ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE THREATENS EXTINCTION

BY

Sabastian Wee

What is Alternative Medicine?

• Alternative Medicine, stated in Wikepedia as, “any of various systems of healing or treating disease not included in the traditional medical curricula taught in the U.S. and Britain.

TCM

• Traditonal Chinese Medicine (TCM), a type of Alternative Medicine, is a 5,000 year-old practice, considered to be an important part of China’s health care system. (Wikepedia)

• TCM utilizes certain parts of various animals and plants to treat many different types of diseases and ailments, from arthritis and cancer, to virility and mental health. (wikepedia)

TCM Treatment Ingredients

• According to Australia’s Department of Environment and Water Resources, there are 1581 species of animals used in TCM to promote better health.

• Some of these animals include the leopard, tiger, rhino, black bears, snakes, turtles, ducks, crows, lizards, frogs, carps, and etc.

TCM Cures

• Seahorse—believed to be able to cure asthma and joint pain.

• Tiger bones and claws—believed to be able to cure back pain, arthritis, and fatigue.

• Rhino horns and Tiger genitalia—thought to enhance sexual virility. Rhino genitalia was believed to do the same as well. (Radford)

Cause

• These “cures” have never been substantiated in hard science. However, old habits are hard to leave, and instead of an ancient practice wearing thin to make room for modern science, the popularity of TCM has increased, thus causing a high demand for these animals. (Radford)

Effect

• Due to this high demand, Animals like the elephant, rhinoceros, and the tigers are facing extinction from illegal poaching.

• Currently, there are 600,000 elephants, 10,000 rhinos, and less than 6,000 tigers left on the face of this planet. In fact, three of the eight subspecies of tigers are already extinct. (Highley)

Preventative actions

• The Endangered Species Act of 1973 was passed to prohibit the exploitation of animals near the brink of extinction.

• The law prohibited any type of importing to or exporting from the U.S., “any type of interstate and foreign commerce”, and the violation of the animal’s life.

Enforcement• Since 1999, the Australian government,

has captured over 29,000 illegal imports of TCM products, but mostly from travelers for their personal uses. (Ellis)

• Numerous seizures and raids has been organized by Custom Services throughout Australia, which exposed a $1.15 billion yearly trade. (Ellis)

Hope

• There are many wildlife conservations out there, doing their best to save endangered species.

• Science must take the step to disprove or at least provide reliable substitutes for Alternative Medicine, or else animals like the Tiger and Rhino will be mere memories of Earth’s history.

Correlation to Text

• In Chapter 30 of our text, it states that the direct impact of human activities have contributed to the decline of biodiversity. (p. 617)

• It also states that the overexploitation is at a rate that exceeds the natural population’s ability to reproduce, impacting 30% of threatened mammals and birds. (p. 620)

Works Cited

• Alternative Medicine. Wikepedia. 31 August, 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_medicine

• Ellis, Richard. Tiger Bone & Rhino Horn: The Destruction of Wildlife for Traditional Chinese Medicine. P241. Island Press. 2005

• The Endangered Species Act of 1973. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. October 27, 2004. http://www.fws.gov/endangered/esa.html

• Highley, Keith. The Market for Tiger Products in Taiwan. Earthtrust Taiwan. March 1993. http://www.earthtrust.org/tiger.html

Works Cited• Radford, Benjamin. Alternative Medicine

Threatens Beasts with Extinction. Live Science. 13 Aug, 2007. http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20070813/sc_livescience/alternativemedicinethreatensbeastswithextinction.

• Tiger Bones, Rhino Horns, Bear Bile, Manchurian Ginseng and Traditional Chinese Medicine Practice in Australia. Department of the Environment and Water Resources. September 2007. http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/trade-use/publications/symposium/tiger.html

Works Cited

• Traditional Chinese Medicine. Wikepedia. September 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine