Body parts of America's 10,000 tigers end up in China in their medicine

Tigers are still "the chosen one" for wildlife traffickers. There are many other animals which are also abused and used but I would suggest that the tiger is the number one product to be sold. And the number one consumer is China. I'm told that the Chinese government realise that traditional Chinese medicine doesn't really work but they allow the businesses to flourish in the interests of trade and keeping the peace. 

Tiger found in Houston residence was taken to a rescue facility. Photo: Godofredo A Vasquez/AP.

The trouble is that President Xi has no concern about wildlife conservation and in particular the tiger population which is being decimated by Chinese traditional medicine due to poaching. Yes, China has a large number of tiger farms where tigers are treated as livestock, like cows, but when you treat tigers like that you inevitably devalue their status in the world to the point where there is illegal activity in obtaining tiger body parts from other parts of the world. Tiger farms muddy tiger conservation.

It is estimated that there are10,000 tigers in America because America has either none or very lax tiger ownership regulations across their 50 states. The rules do vary between states but, for example, in nine states there are no permit or licence requirements whatsoever. In general, the requirement is very simple, a USDA conservation label form and a $30 licence according to The Guardian newspaper.

ASSOCIATED: Tiger Bone

And because there is such a vast number of tigers in captivity in America (about three times the number of wild tigers across the entire planet) when they conveniently disappear, as many do, you can probably assume that their bodies and body parts are being shipped out to China in illegal activity to be turned into Chinese traditional medicine. Tiger body parts are enormously valuable.

Tiger penis products? Photo in public domain.

The authorities in America, through primarily the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, store about 1.3 million confiscated animal products but they say that this is the tip of the iceberg. They confiscate about 10% of all goods that pass through US ports. It's a losing battle it seems to me.

ASSOCIATED: Picture of seven frozen tiger cubs for Asian body parts market

John Platt, the editor of the Revelator, the media partner of the Centre for Biological Diversity said: "I would not be surprised if US tigers were turning up in China."

He suggested this because so many big cats in the US disappear, he said. There is a huge black market because the financial value of tiger bone and tiger penises (as two examples) is high. In a capitalist society where business is governed by market forces, if a product is valuable, businesses find a way to produce it or farm it and sell it internationally, if needs be. 

That's why I think we can say with some confidence that many of the 10,000 tigers in America end up in the form of body parts in Beijing, China. It is an unedifying thought. Humankind has debased and degraded the mighty tiger to a consumer product, no more. 

Pink tiger bone jewellery made by deboning a living tiger. Photo: The Tiger Mafia (believed).

The animal is worth more dead than alive and when they are farmed in China, they live miserable lives before slaughter. Some have their bones extracted while they are alive! It's a complete failure of conservation even if 3,500 Bengal tigers are still in existence in India and Bangladesh. There used to be 100,000 of them at the turn of the 20th century.

What eats a lion?

Humans eat more lion body parts than any predator of the lion. I am going to take an odd approach in answering this question. I know people want to know which animals eat lions and I suppose there are referring to lion cubs being attacked by hyenas and perhaps leopards. The lion cub is vulnerable to predators, there is no question about it. But the adult lion in Africa has no predators and there is little chance that they'll be eaten by another predator unless they are very infirm and elderly.

Humans eat more lion body parts than any other animal. Pic; Getty Images.

But the point that I want to get to is this: by far the biggest eater of lions are humans. The question doesn't ask what animals eat lions; it asks what eats a lion. And if you wanted to add up the amount of flesh and bones that come out of a lion which is eaten by people the tonnage would be far in excess of any other animal or perhaps all animals combined. This is because people like to eat lions. They eat lion bones and any other part of a lion to give them health and strength.

This superstition emanates from Asia. They also eat tiger body parts as well as you probably know. But as long as they are eating a big cat which is renowned for being strong and powerful they think that eating the body parts of such a creature imbues them with that power and strength. It's all complete madness and it results in lions being bred to be killed for their carcasses in South Africa. These are canned lion hunts. They are cruel and despicable in the eyes of any animal advocate.

The life of a lion cub bred in captivity for canned lion hunts is brutally sad. It is mapped out and all of their life is for the commercial market. None of it is natural. It is a total abuse of lions.

But wherever a lion is killed and for whatever reason they can be butchered and the body parts channelled into this other market which is supplies lion body part products to be eaten or drunk by people. I don't want to go into it in detail because it's too gruesome. But I believe that any lion which is kill for any reason is channelled into the lion body part marketplace where it ultimately ends up in Asia.

