China permits limited trade of rhino, tiger goods

moblin · Oct 29, 2018

China on Monday announced it was authorising the trade of rhinoceros and tiger parts for scientific, medical and cultural purposes, a move wildlife conservationists fear could have "devastating consequences" globally.

Those include scientific research, sales of cultural relics, and "medical research or in healing".

China prohibited the trade of rhino horn and tiger bones in 1993 but a black market has flourished, with many products entering the country through Vietnam, according to an investigation conducted last year by the Elephant Action League conservation group.

Wildlife conservationists worry that allowing a limited trade of rhino and tiger goods will spur overall demand for related products, while efforts to crack down on wildlife contraband will be hindered.

Easy source of revenue for the state; if we can't stop (or aren't willing to stop) the black market, legalize/regulate/tax it! It also reminds me of whaling justifications, where "scientific purposes" is a pretty silly fig leaf.

doublechocochip · Oct 29, 2018

Is this good or bad?

Deleted member 15428 · Oct 29, 2018

When rhinos go extinct poachers are gonna kill even more elephants

Maneil99 · Oct 29, 2018

doublechocochip said:
Is this good or bad?

Bad. This isn't like drugs. You can't humanely harvest these things like weed on a governmental watch. It just means it will be easier for places to sell it openly = higher demand = more dead animals

Cyanity · Oct 29, 2018

This is potentially devasating. Like, extinction outside of captivity-level endgame here. Fuck you China.

Kthulhu · Oct 29, 2018

I imagine this will go as well as Japan's "scientific" whaling.

SilentPanda · Oct 29, 2018

doublechocochip said:
Is this good or bad?

Bad not just for the wildlife, but also the ranger that usually patrol the refuge these animal live in, and might enbolden poacher to hunt more resulting in human and animal death due to the increased legal demand.

neon_dream · Oct 29, 2018

Fuck this bullshit.

cameron · Oct 29, 2018

Only doctors at hospitals recognised by the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine will be allowed to use powdered forms of rhino horn and tiger bones.

Tourism and cultural heritage authorities will also have to sign off on any rhino and tiger products that are used for "temporary cultural exchange".

Trade volume will be "strictly controlled", the State Council said, with any trade outside of authorised use cases to remain banned.

Garbage.

MisterSnrub · Oct 29, 2018

I guess none of us really needed tigers or rhinos anyway. Thank you for being depraved and malevolent, China.

Sectorseven · Oct 29, 2018

What medical purposes do they serve?

VariantX · Oct 29, 2018

doublechocochip said:
Is this good or bad?

Super bad. Black market items suddenly have legal avenues to be sold. This will further endanger already threatened wildlife. Its also extra shitty and spitting in the eye of other foreign nations if the countries that these animals come from have made it illegal to poach these animals and china basically said fuck that, sell it here.

D65 · Oct 29, 2018

Sectorseven said:
What medical purposes do they serve?

...

Pomerlaw · Oct 29, 2018

Sectorseven said:
What medical purposes do they serve?

Nothing. Sorcery, magic and beliefs.

gutter_trash · Oct 29, 2018

FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

erpg · Oct 29, 2018

Sectorseven said:
What medical purposes do they serve?

Sounds better than grinding up your own nail clippings and making tea out of it.

BeforeU · Oct 29, 2018

just why

kittens · Oct 29, 2018

Fuck this. We all need to protect the animals in our home lands.

Dream Machine · Oct 29, 2018

Has viagra made it's way to China? Can they just market it as including tiger and rhino parts so we can leave these animals alone?

BeforeU said:
just why

We need to wipe these creatures off the planet, clearly.

Hollywood Duo · Oct 29, 2018

It's still illegal for hunters to obtain them no? Are there rhinos and tigers in China?

Hubologist · Oct 29, 2018

Stupid.

hordak · Oct 29, 2018

Sectorseven said:
What medical purposes do they serve?

Dream Machine said:
Has viagra made it's way to China? Can they just market it as including tiger and rhino parts so we can leave these animals alone?

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the horn, which is shaved or ground into a powder and dissolved in boiling water, is used to treat fever, rheumatism, gout, and other disorders. According to the 16th century Chinese pharmacist Li Shi Chen, the horn could also cure snakebites, hallucinations, typhoid, headaches, carbuncles, vomiting, food poisoning, and "devil possession."

Jesus fucking Christ, why would anyone believe a pharmacist from 500 years ago??

Megabreath · Oct 29, 2018

So sad, guess i will have consider myself lucky to of seen these creatures in the wild in the near future.

wisdom0wl · Oct 29, 2018

"cultural purposes"
lmao fuck that.

leder · Oct 29, 2018

Wow fuck that. This is insane. Wiping out endangered species for TCM voodoo is a new type of cultural imperialism.

Trojita · Oct 29, 2018

doublechocochip said:
Is this good or bad?

Level: Very Bad

Castor · Oct 29, 2018

"Muh muh muh different cultures can't hold them to your lofty Western standards I live here just fine." Did I miss anything?

Muppet of a Man · Oct 29, 2018

There really is a domino effect with politics. Install shitty leaders globally, expect shitty behavior globally.

Pandora012 · Oct 29, 2018

Medical use? I'm drawing a blank, what medical use?

Ocean Bones · Oct 29, 2018

Well goodbye to those species.

Emmert · Oct 29, 2018

Awful.

hordak said:
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the horn, which is shaved or ground into a powder and dissolved in boiling water, is used to treat fever, rheumatism, gout, and other disorders. According to the 16th century Chinese pharmacist Li Shi Chen, the horn could also cure snakebites, hallucinations, typhoid, headaches, carbuncles, vomiting, food poisoning, and "devil possession."

Jesus fucking Christ, why would anyone believe a pharmacist from 500 years ago??

You'll change your tune when you get possessed but rhino horn saves you.

Alric · Oct 29, 2018

Is there any African countries that need panda paws for medicinal reasons?

Obviously this a dumb policy.

Hasseigaku · Oct 29, 2018

I wonder what billionaire funneled money into Xi's pockets.

Tuorom · Oct 29, 2018

Fuck off Asia

Mzen · