Leaving the question of extinctions of lifeforms apart I think that TCM is already in many ways integrated in global health care, if we consider what medicine people use (I know many who would use both and even more medical systems parallel) and what is accepted by health insurances (many health insurance would cover Chinese massage or acupuncture). So I would claim that there often is no ideological conflict between different paradigms of medicines as the question would make one assume.

The dangers could be that the deprivation of wildlife gets worse since Traditional Chinese Medcine strives for real Rhinoceros, Tiger and Bear ingredients, Seahorses and many other wildlife to be shot/killed and shipped into Eastern Asia...

I am no expert on TCM, but is it possible to have a revised and modified TCM that considers the impacts on the possible extinctions of wildlife?

Interesting! Following

Carsten Weerth

I am guessing that you are concerned about species that are in danger of extinction. You would not be very concerned if TCM used chicken, for example?

Leaving the question of extinctions of lifeforms apart I think that TCM is already in many ways integrated in global health care, if we consider what medicine people use (I know many who would use both and even more medical systems parallel) and what is accepted by health insurances (many health insurance would cover Chinese massage or acupuncture). So I would claim that there often is no ideological conflict between different paradigms of medicines as the question would make one assume.

I agree with Eberhard Weber and would like to point out that the thousand years of asian wisdom has entered western lifestyles, e.g. the powers of ginger, many teas and acupuncture...

Many of these health practices are assinged to a long and healthy life...

I do not recommend. Evidenced Based medicine does not fit the acupuncture, even I do not know how there are many Evidence based acupuncture researches be published.

I did comment a researcher on RG who asked why the Evidence Based acupuncture researches cannot be duplicated it's results? Once force it to acupuncture, it will be a big misleading to let people do not treat this great treatment that can solve many nowadays no clue diseases in a cheaper way to let people regain original health. Even, can reverse the aging process.

The main reason is the double blind not fit acupuncture. Each point that does not locate on any named meridian actually is covered by many nearby meridians' branches.

On the other hand, evidence based medicine is limited in the "measurable world with measurement tools". Yet, TCM covers invisible power in treatments. That is not totally measurable.

Especially, nowadays, to treat body, mind, soul all together is a none reversible trend. I strongly against to use the western medicine to rule TCM!

In the fact, how can a medicine performs worse than TCM rule a great medicine in a none practical way?

Moreover, if any scientist who cannot master TCM well to treat nowadays no clue diseases that the ancient TCM can well treated is not qualify to make the rules to regulate the TCM. Otherwise, it is a killer tool to mislead the general public and kill the TCM.

If anyone thinks it's a good tool to reduce people pursuing for TCM's help. But, please do not forget, in this aging era, it only lets China that adopts TCM and do not use the western ways to limit TCM development, it makes all countries lost competition in health and waste precious resources in researches and health care.

All of the researches who mentioned the wild animals in dangerous and blame TCM:

Please do not confuse with nowadays many money driving people who misuse or overuse the wild animals. Actually, some animal parts were only being used in critical diseases in ancient time. And, there are many alternatives and they are better than using the wild animals' body part(s).

Now, China's Chinese are a lot richer than before and richer than many people in the world including me. Look for how much of the China's people buying deluxe products in the world to show of outlook "rich". How odds of them to intake wild animals? Their behavior darkens the TCM. If you do not fully understand TCM, please do not use this to treat or measure TCM. Otherwise, it's not only becomes a bias, but also falling an academic bias.

Such as bears and deers, China now use farms to raise medical animals. Moreover, they use modern skills to harvest the useful part, such as the Secretio Moschus, instead of kill the animal like the past thousands of years.

Even though, in my later practice, such as cancer, kidney dialysis, hard to treat or no clue diseases in the western medicine, I am hardly using animals except using an eternal plant herbal formula, I do not let my patients intake any herbs. In case of needed, I recommend food therapies.

If TCM be widely accepted, we use preventive healthcare part of the TCM, food therapy, qigong, dao yin shu (body stretches), breathing metds and even 0-8 numbers combination can maintain health.

The beauty of the TCM is out of your imagination.

Frieda Mah I am most grateful for your comments. Perhaps TCM has to blame because they have been very poor in public relations and explain exactly what the principles of TCM are.

Dear Dr. Joseph Tham ,

Your comments sound reasonable. However, the facts are:

Actually, I can write many books to talk about it. Let me stop here.

Frieda

Frieda Mah Please do not stop. We need knowledgeable experts and professionals like you to provide the correct information about TCM. You are most kind with your comments.

The real dangers if merge the real TCM essences in the global healthcare are:

There are more to write and be corrected in the medical field.

Frieda Mah Maybe we need to start discussing these issues on RG. I may suggest some questions. I hope that you will support me.

Dear Dr. Joseph Tham ,

Let me try. - Frieda

Follow answer

Khansaa Azeez Obayes Al-Husseini

To focus the discussion, please abide by the following rule. I humbly request you.

Please do not answer with “Follow” or “Following” and other single word responses.

No idle speculations and personal, biased, subjective opinions from armchair experts and professionals sitting in the comfort of their homes. Please support all your statements with facts, figures, data, information and robust, verifiable scientific evidence and publicly available research and findings.

Only solid empirical facts. Please be polite and respectful of other points of view.

Shukran. May the Al-mighty bless you with generosity

Integration of all forms of medicine is the answer to complex health problems in the 21st century. In some countries health policies promote integration of different forms of medicine and already health services are provided under one roof. I do not see any specific danger to TCM or other forms of traditional or herbal medicine by integrating with the mainstream global health care. However, there is some concern shared by few people that total integration may result in dilution of the system. There is lot that both systems can benefit from working together. Research is one such area. The other concern is the availability and sustainability of raw materials for TCM. There is need to promote cultivation, domestication and cultivation of medicinal herbs which are rare and even endangered.

Dear Kinga Jamphel ,

Very sadly, I can tell you tons of the sad stories and wastes in the improper integration that the western medical major professionals force to put their protocols to TCM.

TCM includes metaphysics. Yet, the western medicine only including measurable and visible case. TCM is macro view. Yet the western medicine has been micro view. How to integrate right is not only using the western medical model to squeeze TCM in.

Only when there are enough seats for qualified TCM practitioners - not the westernized TCM practitioners to do integration can make the system be successful. However, I have not seen it in the US and Taiwan yet. Otherwise, my life is a lot easier and I will be much richer than my current situation.

Instead of wasting my time to write or use my finance to treat financial disadvantage patients, I can use my time and money to create my financial paradise and do what I can and want to do. That's more interesting than deal with a personality more or less deviated patients or be relied to talk about the sickness that is a piece of cake case became a troublesome and time consuming case. Be honest, I am so tired about this kind life!

Best Wishes,

Frieda

Madam,

I agree there could be many challenges in integration of the two systems.

Dear Kinga Jamphel ,

For young and lighter cases, there are more successful cases. However, for the patients keep taking drugs and increase drugs, it is a wrong way to integrate.

There are more cases that have not been taught at school, no matter how easy to treat it is, the case only getting worse. The school education is also a challenge due to many acupuncture school teaching professionals are converted from western medical professionals.

Medical field is a mess!

Frieda

I fully agree with Frieda Mah.

I can add that recently TCM diagnosis and symptoms differentiation was most important and visible part of the implementation of the Traditional Medicine (TM) Chapter into the 11 th Edition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) and was voted in WHO at May 2019. So TCM diagnosis and diseases according to TCM are now in official mainstream of medicine!

Also, due to the Opioid Crisis acupuncture was recognized by US Congress as a part of very powerful anti-pain solution instead of drugs.( H.R. 6, "Opioid Crisis Response Act of 2018 )

We have also several thousands Evidence-Based Medicine published researches in TCM, which are clearly showing effectiveness and safety as well as acupuncture and TCM are also better from economic point of view. It is just enough to search in Pubmed, Cochrane Library or other high rank scientific web-pages and magazines. But main problem is, that MDs don't like it and don't read it. Most of them prefers to stay in their Western Medicine fortress, even they know that they can't help many patients and a lot of drugs have strong advert effects, etc.

The main problem of EBM in TCM and acupuncture is, that most of researches use Western patterns and names of diseases (based on Western diagnosis and laboratory tests), completely omitting TCM diagnosis and symptoms differentiation according to TCM. Then many results are weaker than could be if research will be based on it. (I hope, that recent WHO ICD-11 will change it).

Integrative medicine can be possible in West if MDs will be ready to be open for it, but they should also study something about TCM and respect the paradigm of TCM. On the other side western TCM practitioners must be also well educated in principles of Western medicine and they should know how to talk an communicate with MDs. In China that problem don't exist, because western medicine doctors know foundation of TCM and metaphysics of TCM is a part of Chinese culture; also TCM doctors have wide education in western medicine. Prof. Stephen Birch research is showing fast growing number of Clinical Guidelines of Practice (CPG) in the most developed and other countries all over the world, where acupuncture and TCM are recommended as the first choice treatment. Article Overview of Treatment Guidelines and Clinical Practical Guid...

I spoked with him at May 29th 2020 in Rothenburg during 50th TCM Congress and the newest number was: about 5300 CPG for 540 diseases! But CPGs - which are based on EBM research - are not respected by majority of Western doctors!

I study and teach Development Theories. In the 1950s there were the modernization theories, which considered everything that had ther label 'traditional' as negative, from yesterday, a sign of underdevelopment, while every thing modern (also medicine) was seen as a expression and sign of developed. Today this has changed considerably. 'Traditional knowledge' in agriculture, conflict resolution, navigation, etc' is 'in'. Also 'traditional medicine' and 'traditional pharmacology'.One could say that these traditional health systems have regained justification. I would even go further: many aspects of modern medical systems are initially part of traditional systems. Aspirin ( acetylsalicylic acid ), one of the most used medication in modern medicine has been derived from the willow tree has been used for its health effects for at least 2,400 years. My mother was very interested in medicinal herbs and many of her collection were also used by me with usually very positive aspects (e.g. camomile , sage, digitalis, different products made from opium such as morphine, codeine, atropine, scopolamine, hyoscyamine, and many, many pharmaceutical substances are important ingredients (active substances) in modern medicine. Most of them have been important already in traditional medical systems and knowledge. To some extent the division of 'traditional' and 'modern' systems is rather artificial.

For practitioners, especially from Europe, what is the best way to start learning CTM?

Dear all,

dear Frieda Mah

I have pointed out before that TCM is a serious source of wildlife depletion, hunting and extinction of species.

Some of you claim, that is not the case anymore...

To the contrary, it still is and possibly more then ever!

Here I am posting a piece on Sea horses, see

Data CITES-Zuwiderhandlungen auf facebook.com 2019 – Seepferdchen...

Three further species are pangloins, sharks and eels...

Dear Carsten Weerth ,

It's my last time to answer you:

Frieda

Dear All,

As a researcher, I think that to find out the truth and be responsible to any research is important.

I did a research about the seahorse market value: Ornamental sea animal, specimen and a precious herb. It's herbal functions are: strengthen health, pain relief, strengthen the heart, dispel the nodule, reduce swelling, soothe the tendon and activate the meridians, stop cough, soothe the asthma, invigorating the kidney and strengthening the yang qi, activate blood circulation, heal injury, benefit kidney yang deficiency patients, elderly weakness, chronic asthma, virtual asthma, male impotence and infertility, female infertility, but it's more suitable for those who suffer from injury external or internal pain..

It enters the liver and kidney meridians. It has more than 1500 years to be used as an herb in Chinese medicine history.

The wild seahorse has stronger herbal effects

I also did a research in both English and Chinese for "Difference between wild and cultured hippocampus". Due to it's a Chinese herb. So, I only can find in Chinese. And only Chinese farm it. You can do google translate if you are interested to read: https://www.zhifure.com/snzfj/71279.html.

There are seahorses pictures. The wild seahorse is in black color. The wild seahorse is in light yellow color and very rare in black color.

If you click on the CITES-Zuwiderhandlungen auf facebook.com 2019 – Seepferdchen... . The FB pictures showed a massive black seahorse. From https://www.zhifure.com/snzfj/71279.html stated, we can conclude that they are highly possible farmed seahorse.

Further, I did a research of the content "...I am a traditional Chinese medicine diplomatic Doctor sensitising patience suffering from these ilnesses: […]

Email: [email protected] Calls or text and WhatsApp to: +639497755240”

I checked the contact number 639497755240 belongs to

CHN SEAFOOD Public Group | Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/groups/425044484358511

... with the top renounce shipping company Maersk....ship to your home address is guaranteed 100% for more inquiries contact me. Whatsapp : +639497755240 and

International Seafood Traders Public Group | Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/groups/SeafoodTraders/887259274679447/

Discover my method of exporting dry seahorse with whatsapp : +639497755240 or Wechat : L052193APY we export before you pay all you need to pay first is .

From my search result:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/425044484358511/search/?query=I%20am%20a%20traditional%20Chinese%20medicine%20diplomatic%20Doctor%20sensitising%20patience%20suffering%20from%20these%20ilne&epa=SEARCH_BOX

and

https://www.facebook.com/groups/SeafoodTraders/search/?query=I%20am%20a%20traditional%20Chinese%20medicine%20diplomatic%20Doctor%20sensitising%20patience%20suffering%20from%20these%20ilne&epa=SEARCH_BOX

I cannot find any one doing advertisement as "I am a traditional Chinese medicine diplomatic Doctor sensitising patience suffering from these ilnesses: […]" on the downloaded file.

I also searched April 23, 2019 post on the two FB, I also cannot find any.

What is your opinion?

Dear all,

Dear Frieda Mah,

I do not want to offend your feelings.

I understand that you are very interested and knowledabele in TCM.

I am intersted and knowlegeable in conservation of wild species...

I understand that it is possible that wild animals can be replaced in TCM. That is good. However many TCM practitioners do NOT replace wild animals but use them...

Further reading about this issue, see

https://www.traffic.org/publications/reports/pangolin-trade-in-china/

Article Illegal pangolin trade in northernmost Myanmar and its links...

https://www.traffic.org/site/assets/files/10569/pangolin-trade-in-china.pdf

https://wwf.panda.org/?278612/Widespread-evidence-of-ongoing-illegal-pangolin-trade-in-China

http://www.worldwatch.org/node/6198

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2019/06/pangolins-poached-for-scales-used-in-chinese-medicine/

https://www.iucn.org/downloads/pangolin_proceedings_final_print__2_.pdf

Best wishes,

Carsten Weerth

Papers on illicit seahorse trade:

http://oceans.ubc.ca/files/2018/12/WorkingPaper2018-01CITES.pdf

http://wwf.panda.org/?13044/Seahorses-to-be-protected-from-international-trade

http://oceans.ubc.ca/files/2018/12/WorkingPaper2018-01CITES.pdf

Article Authenticating the use of dried seahorses in the traditional...

http://www.trafficj.org/publication/96_International_Trade_Seahorse.pdf

Papers on illicit eel trade:

https://www.sustainableeelgroup.org/europol-15-million-endangered-eels-have-been-seized-in-worlds-greatest-wildlife-crime/

http://www.trafficj.org/publication/15_Eel_Market_Dynamics_EN.pdf

PORTUGAL: In January 2018, at Lisbon Airport, 317 kg of live baby European Eels Anguilla anguilla (CITESII) held in water-filled plastic bags were seized from luggage belonging to eight passengers bound for VietNam. https://bit.ly/2FePX2P, 22 January 2018

https://www.traffic.org/site/assets/files/10567/bulletin-30_1-final-web.pdf

Papers on the shark and ray trade:

https://www.traffic.org/site/assets/files/1211/traffic-sg-sharkray-trade.pdf

https://www.traffic.org/site/assets/files/9495/shark-fisheries-and-trade-in-europe.pdf

https://web.archive.org/web/20081219162921/http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/innews/taste2004.html

https://www.jstor.org/stable/20095462?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

5 species at most endagered by TCM-motivated trade in asia, see

https://allyouneedisbiology.wordpress.com/2016/07/14/threatened-species-by-traditional-chinese-medicine/

Bears, Rhinoceros, tiger, pangolins and Lions (well, and also sharks, sea horses, rays, and most recently eels)...

"The 5 most threatened species by traditional Chinese medicine

14/07/2016 Ricard Arasa Gisbert 4 comentaris

Traditional Chinese medicine has boomed in recent years, thanks to increased purchasing power, especially Chinese Asian middle class. This ancient medicine is based on the concept of vital energy, that invades every corner of the body and organs, and can be acquired through ingested substances, as are parts of various animals. Despite numerous studies, there is no scientific evidence of its benefits to human health. In contrast, there is evidence of an alarming decline in populations of emblematic species such as tigers, rhinos or lions.

INTRODUCTION

3000 years ago emerged, within the Shang Dynasty, a type of medicine that would completely change the life and habits of the Asian people. The basis of traditional Chinese medicine have a strong philosophical component and focus on the concept of ‘Qi’ or vital energy. This energy flows inside the body through channels or meridians, which in turn are connected to organs and bodily functions. The ‘Qi’ regulates the spiritual, physical and emotional balance of the person, and can be altered when the Yin and Yang (negative and positive energy) get unbalanced. This imbalance and alteration of vital energy is what leads to all kinds of diseases.

📷According to traditional Chinese medicine, there is not a specific disease, but sick people. Treatment focuses on the affected organ or organs and the whole body, in order to try to restore the balance between Yin,Yang and meridians. Source: Chinatoday.com.

Since ancient times, diseases have been fought with many remedies, many of them derived from animals. Almost any Asian species has been used for traditional medicine, such as cows, wasps, leeches, scorpions, antelopes, sea horses, dogs or snakes. Despite the zero scientific evidence of its benefits, its popularity has been increasing with the population explosion and the purchasing power of Asian countries, especially China and Vietnam. Many ‘new rich’ find in these products a way to distance themselves from other social classes and show off their new lifestyle. As a result, many species are in danger of extinction in the coming decades if nothing is done about it.

In this article we will have a look at the 5 most threatened species by Chinese medicine, and the actions that are being carried out to improve their situation.

THE 5 MOST THREATENED SPECIES BY CHINESE MEDICINE

Tiger (Panthera tigris)

The tiger is undoubtedly the most emblematic and admired animal by traditional Chinese medicine. Practically all its parts has been used, such as its nose, tail, eyes, whiskers, brain, blood and even penis. Each part has been associated with a particular cure. Eating your brain, for example, combat both laziness and pimples, while the eyes are used to treat malaria and epilepsy.

