Prince Phllip: threat to wildlife by traditional Chinese medicine

Ray

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Duke of Edinburgh hosts talks with on threat to wildlife posed by traditional Chinese medicine

The Duke of Edinburgh will meet Chinese government officials to discuss the wildlife crisis caused by the surge in demand for traditional Chinese medicines.



He is to host a meeting at Buckingham Palace where he will ask China for support in tackling the "corruption" of some forms of the remedies, which are threatening the existence of several species.

The Duke is concerned about the surge in trade for endangered species, including tigers and rhinos, whose bones and horns are used in traditional Chinese medicines as aphrodisiacs and purported cures for cancer, arthritis and hangovers.
His grandson, the Duke of Cambridge, has also campaigned against the illegal trade in rhino horn, calling those who take part in it "ignorant, selfish and utterly wrong".

The Duke of Edinburgh has invited officials from China's State Administration for Religious Affairs to meet him and the Alliance of Religions and Conservation, an organisation that he founded in 1995 to encourage religious groups to develop environmental programmes.

Also present will be representatives from the Daoism faith, a Chinese religion championed by the Duke, which banned the use of endangered species in the remedies among its followers.

A source close to the Duke said: "Prince Philip is not supportive of what he sees as the corruption of traditional Chinese medicine, where people are buying tiger penises for aphrodisiacs and rhino horns to cure cancer, despite the fact there is no proven medicinal quality.
"He is trying to encourage the Chinese government to support the Daoists in undermining the incorrect use of traditional Chinese medicine, which is killing the wildlife of the world."

The illegal wildlife trade is estimated to be worth up to £12 billion a year. Tiger bones are used in medicines to treat arthritis and other joint ailments, and rhino horns, which can sell for up to £15,000 each in China and wealthy Asian countries, are used as a treatment for fevers, hangovers and, in some places, are considered an aphrodisiac.

Rhino populations have fallen by 90 per cent since 1970, due mainly to illegal poaching driven by the booming market for traditional Chinese medicine.

Statistics released last week by the South African government showed that a record 668 rhinos were killed across the country in 2012, an increase of almost 50"‰per cent from the previous year.

At the beginning of the 20th century there were 500,000 rhinos in Africa and Asia. Today, there are fewer than 28,000 in the wild.
Tiger parts, including bones, teeth, eyes and whiskers, are used to treat ailments from insomnia to toothache.
According to Traffic, an organisation that monitors the wildlife trade, the world's tiger population has fallen by 97 per cent in the past century, with an estimated 3,200 tigers surviving in the wild.

The meeting between the 91-year-old Duke and the Chinese government will be seen as a diplomatic boost to Britain's relationship with China.
Tensions have recently escalated between the countries after the Government and the Royal family's ongoing dialogue with the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet and a critic of the Chinese regime.

Relations between the Chinese and the Prince of Wales have also been strained since his diary entry relating to the handover of Hong Kong in 1997 caused a diplomatic storm when it was leaked in 2005, revealing that he had referred privately to Chinese leaders as "appalling old waxworks".

During a state visit to China with the Queen in 1986, the Duke was overheard describing Beijing as "ghastly" and in a meeting with a group of British exchange students in the city of Xian, he told them: "If you stay here much longer you'll all be slitty-eyed."
His meeting with Chinese government officials will take place on February 20, during the Chinese New Year celebrations.
To mark the occasion, and to thank the Duke for his support, the group of Daoist monks and nuns who will attend are expected to perform a traditional blessing ritual at the Palace.

The meeting with the Chinese government indicates that the Duke remains active, often behind the scenes, on matters in which he has a personal interest.

The Duke, who had a series of health setbacks last year and missed part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations because of a bladder infection, had said that he would begin to scale back his official duties after marking his 90th birthday in 2011.

The Queen and the Duke are taking their annual break in Sandringham, Norfolk, until February.

Upon their return, the Duke's diary for the next few months is filled with official engagements, indicating that he has little intention of slowing down.

