Recently, the Green Foundation volunteers reported that many drugs containing pangolin were found on Jingdong, and they are failing to obtain special marks for the utilization and management of related wild animals according to relevant national regulations. Many pharmacies, for example, the flagship store of Deshengtang pharmacy and the flagship store of Xinxing pharmacy, have been found to be selling drugs containing pangolin in an illegal way, such as raw milk of Jiyao brand and raw milk of Shiyao brand.
In response, the pangolin protection working group of the Green Foundation has sent a letter to Jingdong company, asking it to check and reasonably dispose of the illegal pangolin drugs that have been sold on the platform as soon as possible.
As we all know, there are 3 general and 8 species of pangolins in the world, all of which are endangered species. They are also the mammals most threatened by the illegal trade. Among them, the Chinese pangolin native to China has long been declared commercially extinct. In 2016, at the 17th convention on international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora (CITES Cop17), the proposal to elevate all eight species of pangolins from CITES Appendix II to Appendix I was adopted, which means banning global trade. In China, pangolins are also listed as the national second-class key protected animals, and their protection level has been improved. Relevant departments are also actively preparing for it.
The Green Foundation has long been engaged in the protection of pangolins, an endangered species. It is very clear that pangolins are currently on the verge of extinction, especially the protection situation of Chinese pangolins and Malayan pangolins is more urgent. On the other hand, pangolin scales and its products currently circulated in the domestic Chinese medicinal materials market completely violate the implementation standards in the Chinese pharmacopeia, and most of them are not Chinese pangolin scales. At present, there is no institution in China that can provide pangolin scales for commercial use, because the cost of feeding a pangolin and then providing its scales for industrial use is much higher than that of smuggling from abroad.
The Green Foundation has long been engaged in the protection of pangolins, an endangered species. It is very clear that pangolins are currently on the verge of extinction, especially the protection situation of Chinese pangolins and Malayan pangolins is more urgent. On the other hand, pangolin scales and its products currently circulated in the domestic Chinese medicinal materials market completely violate the implementation standards in the Chinese pharmacopeia, and most of them are not Chinese pangolin scales. At present, there is no institution in China that can provide pangolin scales for commercial use, because the cost of feeding a pangolin and then providing its scales for industrial use is much higher than that of smuggling from abroad.
Therefore, in order to protect pangolins, five national ministries and commissions jointly issued the notice on strengthening the protection of the resources of Saiga antelope, pangolins and rare snakes and regulating the management of their products as medicine in 2007, which clearly required to implement labeling management system for patent medicines and products containing pangolin raw materials. The specific requirements are as follows: Since January 1, 2008, a pilot labeling management program has been implemented for the proprietary medicines and products containing raw materials of Saiga antelope horn, pangolin scales, and rare snakes. Starting from March 1, 2008, all proprietary medicines and products containing the raw materials of Saiga antelope horn, pangolin scales, and rare snakes will be allowed into circulation only after the "special logo for China wildlife management and utilization management" is added on the packaging of the minimum sales unit.
Similarly, article 27 of the law on wildlife protection newly revised by the standing committee of the National People's Congress in October 2018 also stipulates that the sale, purchase, and use of wildlife and wildlife products under special state protection shall be prohibited. For scientific research, artificial breeding, public performance, or other special circumstances for the protection of cultural relics and need to sell, buy, use of wildlife under special state protection and its products, shall be subject to the wild animal protection of the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government approval of the competent departments and in accordance with the provisions and use of special identity, to ensure the traceability.
Article 5 of the e-commerce law, which came into force on January 1 this year, requires e-commerce operators to carry out business activities and fulfill obligations in consumer rights protection, environmental protection, intellectual property protection, network security, and personal information protection. At the same time, article 38 of the law also restricts the operators of e-commerce platforms. If the platform operators fail to take necessary measures when providing commodities or services that do not meet the requirements of personal and property security, the e-commerce platforms will be required to assume joint liability according to law.
In other words, according to the existing laws and regulations of the state, those who do not obtain the administrative permission according to the law are not allowed to use the raw materials of Saiga antelope horn, pangolin scales and rare snakes for production and business activities. Products without special marks for the utilization and management of special wildlife shall not be put into circulation.
However, it is a pity that there are still a large number of pangolin medicines without the special label of national wildlife management in the flagship stores of major drugstores on the platform of Jingdong. Therefore, in order to avoid the rapid extinction of pangolin in a short period of time, The Green Foundation hopes that Jingdong can carry out self-inspection of illegal drugs containing pangolin as soon as possible, reasonably dispose of the corresponding drugs, and urge all drugs containing pangolin to be included in the standard sales and utilization.
(Photo source: Internet)
Original Chinese article:
http://www.cbcgdf.org/NewsShow/4854/7831.html
By / Crystal