So, for example, if a farmer kills a lion in retaliation because the lion killed his livestock then that deceased lion is valuable in the marketplace. But they are so valuable that they are bred to be killed and slaughtered like livestock. It's exactly the same for tigers in China. There are 8,000 tigers in China in tiger farms been bred to be slaughtered their body parts.

Humans are the most prolific eaters of lions and they eat these big cats with great eagerness in the firm belief that it does them some good but there's no science whatsoever to support this attitude. It's all idiotic superstition. Of course meat is a product and therefore it feeds people but to kill lions and endanger their survival in the wild because people want to eat their body parts is a form of madness in humankind. It's a descent into callous idiocy.

It is also a bit of ancient history which has survived to today. The belief comes from a thousand years ago. Anyone who believes eating lions and tigers makes them stronger etc. has failed to develop. They are trapped in the ignorant past.

Tiger parts are as profitable as Apple products

Tiger steak washed down with the best tiger bone wine is definitely on the menu in restaurants throughout China. The raw meat might start its journey in tiger farms in China or perhaps in Bangkok, Thailand. Tigers are treated like livestock in many parts of Asia. Half a ton of tiger meat was recently unearthed in Bangkok with bones (for the wine) all destined I suspect for the major restaurants of Shanghai where clients believe it will improve their virility especially if they eat a $6,000 (USD) tiger penis. Man that really does make you feel superhuman....The bones of the tiger's forelimbs are prized too. It is all completely senseless.

Burma is a major trader and so are Malaysia and Vietnam. The business, built on corrupt officials, pathetic enforcement of CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) and mafia masterminds, is worth billions of bucks. And you know what? As the tiger becomes rarer and rarer as a result of this senseless slaughter, the tiger parts become more and more desirable and expensive and so the profit margins go up. It is self generating. Until it is all over.

In Asia it seems that everyone is abusing the tiger, which is fast becoming extinct in the wild. It is a shame that the tiger's range or distribution is in Asia. That is not a racist remark. It is a simple fact that countries like Burma and China are horribly corrupt and have a disregard for animal welfare.  The illegal trade in tiger parts would not exist but for the corruption of officials. In India the Bengal tiger is often poached from tiger reserves with the assistance of corrupt wardens (I allege this).

For example, some of the so called "private zoos" in Thailand are in fact tiger farms or wildlife farms. Documents are falsified and inspections evaded or officials collude in the illegal trade.

I haven't mentioned traditional Chinese medicine. Did I say "medicine"? I shouldn't because it isn't. It is, though, the single biggest contributor to the extirpation of the tiger on the planet.

What chance does the tiger have in the wild? Pretty much a zero chance of survival. It will all be over in about 20 years and we can then stop bemoaning the tiger's gradual extinction on the planet and move on. We will be left with generic tigers (hybrids or moggie tigers) in farm cages or zoos and that will be that.

A tiger's body is worth £215,000 in China (2008 and going up). Here are some more prices:

Tiger Product	Price $ USD per Kg	Place	Date
Bone	130	Nepal	2002
Bone	130-175	Vietnam	2002
Bone	up to 300	Russia	2002
Bone	140-370	South Korea, Taiwan	2009
Penis Soup	320	Taiwan	2009
Humerus bone	up to 3190	Seoul	2009
Eyes (2)	170	Taiwan	2009

Src: tigersincrisis.com and Sunquists


China is a CITES contracting party.  See also Bengal tiger facts.

Traditional Chinese Medicine

photo by moriza


I've recently made a post in which I discussed the endangered Bengal tiger. The reason for this cat's endangerment is to a large extent due to Traditional Chinese medicine, which uses tiger parts. A quite disgraceful throwback to medieval times.

The Chinese protect their ancient medicine as if it has some mystical and magical properties yet it originates from a time some 2,000 years ago when knowledge of medicine was extremely limited and superstition abounded. Accordingly, this much treasured medicine is rooted in medieval superstition. Hence the belief that eating a tiger's penis will make men virile - come on please grow up.

Traditional Chinese medicine is heavily intertwined with the extinction and preservation of the tiger and other wild animals such as the rhinoceros (the horn also improves virility - total madness of course). That is why I discuss it on these pages.

Traditional Chinese medicine is in the news again. Chinese people who dispense this ancient medicine don't know what they are dispensing and it could contain banned drugs (in respect of the forthcoming Olympics).

A Times journalist tested the process of dispensing this medicine. A graduate in Traditional Chinese medicine suggested to the journalist that deer's penis mixed with alcohol would speed up an athletes recovery from injury (they are fond of their animal penises aren't they?).

