This short film examines the debate surrounding the link between threatened wildlife and their use in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Synopsis and Review

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been practiced for nearly 5000 years and continues to be the primary form of medicine for over 1 billion people in China; it is also gaining popularity worldwide and is now used in over 130 countries worldwide. Based on natural plant and animal products, many of the species traditionally used are now endangered. According to conservationists, traditional medicine is at least partly responsible for this destruction; consequently, many of these plants and animals are no longer traded legally. With continued and increasing demand for TCM much of the trade has now moved underground. Interpol states that wildlife poaching is now the 2nd most frequently reported crime in the world.

This short film explores issues surrounding traditional medicine and conservation, focusing primarily on the trade of tiger bone and rhino horn for medicinal purposes. While this is a good overview of the some of the issues surrounding traditional medicine and conservation, it leaves much to be explored and understood. It gives a nice summary of the history and practice of TCM but relies heavily on the opinions of those in the conservation and enforcement fields; contrasting opinions of practitioners and of those involved with TCM are only lightly touched upon. Given its limited length (originally produced for a television spot), you are left wishing the film had devoted less time to the history of TCM and more to the issues that are the focus of the report.

Prepared by Erin Smith