Los Angeles Times Interviewed Dr. Zhou Jinfeng on Poaching and Trafficking of Endangered Species | Market-driven Demand for TCM is One Root Cause
2019/3/3 21:07:00 本站

On February 27, 2019, Los Angeles Times interviewed the Secretary-General of CBCGDF Dr. Zhou Jinfeng on the poaching and trafficking of endangered species. On the conversation, Dr. Zhou analyzed the root causes driving pangolin poaching and trafficking. As is known, pangolin has so far been the most severely threatened endangered species by poaching and trafficking across the world. Dr. Zhou also shared with the LA Times various CBCGDF’s stories of combating these root causes for saving the endangered pangolin species from extinction.

 

Market-driven demand for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) containing pangolin scales is one root cause. It is this reason, rather than traditional medicine’s curative effects, that is increasingly threatening the already endangered pangolins”, said Dr. Zhou.

 

The huge TCM market for pangolin scales continues refreshing new world records on the quantity of pangolin scales trafficked. That is why, despite the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has included pangolins in its Appendix 1, no sign of a downward trend in pangolin trafficking can be detected”, Dr. Zhou further explained. In fact, a case of 10,000 trafficked pangolins was cracked down by Hunan police last year in China. Similar cases abound, and most of them concern confiscated pangolin scales. A long-held misunderstanding that pangolin scales have medicinal values is driving all the problems. It is traditionally believed that pangolin scales have health benefits. For instance, Guangdong Public Channel once broadcasted a program called “A Traditional Recipe with Incredible Effect on Lactagogue”, with pangolin scales featuring the key ingredient of the recipe. Likewise, one textbook used in Guangdong Province, China definitively identified pangolin scales as one TCM. “But all these are fallacy.” Dr. Zhou emphasized.

 

The fact is that, according to “On the Nature of Medicine”, one classic in TCM, pangolins (scales) are poisonous. This means that, contrary to being of healthy value, TCMs with pangolin scales may turn out to be harmful for human health. In addition, even though pangolin scales may have some medicinal value, as is stated in the “Chinese Pharmacopoeia”, such pangolin scales refer only to those from one (and only one) pangolin species, that is, Manis Pentadactyla or Chinese Pangolins. But Chinese Pangolins was officially announced “Commercially Extinct” in around 1995. Therefore, pangolin scales contained in so-called pangolin TCMs that are sold in most pharmacies probably do not have curative effects, because they are probably from pangolins of species different from Chinese pangolins. In short, they are fake medicine.

 

“This is why we call the year 2019 ‘they year of justification for pangolins’”, said Dr. Zhou. The meaning of “Justification” is three-folded: One is to tell the world that only Chinese pangolins have medicinal values; Second, CBCGDF will emphasize that pangolin TCMs are so-called inferior drugs, which means that instead of being a cure-all solution, they may in fact be poisonous; Third, CBCGDF will continue promoting the releasing of confiscated pangolins. Some illegal enterprises, under the name of captive breeding, use wild pangolins in TCM. But it is almost impossible for pangolins to be captive breeding. Except for zoos in Singapore and Taiwan China where there is a small number of domesticated pangolins, there has been no successful case of captive breeding worldwide. This is because pangolins are rather timid, which renders them impossible to breed and grow up in an artificial environment.

 

Dr. Zhou has recently visited State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine of the People's Republic of China, trying to persuade them to remove pangolins from the “Chinese Pharmacopoeia”. The work remains on-going. Moreover, “China Pangolin Research Center” has also established by CBCGDF and Xi’an Jiaotong-liverpool University. In particular, this research center will work on issues including whether pangolins have medicinal value, which diseases may be cured by them, and whether there are any substitutes available, etc. With these efforts, CBCGDF hopes the “Year of Justification for Pangolins” to contribute to the re-shaping of people’s understanding of pangolin TCMs, so that more effective protection of this endangered species can embrace a brighter future.


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(Photo credit: CBCGDF)


By / Lu Lei

Modified / Niu Jingmei