, dietary supplements, and accessories. We recommend improved monitoring and regulation of the trade, given that legal farming, and potential illegal wild harvest, may present important risks to: (i) wild Meles leucurus populations in South Korea and Arctonyx spp. populations in Asia, which are currently poorly monitored; (ii) the welfare of traded badgers, as territorial mammals with specific social and housing needs; (iii) human health, with mustelid farms now in greater focus as potential sources of novel zoonotic diseases.
Biodiversity loss is one of the most critical environmental issues nowadays. Urbanization, the main driver of global environmental change, is closely associated with the future of biodiversity. Although management strategies for the conservation of biodiversity have been proposed at national and international levels, there is hardly any synchronization between them, and adding to it, there is limited concord on the conservation priorities. Although biological extinction is a natural phenomenon, human intervention has accelerated the extinction rates to a large extent. Habitat destruction, poaching, the introduction of invasive species, pollution, industrialization, agricultural practices, the divergence of wetlands and forests to croplands, and urban sprawling have become the prominent causes of human-driven species extinction. Biodiversity loss has many direct and indirect impacts on earning, livelihood, and human health. Several laws and policies have been institutionalized by the Government of India, but their stringent implementation has not been witnessed. Irrespective of the hurdles faced in curbing biodiversity loss, the situation may take a detour with active public participation. Developing and implementing solutions for these causes of biodiversity loss will relieve the pressure on species and maintain the proper functioning of an ecosystem and its services.
Wildlife trade policies in China and elsewhere have come under increased scrutiny following suggestions that the emergence of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 may have been linked to trade in wild animals. The breeding of and trade in most terrestrial wild animal species for consumption as food were prohibited in China in February 2020, but trade for non-food purposes such as ornamental items or traditional medicine continues to be covered by provisions in the Wildlife Protection Law (WPL). While a superficial reading of the WPL could lead to the conclusion that commercial trade in nationally protected species is generally prohibited, in practice key language is interpreted to permit commercial trade in the parts and derivatives of protected wild animal species, including those subject to the most stringent protection within China and internationally, such as leopards and pangolins.
The population of Timor deer (Rusa timorensis), an Indonesian endemic, continues to decline in its natural habitat, so captive breeding could become a source of individuals to bolster wild population. Support for captive breeding programs may be stronger if captive breeding also provided meat for human consumption. Thus, sustainable captive yields could be expected to support both conservation interests and food needs. The aim of this research is to evaluate the environmental impact, based on global warming potential (GWP), of two Timor deer breeding systems, that is, a farming system and a ranching system, in West Java, Indonesia. Life cycle assessment methodology was used for the evaluation to gain a cradle-to-gate perspective. The functional unit used was 1 kg of Timor deer live weight in captivity. The main result of the study indicated that the GWP per kg of Timor deer was estimated at 17.30 kgCO2eq (farming system) and 17.60 kgCO2eq (ranching system). The largest GWP in both systems was derived from cultivation activities and infrastructure development. In general, there is no significant difference in the GWP of the two breeding systems studied. This was due to the similar overall management adopted by the two breeding systems, especially the use of food types and infrastructure materials. Currently, the environmental dimension, especially the emissions from Timor deer breeding activities, is not a major concern, but in the future, breeding management should pay attention to the efficient use of the food and infrastructure to make it more environmentally friendly.
The debate about whether legalized rhino horn trade might benefit rhino conservation has produced an abundance of academic and other publication, which include a large number of theory-based analyses. A quantitative appraisal of supply and demand has so far been lacking. This study provides the first quantitative assessment of the relationship between rhino horn supply and demand. Scrutinizing a variety of different supply and demand scenarios it illustrates the significant discrepancy between the reservoir of approximately 141 tonnes of horn carried by the world’s remaining rhinos and those in South Africa and the two main consumer markets in Vietnam and China (Milliken & Shaw 2012). Policy decisions about trade in rhino horn based on erroneous assumptions risk significant adverse consequences for wild rhinos, as well as adverse downstream effects on the biodiversity of their habitat (Joris et al. 2014, Ripple 2015). Our calculations support the notion that lifting the ban on commercial rhino horn trade is likely to facilitate the extinction of rhinos rather than support their survival. Illegal rhino horn trade is an international problem that requires a well-coordinated global response comprising a genuine commitment to strong legislation, uncompromising enforcement and creative demand reduction initiatives.