Unlike other animals used for traditional medicine, tiger parts are not only sold to Asian countries like China, Taiwan, Japan or South Korea, but also to occidental countries, even the United States and United Kingdom. In fact, in cities like London, Birmingham or Manchester you can find products that claim to contain tiger bone. The price of tiger bone is between 140 and 370 dollars per kg in the US, while a cup of tiger penis soup (that it is used to increase virility) reaches 320 dollars.

📷Wine made of Siberian tiger bones. Wine tiger is one of the emerging threats for the species. This bottle costs about 200 dollars and is sold as a luxury product. Source: Takepart.com.

Although there are only  3,200 tigers in the wild (of the 100,000 existing a century ago), there are countries that contain tigers as Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia who have not yet signed the CITES agreement, which means that hunting is still legal. In the airport of Hanoi, for example, it is still possible to buy bones, organs and tiger skins without any difficulty.Te

Despite the ban on trade in tiger bones in China in 1993, the business of the tiger is still a very important business in the country. In fact, as pointed out by the researcher and writer Judit Mills in an interview of Yale Environment 360, from that year the number of tiger farms increased rapidly, reaching, at present, the number of 6000 tigers in these places. Most of these farms are dedicated to the growing business of tiger wine, symbol of high status and wealth among the Chinese population. The tigers are fed like cattle until they are killed to extract their bones, which will be immersed in rice wine. The longer they remain in the broth, the higher the price of the bottles.

Just over a month ago, a scandal involving tigers and traditional medicine splattered the Kanchanaburi Tigers Temple in Thailand. In there, more than 40 dead tiger babies were found in freezers, allegedly in order to deal with them on the black market that involves this mythical species.

📷Baby tigers in jars were found in the Temple of the Tigers, in Thailand. It is suspected that the Buddhist temple is behind a web of illegal trade in tiger parts. The temple has been closed and monks are being investigated. Source: El Mundo.

Asian black bear (Ursus thibetanus) and sun bear (Helarctos malayanus)

Bear bile has been used in traditional Asian medicine for thousands of years. Yore, bile was extracted once the bear was dead, using its meat as well. However, since 1980 the popularity of this product grew, and a flourishing industry was settled and growing year after year. It is estimated that there are currently more than 12,000 bears in farms bile extraction in China and Vietnam.

📷Bear bile from China is sold in Malaysia. In a recent research conducted by TRAFFIC, of the 365 traditional medicine shops present in Malaysia, almost half of them (175) were selling products containing bear bile. Source: TRAFFIC.

Thanks to its high levels of ursodeoxycholic acid, bear bile can help to treat liver ailments and bladder. However, the extraction of bile causes to bears an unimaginable damage, both physical and psychological. In most cases, bears are confined in cages whose size is like a phone booth, and are continuously sedated so they do not give problems. Poachers make them a hole in the gallbladder and let it drip in order to extract the bile. This heinous practice is still legal in China, although 87% of the population disagrees with this practice.

📷In many cases the animals are born and grow in the same cage, to the extent that their bodies just outlined by the own cage bars. Many lose much of their teeth by gnawing the bars continuously to try to escape, or attempt suicide punching themselves in the stomach. In this sad picture we see a sun bear in an illegal farm in Malaysia. Source: Animalsasia.org.

White rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum)

If we look back, it might seem that the situation of the white rhino is excellent. This African species was on the brink of extinction in the early twentieth century, when there were only 100 individuals. Fortunately, thanks to numerous international efforts, the species recovered surprisingly and currently has a population of about 20,000. However, the situation of rhinos is critical again, because of the poachers kill more than a thousand of them every year, which has reignited the alarms for this species.

📷A woman prepares tea rhino horn in a cafe in Vietnam. Rhino horn ingested in powder form and is very popular in Vietnam. Among other benefits, it is believed to cure cancer. Source: Marcianosmx.com.

The rhino (the Asian rhino in that time) has been hunted since the dawn of traditional medicine, as there are records of their hunting since 200 B.C. Horns, blood, skin and even urine have been used since ancient times as a remedy for various ailments such as nosebleeds, strokes, seizures and fever. Today, the main goal is his horn, which reaches exorbitant prices on the black market. A rhino horn can reach up to 46,000 euros per kilogram on the Asian black market, which has already been exceeded the price of gold. The business has prospered thanks to this great incentive, the ease of hunting these animals (they are slow, nearsighted and docile) and the lack of vigilance in the countries they live. The main destination for rhino horn is Vietnam, where the belief in their properties is stronger.

📷South Africa is by far the country that has more white rhinos (around 90%) and the most affected by illegal hunting. In recent years, hunting has suffered an alarming increase. It surprises and scares simultaneously when comparing the only 13 deaths in 2007 with the nearly 1200 deaths occurred in 2015. Source: TRAFFIC.

Pangolin (family Manidae)

Probably, the hunt that has increased more in recent times is the pangolin hunting, especially in China and Vietnam, its main markes. They are hunted for their meat and scales, wich are used for traditional Chinese medicine as a remedy for all kinds of diseases: malaria, anziety,depression, asthma and even cancer. Of course, scientific investigations have found no evidence of health benefits, and it is very unlikey to occur, because their scales are made of keratin, the same material that forms our fingernails and hair, or rhino horns.

📷Pangolin scales for sale in Mong La, a tourist city in Myanmar and one of the msin focus on illegal sale of animal parts. One kg of pangolin can be paid at 175 dollars on the black market. Source: TRAFFIC.

Much of the hunted pangolins come from Myanmar, a country that has become, unfortunately, a gateway for most hunted pangolins in Asia or Africa. According to TRAFFIC, in the period from 2010-2014 were seized, only in Myanmar, 4339 kg of pangolin scales and 518 dead bodies. In the Philippines, in April 2013, a fishing boat containing 10,000 kg of pangolin scales was seized, which amount of 20,000 to 25,000 pangolins. With a population in continuous decline, the situation is far from improving. It is no wonder: a hunter, which in many cases has enough to survive, can gain up to 1,000 euros for just a single pangolin.

📷Pangolin scales can be prepared and consumed in many different ways, either fried, dried or served with vinegar or sauces. In addition, it is believed that his blood and embryos (as the photo) cure sexual impotence. Source: National Geographic.

Lion (Panthera leo)

Lion has been the latest to join this unfortunate list. It was once one of the most abundant larger cats on the planet, with an estimated population of more than 400,000 individuals in 1950. Nowadays, it is calculated a population of no more than 20,000 individuals, a fact that has placed them in the Red List species in the Vulnerable category.

