Endangered species: China allowed trade in rhinoceros and tiger products

It is a setback for the protection of species: China wants to trade with the body of endangered parts allow animal species such as rhinos and tigers for specifi

Endangered species: China allowed trade in rhinoceros and tiger products

It is a setback for the protection of species: China wants to trade with the body of endangered parts allow animal species such as rhinos and tigers for specific purposes. Exceptions to the existing ban on the sale should there be medical purposes, for research and for cultural reasons, said the state Council in Beijing.

The country protested that the trade should be strictly regulated. Thus, powder of rhinoceros-horns, and tiger bones, only hospitals that are officially certified by the authority for Traditional Chinese medicine. The authorities for tourism and cultural legacy will have to approve the use of rhinoceros or tiger products for a "temporary cultural exchange".

However, animal rights activists fear that the legalized trade will serve as a cover for illegal transactions. The new rules will create "demand, which had declined after the ban already," said Margaret Kinnaird from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

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"It is deeply troubling that China has lifted its 25-year-old ban on the trade in tiger bone and Redwin Rhino horn," said WWF Board of Directors Eberhard Brandes.

China had banned in 1993 trade in Rhino horns and tiger bones, but could, according to the environmental market, with over Vietnam and products imported activists, a flourishing black cannot prevent it. Also the ivory trade, regarded in China as a status symbol, is prohibited. Other illegal animal products, such as belt animal dander, are still in demand because of their alleged medical properties.

the rhinoceros and tiger parts have been used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine to treat such as fever, food poisoning or impotence. While leading voices have advised not to share in traditional Chinese medicine for years, officially, of the use of Rhino and Tiger, there was still an underground trade.

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The animal rights activists referred to Beijing's sudden decision as a "clear contradiction" to the current attitude of the Chinese leadership. China had harvested in the past year, a lot of praise, because it had banned the trade in ivory for decades. At that time, the country was the world's largest market for ivory.

For years, the Rhino population suffers massively from the illegal trade of their horn. It is made of Keratin, the same Material as human finger nails.

joe/AFP/dpa

Date Of Update: 31 October 2018, 19:00
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