The international wildlife trade has spread numerous species across the planet and reduced populations of many of these same species in their native ranges. In some cases, the intentional or accidental release of traded organisms has led to the establishment of populations beyond their native ranges, in urban centers or adjacent wilderness and often with negative environmental consequences. Here, we describe examples of the conservation dilemma posed by introduced, threatened species and highlight ways to mitigate the threats presented by introduced populations – as well as the threats facing native populations – of the same species. Managing introduced populations – either by using them as substitutes to help offset the demand for wild-caught organisms or by translocating them in an effort to reinforce imperiled populations within their native ranges – represents a currently underutilized solution to two pressing conservation problems. Alternatively, naturalized populations could serve as research surrogates to facilitate an understanding of the natural history of the species in its native range. Such creative conservation strategies could help stem the continuing worldwide degradation of biodiversity.
To design a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) processor to meet the needs for high-speed and real-time signal processing. A 1024-point, 32-bit, fixed, complex FFT processor is designed based on a field programmable gate array (FPGA) by using the radix-2 decimation in frequency (DIF) algorithm and the pipeline structure in the butterfly module and the ping-pone operation in data storage unit. When the primary clock is 100 MHz, the 1024-point FFT calculation takes about 62.95 us. The processor is fast enough for processing the high-speed and real time signals. The result provides reference values that theoretical study of the FFT algorithm can be applied into the adaptive dynamic filter of an ultrasonic diagnostic system and an ultrasonic Doppler flow measurement system.
The proliferation of multilateral environmental agreements has resulted in an increased
interest, from academics and others, in questions regarding the effectiveness of such
agreements. Much if not all attention has focused on the institutional aspects of regime
functioning, specifically behaviour change. Relatively less attention has been given to the
actual ecological or biophysical aspects of regime effectiveness. The focus on institutional
effectiveness is for sound reasons, such as challenges associated with incorporating
ecological factors into any evaluation, measuring effectiveness, and establishing causality.
However, these challenges do not diminish the importance of assessing ecological
effectiveness and its relationships with institutional functioning. Does political, legal or
behaviour change consistently lead to improvement in environmental quality? Can it be
assumed that “institutional effectiveness” is an accurate and appropriate proxy for
“ecological effectiveness”? Are the challenges associated with using ecological data
insurmountable?
This thesis aims to advance understanding of the linkages between institutional and
ecological effectiveness and to explore how an integrated assessment of both can be
undertaken. Putting forward a model for an integrated assessment of institutional and
ecological effectiveness, and using a mixed methods approach, this study analyses a
compliance mechanism under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) as a case study to evaluate both the institutional
and the ecological effectiveness of this regime, and how these are linked with variables
that may be intervening in the relationship.
The results suggest that, although CITES is widely considered to be institutionally
effective, its ecological effectiveness is questionable. The discrepancy can, to a large
extent, be explained by two main categories of intervening variables: the complexity and
nature of the problem, and domestic or national-level factors. The integrated assessment
uses ecological and quantitative data to help increase our understanding of the nature and
extent of institutional and ecological effectiveness, and illuminates any gaps between
them. The analysis demonstrates that extending evaluations to include environmental
impacts can provide a more accurate picture of overall effectiveness of regimes, and offers
researchers and practitioners a basis for developing ideas and actions aimed at improving
regime functioning.
At the next Conference of the Parties in 2016, the parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) will likely be presented with proposals for legal trade in some of the most iconic endangered species covered by the treaty – elephants, rhinoceroses and tigers. This article evaluates the proposals for legal trade and discusses how the parties to CITES should approach the questions raised by these proposals. The projections about trade in elephants, rhinoceroses and tigers reveal deep and multilayered uncertainty. The article concludes by suggesting that conservation principles, sound science and the legal mandate of CITES itself should lead the parties to adopt a cautious approach. Trade bans should be maintained to protect species from extinction due to trade.