📷Lion bones placed in the sun to dry them. Once they are dry, they will be sent to Laos and Vietnam, where they will be pulverized. A skeleton as above can be cost 75,000 dollars. Source: LionAid.org.

Although the greatest threat for the lion is still habitat loss, the increase of protect measures for tigers in Asia and their low number has placed the lion as a new target for the mafias, as indicated in this 2015 Nature article. In 1995 it was documented for the first time the use of parts of lion in traditional medicine, when it was discovered several typically tiger products containing lion parts. In December 2009 the CITES agreement allowed the export of skeletons lion to Asia. It is estimated that from that date until the end of 2011 more than 1160 bodies of lions were exported, mostly to Laos and Vietnam. The main use of lion bones is to serve as a substitute of tiger bones as a sexual enhancers.

📷It is very easy to find products made with bone lion online. Get prices and easy ways to buy online did not cost me more than two minutes. These products, in particular, promise to lengthen the penis and improve sexual potency. Source: Male-sexenhancement.

CURRENT STATUS OF LAWS AND ACTIONS AIMED TO PROTECT ILLEGAL HUNTING OF THESE SPECIES

• Tiger: Many Asian nations such as China, Nepal, Japan, South Korea and Thailand have pledged to enact laws that prohibit trade of tiger products, preserving their habitat and form a regional network to stop the tigers trade. Hong Kong, which accounts for almost half of exports of tiger parts, has intensified controls, while Taiwan, thanks to a recent trade control law, conducted numerous seizures, arrests and extensive searches for illegal tiger parts.
• Asian black bear and sun bear: By mid-2015 it was known that an important pharmaceutical Chinese was working on an alternative synthetic product for bear bile. This product could finally end up with the bear bile farms. However, it is still necessary the total abolition of this practice in China.
• Rhinos: There is a strong debate about legalizing rhino horn trade in South Africa. Some NGOs believe that this would lead to a fall in prices on the black market, while others argue it would raise the demand and mafias would still control the market. TRAFFIC along with Save the Rhino International launched an awareness campaign in Vietnam to persuade consumers of rhinoceros horn to reject its use. In addition, TRAFFIC got the commitment from the Association of Traditional Medicine of Vietnam to promote the reduction of demand of rhino horns.
• Pangolin: Trade with pangolins and parts is protected by law in Myanmar, the most affected country by illegal trade. In addition, Asian pangolins are included in Appendix II of CITES, which means that international trade is prohibited. China is increasing control of smuggling pangolin, and has already imposed tough penalties to pangolin traffickers.
• Lions: They are listed in Appendix II of CITES, which means that trading of its parts is strictly controlled. Farms created for lion hunters are the main supply of bones for Chinese medicine, that means that, for now, this phenomenon is having little impact on wild populations.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• TRAFFIC
• Nijman V, Xia M, and Shepherd CR, (2016). Pangolin trade in the Mong La wildlie market and the role of Myanmar in the smuggling of pangolins into China. Global Ecology and Conservation. Vol 5: pag 118-126.
• Bauer, H, Van Der Merwe, S (2002). The African lion database. Cat news. Vol 36: pag 41-53
• Chardonet, P (2002). Conservation of African lion. International Foundation for the Conservation of Wildlife.
• Nature
• El País: El último rugido de Cecil
• WorldWatch
• El País: Última oportunidad para salvar de la caza furtiva a los grandes de África
• Materia
• National Geographic
• Animalsasia
• El Mundo: La devastación del pangolín
• Cover photo: Edited from: Imagi; Infotigres; Pinterest; Pasionanimalblog; Pinterest."

There are 54 seahorse species are named https://www.theseahorsetrust.org/seahorse-facts/ and 8 of them are endangered.

As the China and Asian countries are richer and health pursuing is more needed, asthma, infertility and blood stasis getting worse due to the wrong lifestyle, cold stuffs intake, air pollution, improper pregnancy care and chemical abuse than before. The harvest of seahorse's multiple precise functions is no wondering is increased tremendously.

The wild seahorse has stronger herbal effects. Even the cultured seahorse price is high.

To set the laws to protect the wild seahorse is needed. However, it cannot stop people taking advantage of the nature no cost wild seahorse.

The better way is to educate people and promote preventive health care to reduce or even stop the needs to intake seahorse.

Indeed, there are many free ways to stop the needs to intake seahorses:

If practice Da Zhou Tian daily and avoid intake cold stuffs, intake seahorse will feel discomfort due to it break the body's balances to be warmer than the body needs..

Meanwhile, policy makers should promote preventive health care, reduce and/or stop chemical applications to avoid many health issues such as infertility, cold, dirty and acidic blood caused blood stasis, weaken energy, asthma and many other diseases.

Be humble to ask for solutions instead of blame or whatever.

Indeed, government officers need to learn more to avoid problems instead of making more laws to increase the tax burden and inharmonious among people. It's a bad act.

I can go though international collaboration to do education to stop killing wild seahorses is the best.

The seahorse issue really catches my attention and hardly to put aside. I do hope that lawmakers can go deeper to think about why this happens.

Here, I want to call everyone's attention to the medical field encountered big problem.

It reminds me that the western medicine is really hard to treat the health problems that the seahorse can treat.

During my practice, Chinese patients in general like herbs. However, many plant herbs in China, US, Taiwan and Hong Kong are mainly from China. The huge problem that TCM encountered is 80~90% of the raw herb market is full of the residual herbs without treatment potency.

The effective ingredients were extracted by pharmaceutical companies and the health food factories. Plus, China's many businessmen like the pharmaceutical companies and the health food factories are money driven without caring general public' health needs. They collaborated to sell the no treatment effectiveness herbs to the general public. It does nowadays, many raw herbs can not treat diseases as potent as before the year 2005.

I practiced at sea that was mainly using acupuncture to treat. After 2010, I moved to land to practice, the raw herbs is not only hard to get the potency herbs, but also the price jumped up too quickly as 10+ times, it forced me to give up using raw herbs to treat patients totally.

The fact became that both of the western medicine and TCM herbs has been long time hard to treat diseases, except patients pay sky high price to buy potency herbs to get treated. Or, keep longer suffering for diseases.

This also pushes people adopt more wild seahorses to treat diseases.