Duke of Edinburgh hosts talks with on threat to wildlife posed by traditional Chinese medicine - Telegraph

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Indeed the Chinese should be careful about wiping out species from the face of the earth.

They should, if it is all that essential, undertake captive breeding and set aside areas in their country for the same.

But then exotic animals that are used for Chinese medicines are also food for the Chinese.

The Chinese are unique and thrifty since they eat about anything and everything in it total entity and leave nothing to waste.

Of course, they do not realise that they are depleting the numbers of such animals etc.
 

Ray

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Chinese medicines contain traces of endangered animals
Traditional Chinese medicines contain traces of endangered animals including bears and antelope, a DNA analysis has found.




A study of 15 samples seized by Australian border officials found that four contained either Asiatic black bear or Saiga antelope, both of which are illegal to trade under international law.

The analysis also revealed that some samples contained potentially toxic plants, while others failed to list ingredients which could provoke a severe allergy, such as soy and nuts, on the packaging.

Experts said the combined risks meant traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs), which are widely available online, posed a "significant potential for harm" to patients and should be avoided entirely.

In recent decades the use of TCMs in Western countries has increased significantly either alongside or instead of conventional treatments, but few of the traditional remedies have been validated by clinical studies.

Researchers from Murdoch University in Australia used DNA sequencing technology to identify the exact make-up of 15 of powders, tablets, capsules, flakes and herbal teas.

Dr Michael Bunce, who led the study, said: "In total we found 68 different plant families in the medicines. Some of the TCMs contained plants of the genus Ephedra and Asarum.

"These plants contain chemicals that can be toxic if the wrong dosage is taken, but none of them actually listed concentrations on the packaging."

"We also found traces from trade restricted animals that are classified as vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered, including the Asiatic black bear and Saiga antelope."

The study, published in the PLoS Genetics journal, also found that some packages failed to list potential allergens such as soy and cashew nuts, or animal ingredients.

One product which was labelled as 100 per cent Saiga antelope contained "considerable quantities" of goat and sheep DNA, while another product, Mongnan Tianbao pills, contained deer and cow DNA.

The paper said: "This might be done intentionally in order to reduce manufacturing costs, or to circumvent customs' scrutiny, or inadvertently."

The authors added that some TCMs appeared to have been "intentionally adulterated" with prescription drugs such as anti-diabetic medicines, "presumably as a means to increase their efficacy".

Edzard Ernst, Professor of Complementary Medicine at the University of Exeter, who was not involved in the study, said: "The risks of Chinese herbal medicine are numerous: firstly, the herbs themselves can be toxic; secondly, they might interact with prescription drugs; thirdly, they are often contaminated with heavy metals; fourthly, they are frequently adulterated with prescription drugs; fifthly, the practitioners are often not well trained, make unsubstantiated claims and give irresponsible, dangerous advice to their patients.

"Taken together, these risks amount to a significant potential for harm – I would not recommend Chinese herbal medicine to anyone."
Hui Jun Shen, President of the Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture UK (ATCM), said: "Compared with conventional medicine drugs, generally speaking, Chinese herbal medicine is much safer.

"ATCM has in the past several years published three times a list of prohibited and restricted CHMs in our newsletter and journal. The list includes most toxic CHMs, materia medica from animal and mineral sources, and all endangered species listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species."

Chinese medicines contain traces of endangered animals - Telegraph

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Goodness gracious, this is serious!

But then the Chinese are not known to bother about international niceties.
 

uvbar

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red sanders from india is illegally shipped to china for traditional medicine treatments
 

roma

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red sanders from india is illegally shipped to china for traditional medicine treatments
has india managed to curtail the smuggling of tiger -parts to china .....i wonder if the india tiger population is back to healthy numbers by now ?
 

uvbar

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has india managed to curtail the smuggling of tiger -parts to china .....i wonder if the india tiger population is back to healthy numbers by now ?
you cant really be sure about the tiger thing until you find its dead body(of a tiger). recently no tiger bodies have been found, the government says tiger population is healthy but your cant really rely on that
 

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