months of the year, with a peak in late summer (x 2 5 10.68, d.f. 5 3, P 5 0.014; n 5 19 litters from 11 mothers). Minimum age of 1st reproduction for 4 tigers was 4 6 0.4 years (mean 6 95% confidence interval). Mean interval between litters was 21.46 4.4 months (n 5 7 pairs of consecutive litters for 4 tigers). Mean litter size was 2.4 6 0.6 cubs (n 5 16 litters of 9 tigers) when litter size was 1st determined but, due to 41-47% cub mortality (n 5 19 litters), decreased to 1.3 6 0.5 cubs (range 5 0-4, n 5 19 litters) by the time cubs were 12 months old. At least 57% of cub mortality was anthropogenic. Mean age at dispersal was 18.8 6 1.5 months (n 5 5 litters). Mean reproductive rate was 1.4 cubs/year, but only 0.7 cubs/year survived up to 12 months old. We believe that recent conclusions that tiger populations can grow and recover rapidly from substantial losses may be overly optimistic.
Wild tigers are in a precarious state. Habitat loss and intense poaching of tigers and their prey, coupled with inadequate government efforts to maintain tiger populations, have resulted in a dramatic range contraction in tiger populations. Tigers now occupy 7 percent of their historical range, and in the past decade, the area occupied by tigers has decreased by as much as 41 percent, according to some estimates. If tigers are to survive into the next century, all of the governments throughout the species' range must demonstrate greater resolve and lasting commitments to conserve tigers and their habitats, as well as to stop all trade in tiger products from wild and captive-bred sources. Where national governments, supported in part by NGOs (nongovernmental organizations), make a consistent and substantial commitment to tiger conservation, tigers do recover. We urge leaders of tiger-range countries to support and help stage a regional tiger summit for establishing collaborative conservation efforts to ensure that tigers and their habitats are protected in perpetuity.
Although the poaching of nestlings for the pet trade is thought to contribute to the decline of many species of parrots, its effects have been pool ly demonstrated We calculated rats of mortality due to nest Poaching in 23 studies of Neotropical parrots, representing 4024 nesting attempts in 21 species and 14 countries We also examined how poaching rates vary with with geographic region, presence of active protection programs conservation status and economic value of a species, and passage of the U.S. Wild Bird Conservation Act. The average poaching rate across all studies was 30% of all nests observed. Thirteen studies reported poaching rates of greater than or equal to 20%, and four reported rates of >70%. Only six studies documented no nest poaching. Of these, four were conducted on islands in the Caribbean region, which had significantly lower poaching rates than the mainland Neotropics. The other two studies that showed no poaching were conducted on the two species with the lowest economic value in our sample (U.S. retail price). In four studies that allowed direct comparison between poaching at sites with active nest protection versus that at unprotected sites poaching rates were significantly lower at protected sites, suggesting that active protection efforts can be effective in reducing nest poaching. In those studies conducted both before and after the passage of the U.S. Wild Bird Conservation Act, Poaching rates were found to be significantly lower following its enactment than in the period before. This result supports the hypothesis that the legal and illegal parrot trades are positively related, rather than inversely related as has been suggested by avicultural interests. Overall, our study indicates that poaching of parrot nestlings for economic gain is a widespread and biologically significant source of nest mortality in Neotropical parrots.
Tigers are a threatened species that might soon disappear in the wild. Not only are tigers threatened by deteriorating and declining habitat, but poachers continue to kill tigers for traditional medicine, decoration pieces and so on. Although international trade in tiger products has been banned since 1987 and domestic trade within China since 1993, tigers continue to be poached and Chinese entrepreneurs have established tiger farms in anticipation of their demise. While China desires to permit sale of tiger products from captive-bred tigers, this is opposed on the grounds that it likely encourages illegal killing. Instead, wildlife conservationists lobby for more spending on anti-poaching and trade-ban enforcement. In this study, a mathematical bioeconomic model is used to investigate the issue. Simulation results indicate that, unless range states are characterized by institutions (rule of law and low corruption) similar to those found in the richest countries, reliance on enforcement alone is insufficient to guarantee survival of wild tigers. Likewise, even though conservation payments could protect wild tigers, the inability to enforce contracts militates against this. Our model indicates that wild tigers can be protected by permitting sale of products from tiger farms, although this likely requires the granting of an exclusive license to sellers. Finally, it is possible to tradeoff enforcement effort and sale of products from captive-bred animals, but such tradeoffs are worsened by deteriorating tiger habitat.