However, the graduate couldn't explain what was in the remedy (i.e how it worked and the chemical substances involved). This demonstrates the ignorance surrounding this medicine. As a result the authorities in China have warned Chinese Olympic athletes to avoid this medicine in case they take a banned substance.

Many athletes in China still take Chinese medicine, which shows how ingrained it is in the Chinese way of life. A star basketball player, Mr Yao, uses it. He supported its use by declaring that it has been used in China for thousands of years. Yes, it has and it has largely gone unchanged over the entire period. It has not been updated, improved and amended with knowledge gained over time.

It probably works on a placebo effect and may have some benefits sometimes for unknown reasons but it is surely time to completely overhaul it and at the same time for people at the highest levels in Chinese government to ensure that China complies with their obligations under CITES and stops the trade in tiger parts and the parts of many other endangered species.

Photo middle of post by by webby0101. Notice the Mountain Yak Penis - heavens the Chinese really do have a penis fixation. Does this say something about the Chinese mentality?? Is this an insecurity due to a certain unmentionable failure in a certain part of the male anatomy??


Traditional Chinese Medicine to more on this subject

Ancient Chinese Medicine

Endangered seahorses (protected by CITES - but not actually protected by the look of it) on sale at a Chinese medicine shop - photo frozenchipmunk (published under a creative commons license). An example of how Ancient Chinese Medicine is having a negative impact on the preservation of endangered wildlife.

Chinese Medicine as far as I am concerned should be either better regulated or modernized. I don't have much hope that this will happen in China or other eastern countries such as Vietnam, who have similar medical ideas. But it could be regulated in the UK. As long as the UK government allow Chinese doctors or medical staff to operate in this country they condone the poaching of precious wildlife it seems to me.

Ancient Chinese Medicine, is what it says on the packet - ancient and the world has moved on substantially while this medicine is practiced at the expense of many wild animals.

The Chinese are probably justifiably very proud of their ancient traditions. Such an ancient civilization. But I know that China wants to be more modern. But the government is still living in the past in respect of its medicine. It is not satisfactory to base medicine around animal parts in the modern world. It was fine hundreds and thousands of years ago but not now, please.

Ancient Chinese medicine is one of the main (perhaps the major cause) causes of poaching of rare wildlife such as the Tiger. The Rhino is another. Chinese doctors think that the Rhino horn can make an impotent man potent -sad really. I would suggest that the person buys some Viagra as this is known to help and it doesn't need animal parts to make it. Maybe that would stop them buying Rhino horn "medicine" and save some Rhinos. It would be nice to learn that the Chinese government had enacted regulations to deal with this. I am sure that some Chinese doctors don't believe in this medicine.


The incredibly endangered Tiger. Photo copyright B cool published under a creative commons license. Tiger parts are used in Ancient Chinese Medicine. We should remember that when and if we next buy Chinese medicine.

I am not mad about the medicine per se but for the damage it does to vulnerable and rare and fine animals such as the Tiger.

What prompted me to make this post was a story about the Vietnamese police arresting some people who had 2 Tigers in a freezer. They were trading in Tiger parts. It was not clear where the Tigers came from, maybe India where the Tiger population is in a catastrophic decline and where the Tiger is heading for extinction as the Cheetah already has in Pakistan. The Tigers were in transit apparently.

Of course India has conservation problems too. The reason why the Tiger is being poached to extinction in India (the main remaining habitat of the Tiger incidentally) is because of a lack of will to enforce the preservation of this fine animal. When the tiger is gone we will bemoan the loss but we cannot manage, it seems, to do things in a proactive manner to protect this species.

Vietnam's record on animal rights is hardly anything to shout about. Like the Chinese some of them kill and eat domestic cats and also like the Chinese they harvest bile from captive wild bears to supply the medicine market. Some Vietnamese as do some Chinese think that a bear's bile can do you some good. They cage them in tiny cages causing untold agony as a result. This is barbaric and cruel, I'm sorry.

Ancient Chinese Medicine has some upgrading to do and the fact that it is ancient is not a reason to preserve it in its current state. It is no recommendation that it is ancient. It should be a criticism at this time.

People in the West should consider not buying medicine from a Chinese outlet. If we do we are very indirectly killing Tigers and hurting bears and other endangered species of wild animal.

Sorry to be so critical but I am speaking on behalf of the silent animals.

Ancient Chinese Medicine to cat meat philosophy