The funny thing is the government agencies only check raw herbs' heavy metal and chemical contents instead of controlling the effective ingredients. That's a big factor contribute to nowadays medical field mess.

"

"IUCN behind major advance for seahorse conservation

Wed, 28 Sep 2016

Thailand, the world’s largest exporter of seahorses, decided on Friday to end seahorse exports until it can address the threats they pose to wild populations. The decision followed 22 years of work on the issue by IUCN SSC’s Seahorse, Pipefish and Stickleback Specialist Group (SSC SPS SG), and was announced just before the ongoing 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Johannesburg, South Africa. 

Project Seahorse*, which acts as the IUCN SSC SPS SG, first discovered the nature and scale of the seahorse trade in Thailand and generated CITES’ global restrictions on trade in seahorse species in 2002, ultimately leading to Thailand’s decision to suspend trade. 

“Our team is glad to have played a major role in assisting Thailand to tackle this important conservation issue head on.  We’re also eager to help move Thailand’s fisheries and exports of seahorses towards sustainability,” said Prof. Amanda Vincent, Chair of the IUCN SSC SPS SG and Director of Project Seahorse.

At the request of CITES, the IUCN SSC SPS SG had worked with Thailand’s Department of Fisheries on tools and approaches for export management, and was granted a national research permit to study Thailand’s seahorse populations, fisheries and trades. The group then shared its findings with the government of Thailand to help it progress on trade regulation.

The trade suspension means that the country will stop exporting seahorses for several years, but may one day return to international trade in seahorses.

“Sustainable use offers more potential for long-term conservation than blanket bans,” Prof. Vincent explained.  “Buy-in from the people who depend on a resource is vital to engender compliance with regulations.”

Thailand has so far exported dried seahorses sourced in the wild, almost all of which are used in traditional Chinese medicine.

The country is the source of more than three-quarters of the seahorses in international trade each year.  Official CITES data show that Thailand has exported about 5 million dried seahorses per year since 2004, although Project Seahorse trade surveys indicate that the number is likely to be much higher. Thai fishers capture the great majority of seahorses by accident in non-selective fishing gear such as bottom trawls, which scrape the ocean floor, taking everything in their path, and gillnets.  Such capture will not be ended by an export suspension.

While welcoming the trade suspension, Prof. Vincent warned that persistent threats to seahorses, including bottom trawling and the degradation of their inshore marine habitats, will need to be addressed with effective protection of large areas of the ocean.  She added that Thailand will need to pay attention to the possibility of illegal trade, given that capture will continue.

* Project Seahorse, a conservation partnership between the University of British Columbia, Canada, and the Zoological Society of London, acts as the SSC SPS SG."

https://www.iucn.org/news/secretariat/201609/iucn-behind-major-advance-seahorse-conservation

About the seahorse status I mostly trust the IUCN. For many seahorse species there simply is not enough data known, see

https://www.iucnredlist.org/search?query=seahorse&searchType=species

For 21 seahorse species the IUCN has stated "numbers decreasing".

12 seahorse species VU, Vulnerable

2 seahorse species EN, endangered...

Scource:

https://www.iucnredlist.org/search?query=seahorse&searchType=species

The IUCN Seahorse, Pipefish and Seadragon Specialist Group (SPS SG) is dedicated to the conservation of seahorses, pipefishes, and seadragons — as well as related species such as trumpetfishes, cornetfishes, seamoths, shrimpfishes, and pipehorses.

About seahorse status it summarizes:

IUCN Red List Status of the Family Syngnathidae

Critically Endangered (CR) Endangered (EN) Vulnerable (VU) Near Threatened (NT) Least Concern (LC) Data Deficient (DD)

Seahorses* 2 EN 12 VU 1 NT 10 LC 17 DD

*Note: Currently, there are 44 recognised species of seahorse- two newly described species (H. haema and H. japapigu) have not yet been evaluated on the IUCN Red List.

Source: https://iucn-seahorse.org/

About the biggest wildlife crime happening in Europe:

Millions of European Eels (Anguilla anguilla L) are stolen for the use in TCM in Asia, see URL:

https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2018/october/you-are-probably-completely-unaware-of-the-largest-wildlife-crime.html

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1146324/nature-news-wildlife-crime-endangered-eels-europol

https://www.sustainableeelgroup.org/europol-15-million-endangered-eels-have-been-seized-in-worlds-greatest-wildlife-crime/

Regarding the call for lawmakers:

in the int. agreement of CITES the whole genus Hippocampus (Seahorse) is listed in annex II - trade is only allowed when the seahorses are transported with a legal export and import licence by the competent authorties...

The Eel Anguilla angullla is also listed in annex II...

Dear Carsten Weerth ,

Thanks for your post. To lawmakers, they concern about their narrow job scope. As an Industrial Engineer major originally and entered the TCM field later that I discovered all kind individual, family, community, school, society, country even international stuffs affect one's health.

To me, I am more concerned about people entitled healthy, happy and abound life. Therefore, I do urge there is a cross field international organization that can solve the issues like the wild seahorse en-dangerous not only stopped in prohibiting wild seahorse marketing. To solve the general public, health needs to fix their health issues in a cheaper way that everyone can access is the real sustainable policy for all humans.

Therefore, to stop the extracted effective ingredients herbs be sold back to the herbal market by those high profit businesses is not only selfish but also cut financial disadvantage people's cheaper access original cheap and potent Chinese herbs' chances to regain their health back. Those people are the fundamental workers who contribute the most for all countries basic needs.

Meanwhile, the high profit businesses of pharmaceutical companies and healthy foods factories forced en-dangerous wild animals exist. They are the real original crime makers for the medical field mess - no cheap and potent herbs to be used and the killers for the wild animals. It's not the victim of the TCM and TCM practitioners be blamed. Hope that it can be cleared.

Be remember, to pursuing a quality life and a healthy body to make contributions is everyone's natural desire. To satisfy this basic human request, the world can cut a lot of troubles and disasters.

As a TCM practitioner, I do focus on removing the root problem to allow patients have a healthy and happy life. So, I also emphasize that all of the lawmakers should have the same goal as the TCM higher level request.

If an arrow is in a person's body, only cut off the outside arrow to be invisible outside is common in the medical field and the government organizations. I do deeply hope this attitude can be eliminated in order to gain the whole world real peace and prosperity.