A heated debate has recently emerged between tiger farmers and conservationists about the potential consequences of lifting the ban on trade in farmed tiger products in China. This debate has caused unfounded speculation about the extent of the potential market for tiger products. To fill this knowledge gap, we surveyed 1880 residents from a total of six Chinese cities to understand Urban Chinese tiger consumption behavior, knowledge of trade issues and attitudes towards tiger conservation. We found that 43% of respondents had consumed some product alleged to contain tiger parts. Within this user-group, 71% said that they preferred wild products over farmed ones. The two predominant products used were tiger bone plasters (38%) and tiger bone wine (6.4%). 88% of respondents knew that it was illegal to buy or sell tiger products, and 93% agreed that a ban in trade of tiger parts was necessary to conserve wild tigers. These results indicate that while Urban Chinese people are generally supportive of tiger conservation, there is a huge residual demand for tiger products that could resurge if the ban on trade in tiger parts is lifted in China. We suspect that the current supply of the market is predominantly met by fakes or substitutes branded as tiger medicines, but not listing tiger as an ingredient. We suggest that the Traditional Chinese Medicine community should consider re-branding these products as bone-healing medicines in order to reduce the residual demand for real tiger parts over the long-term. The lifting of the current ban on trade in farmed tiger parts may cause a surge in demand for wild tiger parts that consumers say are better. Because of the low input costs associated with poaching, wild-sourced parts would consistently undercut the prices of farmed tigers that could easily be laundered on a legal market. We therefore recommend that the Chinese authorities maintain the ban on trade in tiger parts, and work to improve the enforcement of the existing ban.
Detailed data are rarely available to show how interventions such as captive breeding programs can create an uncontrolled demand for live specimens of endangered species. We present a case study of the effect of a planned, internationally recognized captive breeding program on trade in the endangered babirusa wild pig from July to December 1998. Although the program had not yet begun, international interest in the captive breeding of babirusas gave hunters and dealers the false impression that there was a potentially lucrative and officially sanctioned national and international demand for any live babirusas they might catch. Swift action by the Indonesian authorities halted this trade, but the study provides a warning about the damage that can be caused to the conservation of a species if management programs are instituted without a full understanding of the practicalities of its conservation, particularly interactions between the species and local people.
Uncertainty gives rise to two decision errors in implementing the U.S. Endangered Species Act: listing species that are not in danger of extinction and delisting species that are in danger of extinction. I evaluated four methods (minimum standard, precautionary principle, minimax regret criterion, adaptive management) for deciding whether to list or delist a species when there is uncertainty about how those decisions are likely to influence survival of the species. A safe minimum standard criterion preserves some minimum amount or safe standard (population) of a species unless maintaining that amount generates unacceptable social cost. The precautionary principle favors not delisting a species when there is insufficient evidence on the efficacy of state management plans for protecting them. A minimax regret criterion selects the delisting decision that minimizes the maximum loss likely to occur under alternative ecosystem states. When the cost of making a correct decision is less than the cost of making an incorrect decision, the minimax regret criteria indicates that delisting is the optimal decision. Active adaptive management employs statistically valid experiments to test hypotheses about the likely impacts of delisting decisions. Safe minimum standard and minimax regret criterion are not compatible with the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The precautionary principle comes closest to describing how federal agencies make delisting decisions. Active adaptive management is scientifically superior to the other methods but is costly and time consuming and may not be compatible with the U.S. National Environmental Policy Act.
We examined causes of mortality and survival rates for Amur tigers on and near the Sikhote-Alin Biosphere Zapovednik. Our objectives were to estimate and compare survival rates among sex and age classes, estimate cause-specific mortality, identify conservation issues related to tiger mortality and provide recommendations for reducing human-caused mortality. We used two separate datasets; one based on radio-tracking tigers from 1992 to 2005 and one based on reports of dead tigers from 1976 to 2000. We examined causes of mortality for both datasets and used a Cox proportional hazards models to estimate survival rates using data from 42 radio-collared tigers. Mortality was predominantly human-caused for both datasets (83% for the telemetry dataset and 78% for the other, n=24 and 53 mortalities, respectively), and 75% of collared animals were poached. All collared subadult tigers that dispersed were poached (n=6). Annual survival of adult females (0.81±0.10) was greater than that of adult males (0.63±0.20) (z=1.52, P=0.13) and subadult males (0.41±0.46) (z=2.07, P=0.04). Survival rates were precariously low on our study area, which included the largest protected area within Amur tiger range. Efforts to reduce human-caused mortality should focus on poaching and reducing deaths from tiger–human conflicts.
The supply-side approach to conservation, as recommended by economists, prescribes the provision of cheap substitutes for wildlife commodities in an effort to lower the price of such commodities and reduce harvesting pressure. We developed a theoretical economic model to examine whether wildlife farming or ranching indeed contributes to conservation. We first present the naive economic model that lends support to the supply-side approach. This model is incomplete. because it fails to capture the fact that most wildlife markets are not perfectly competitive (instead, models are characterized by a small number of suppliers who have a certain degree of market power), which also implies that it fails to incorporate strategic interaction between suppliers. We then present an alternative model of the (illegal) wildlife trade that reflects imperfect competition and strategic interaction, and demonstrate that wildlife farming may stimulate harvesting (or poaching) rather than discourage it. By applying the model to the case of rhinoceros poaching and ranching, we demonstrate the potentially ambiguous outcomes of rhinoceros-ranching initiatives-wild rhinoceros stocks may recover or suffer from additional depletion, depending on key parameters and the type of competition on output markets. We also show that this type of ambiguity may be eliminated when policy makers restrict quantities of farmed output through a quota system; in that case, introducing wildlife farming will unambiguously promote conservation. In the absence of such accompanying regulation, however, policy makers should be careful when stimulating wildlife farming and be aware of potentially adverse consequences.
There exists a continuing dilemma in prioritizing conservation actions for large carnivores. Habitat loss, poaching, and prey depletion have often been cited as the three primary threats, but there is debate over the relative importance of each.
We assess the relative importance of poaching and prey depletion rates, and use existing information in the literature and multi‐type branching process and deterministic felid population models to address four lines of evidence used to infer that tiger populations are inherently resilient to high mortality rates.
Our results suggest that tigers, more so than leopards or cougars, require large populations to persist, are quite susceptible to modest increases in mortality, and less likely to recover quickly after population declines. Demographic responses that would ensure population persistence with mortality rates that are sustainable for cougars or leopards are biologically unrealistic for tigers.
We propose alternative interpretations of evidence used to suggest that tigers are inherently resilient to high mortality rates. In contrast to other solitary felids, tigers breed later and their inter‐birth interval is larger, making them less resilient to poaching. A model used to support the contention that prey depletion has greater impact on population persistence than poaching appears to be based on false premises. Camera‐trapping data that suggest positive population growth despite low survival rate cannot differentiate mortality from emigration, and does not differentiate the impact of varying survival rate on different sex‐age classes; for example, low survival rate of dispersers is tolerable if survival rate of adult breeding females is high.
Synthesis and applications. While high prey numbers are essential to sustain tiger populations, our results suggest prey recovery efforts will not be sufficient if mortality rates reach 15%. Extrapolating demographic responses from other, even closely related species to develop conservation strategies can be misleading. Reduction of human‐caused mortality, especially of resident breeding females, appears to be the most essential short‐term conservation effort that must be made. Since mortality rates are usually unknown and generally stochastic in nature, any management policy that might reduce survival rates should be firmly avoided.
There is growing concern that the traditional “protectionist” approach to conservation is expensive and insufficient to deliver the desired environmental outcomes. “Supply side” policies to conserve endangered species have drawn support. By generating supplies from captive-bred animals, wildlife commodity prices are expected to fall, thereby lowering the incentive to poach species in the wild. Supply side policies, however, often neglect the institutional framework within which the wildlife trade takes place, and ignore the potential strategic responses of economic agents. Adopting a model that captures imperfect competition between traders and farmers, we analyze the effect of supply side policies and conclude that under some circumstances these policies may contribute to further devastation of wild stocks. We derive conditions under which captive breeding contributes to conservation, and discuss implications for policy makers.
Tigers are teetering on the verge of extinction and human contact in their habitat could be their greatest threat. Erika Check investigates whether local people can live alongside India's big cats.
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