Best Regards,

Frieda

It is a misconception that eating various exotic animals can increase one’s own life energy of a person. It is necessary to understand what is vital energy, it is necessary to understand the causes of the loss of vital energy. There is no data on the difference between the health of those who use TCM and who do not use TCM. In the application of TCM, many moral aspects arise. There are problems of sustainable human development in community with other living organisms on earth and respectful interaction with them. The failure of these problems can lead a person to collapse, as a species of a living being. The problem of loss of vital energy and its restoration is the problem of depression. Depression is the loss of vital energy. The cause of depression is a high level of imbalance in neurotransmitters due to irregularities in the reward system of the brain. You can estimate the level of violation in 99 on a scale of 100 (where 100 is the highest level of violations). Depression is now and 3,000 years ago spread to 99% of the population of all ages. Depression has a specific cause. Depression is eliminated by means and methods that are currently missing in the ТCM.

Dear Vasil Grigoriev , Carsten Weerth ,

Again, I feel that I lost patience sometimes and gradually it be accumulated. Please google "acupuncture treat depression". And please go back to read my comments above.

I waste my time or can say my life to battle with people's no knowledge or even worse: information is on everyone's finger tip. Especially I think the RG is gathering the high quality of "researchers". But, I am wrong and I am more clearly know better than before why the patients are so helpless.

Please also read: https://www.researchgate.net/project/Treat-Emotional-Disorders-by-Acupuncture, especially the https://www.researchgate.net/project/Treat-Emotional-Disorders-by-Acupuncture/update/5d20c15d3843b0b98259a0b4 .

Please do not attack TCM so easily that TCM can treat nowadays no clue diseases that we just follow the ancient Chinese medicine theories, diagnoses without any lab test, we can treat. Worst case, if we do not know how to treat, we go back to search the rich records from ancient and modern successful treatment cases.

That all kind diseases can be treated in many ways: herbs, acupuncture, cosmic energy healing, hypnosis, deep breathing, etc. Please also recall the 2003 SAS that the whole world were happily to look for TCM failed to treat the western does not know how to treat diseases. However, based on ancient Chinese medicine wisdom. SAS was quickly be controlled and the patients be saved.

Before you say anything, especially blame something, please do your homework first in order to properly protect your "professional image". Thanks.

Again, I want to emphasize that is not the pharmaceutical company and the health food products do not sell back they extracted effective ingredients' herbs back to raw herb market that occupied 80~90% of the herbs in the market for near or over a decade. People can buy a lot cheaper plant herbs to get western do not know how to treat health issues instead of eating the expensive wild animals.

Frieda

I highly recommend researchers go to my project to read https://www.researchgate.net/project/The-Right-Way-of-Medical-Practice-yidao .

You will no wonder why TCM be developed as such as great medicine system in the world.

Chinese medical sage Zhang, Zhongjing (AD 150 - 215) he lost 2/3 of his family members and relatives in an acute fatal infectious disease. That time, he was a government officer. For preventing it happening again, he studied Chinese medicine and reorganized them to write two famous Chinese classic medicine bibles of https://www.researchgate.net/project/Natural-Healers-Digital-Library/update/5a10ca874cde2608381464ac and https://www.researchgate.net/project/Natural-Healers-Digital-Library/update/5a0e5e034cde26083813f3f8.

These two books cover how to treat nowadays western medicine has no clue diseases. Look at how an ancient Chinese officer does! They thoroughly solved people's needed help!

I write it out for everyone's reference. Due to the Chinese historical great persons, officers, it builds up the Chinese immoral culture and let Chinese can stand up no matter in what kind situation erectly and refused any insult.

We protect our culture that is the human beings' common treasure and save people from disasters including medical tragedies.

Dear Joseph Tham ,

Up until now, I want to point out the real dangers of integrating the TCM and the other medicines is the people's bias that is worse more than anything else.

How to successfully integrate all available medicines in the world in order to find a better effectiveness treatments' medical system, the objective attitude's approach is the key to decide its success or not.

Best Regards,

Frieda

Nobody has stated that TCM is uselss or dangerous for humans. In particular accupuncture may be helpful. But it must be understood that we are living in a world of mor than 7 billion humans... And a growing proportion wants to get its share of TCM... And though TCM may be performed without "herbal" contents (which apparently means harvested wildlive) the practice in Asia is the use of illicit traded animals and animal parts...

And that is a threat to the world and its natural resources...

That must be mentioned, also here on RG...

Frieda Mah again I read that you get impatient and you state that you are the expert. Pray understand, that I am an expert here as well.

Your field of expertize is TCM, mine is the protection and the conservation of the natural world and its wildlife species.

With kind regards,

Dr. Carsten Weerth, BSC (University of Glasgow), LLM, MA, FRGS, FLS, FZS

Yes. Carsten Weerth , I did not challenge your professional. I just pointed out the root problem and I also recommended a higher international cross field coordinator to solve the problem thoroughly. Blame the people against them to kill wild animals is a superficial act. To solve the root problem is needed. It is caused by useful cheaper herbs cannot get, people turns to the wild seahorse.

There is a highly needed demand for health, the supply, especially the free resources of the seahorse be harvested. The law was set years ago. But, the illegal harvest still exists. Then, TCM and the practitioners were blamed by you originally.

I am not happy about Vasil Grigoriev comment is not a professional act and you recommended his bias comment. So, I mentioned how the Chinese medicine sage as a officer, how did he convert on solving people's needs for everyone's reference. As a human, we ask no bias to protect wild life and human's good quality life demand. Sacrifice either one is no better than save both needs.

Of course, if done preventive health education, there are no needs to kill the seahorse at all. As I said, the seahorse adds extra heat to the body that will make people feel discomfort.

Now ТСM is consistently associated with the killing of animals. For example, I regularly see reports in the press that on the border of Russia and China, poachers are arrested and freight trains with paws seized from them, which have been cut off from bears whose weight is several tons. That in Africa animals for sale to China are massively exterminated. ТСМ is now associated not with acupuncture, but with the killing of animals and their torture, in order to get some substances. Why is it necessary to torture bears to get their bile? If the same substances can be obtained artificially. If medicine developed this way, people would not be treated with antibiotics, but would grow penicillin fungus and eat it. People who prefer to eat medicines from a bear will probably like to be aware that they are eating a drug from a real bear. Or drugs from different parts of a tiger, for example, from a member of a tiger, what is special about them? A joke about the Papuans and the navigator James Cook is widespread. They say that the Papuans ate James Cook because he was strong and clever and the Papuans ate him to become as strong and clever as he. The phenomenon of TCM is related to the fact that now the means of treating certain diseases are not widely known. TCM does not offer solutions for the treatment of diseases, it is a business that unfortunately is consistently associated with animal torture. Science does not develop along the path of increasing suffering for animals, but along the path of understanding the mechanisms of treatment and creating artificial analogues for treatment.

Before the integrating of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) into the mainstream healthcare, the mainstream western medicine needs to be integrated first. There are too many specialties in mainstream western medicine, and each of them are isolated to itself. A lot of current health issues like obesity and metabolic syndrome can be solved just by integrating the current mainstream western medicine. We have just published one paper in attempt to address this issue:

Chapter Scientometrics as a Powerful Tool in Integrating Isolated Me...

And just like what Frieda Mah says, there are a lot of misunderstanding about TCM even in China. TCM is more on preventative healthcare, using the powerful self-healing capacity of our body. if one is practicing the idea expressed by the following 16 Chinese characters: "恬淡虚无, 真气从之, 精神内守, 病安从来 ( If people can transcend worldly desires, let the essence of life thrive, direct the conscious mind to protect its own body, illness and disease shall be avoided)", it is impossible that one will fall in sickness.

The traditional Chinese philosophy is "天人合一", means that heaven (nature) and human are one and should not be separated. We take nature as part of ourselves, and suggest that humans should live harmonically with everything in nature, and we believe that everything in nature has its spirit. TCM take this philosophy as its guideline.

Yet, in the last 100-200 years, we learn science from the western, and we also learn some western philosophies like the conflict theory and classification of society. The Marxism, materialism and communism is now dominating the Chinese society, which actually do a lot of destruction to the Chinese traditions.

Frankly to say, there are more Chinese scientists in China than in overseas suggest that China should abandon TCM as it is "non-scientific".

Very unfortunately, both of the Chinese culture and TCM are destroyed and distorted after ten years' culture revolution. The majority of the qualified teachers or masters died or became crazy. There is a big gap between the real TCM and the westernized TCM after the culture revolution.

Now, the government and many overseas Chinese go back to China to spend a lot of time and efforts to recover the Chinese culture and TCM. The government changed from the western medicine leads Chinese medicine to be both are equal after 2010.

Due to shortage the formal licensed TCM after culture revolution who are good enough to treat diseases. So, China made the law and converted folk therapists who can well treat diseases to own a TCM license and allowed them to teach students and the students also can get a TCM license after their exam. It has been executed years. But, the change speed is slow.

Very unfortunately, the whole world acupuncture schools copy China's TCM schools' academic and hired many MDs converted TCM license as instructors/professors after China's door is opened. The TCM is westernized. Many school instructors use drugs to treat themselves. As a pure genetic TCM practitioner, we need to spend big money to learn from the TCM practitioner who ran away from China communists ruling as well as self study a lot of ancient books and successful cases.

As a generation knowing the cultural revolution and a Chinese descender not be ruled by communists, we are the responsible party to transmit the world human being's treasure of the never indelible Chinese culture and TCM, we ought to point out the right and wrong for everyone.

About the extend of global wildlife trade and crimes, mostly in Asia and mostly done for the demand of TCM (possibly done wrongly but still), see

Data CITES-Crimes: WCO and INTERPOL make successful joint seizure...

Notably again the target species as mentioned above:

- Seahorses,

- Pangolins,

- Eels

Other species are traded for colletors or other reasons, such as

- Ivory,

- Orchids,

- Rhino horn,

- Reptiles,

- Birds...

Dear Carsten Weerth

I can assure you that all these so called "TCM medicine" will not help in curing any person's illness. These trafficking and crime shows that how people misinterpreted TCM.

If one practices the basic idea of TCM, and by employing the powerful self-healing capacity in our bodies, no one should fall ill. And if one has already developed illness, the first and most effective thing to do is lifestyle change, so as to invoke the self-healing capacity to help him to recover. As stated in Luigi Cornaro's Discourses: "... they told me that I must only use food, solid or liquid, such as is generally prescribed to sick persons ; and both sparingly."

( https://soilandhealth.org/wp-content/uploads/02/0201hyglibcat/020105cornaro.html

)

It is essential to educate the correct TCM ideas to people, let them knowing that their body have the best and most powerful medicine, so that such trafficking and crime lost its market, and eventually can be stopped.

I may say somethings about the differences between the traditional Chinese philosophy and modern science.

Science uses conceptions to generalize observed natural phenomena, forms facts, makes hypotheses and builds up theories to accumulate scientific knowledge, and test the hypotheses and theories by experiments.

In traditional Chinese, although we still have to use conceptions like “this is a dog, that’s a cat, we are human being, and wen have minds” in daily life, the ancient philosophers found that conceptualization is actually separating human from nature, which is directly against the traditional Chinese philosophy of heaven (nature) – human unification. They found that the natural laws described by anybody is not the real natural laws in nature (道可道非常道名可名非常名), they are only the ideas in human mind. They also found that logic is not efficient in communicating ideas and may misleading (白马非马，white horse is not horse). So in traditional Chinese philosophy, conceptualization and logic is forbidden, and the philosophers would rather using meditation to perceive the nature, not using any reasoning, so as to minimize their gap with nature

The most dangerous is not to discuss who's fault or how to integrate, the result will be unforgivable of the people cannot discard their pride and bias instead of the most benefit for all the human beings.

So, the integrate speed cannot catch and over the current developing technology. In the near future, there could be full of the human beings' outlook, but internal is the chimeras and 3D printed organs that have no human original organs to host human emotions or the IVF baby that shortage regular human's humanity and love.

Or some scientists produced super power AI robots to replace many human beings. It's from the regular job market to be spouse, kid to replace the regular human beings and their families. The robot helps people to pregnant and perform delivery. The original human beings, society could be destroyed totally.

Those not 100% original human beings could mix with the real human beings to live, work together and maybe even control humans.

Then, the future story is on different pages. All of the past medical be discarded. No one knows what will exactly be and what is the position of nowadays' human beings in the near future.

Today's pride and bias cannot be seen. The most, may be recorded in history as a warning for a human culture's fading.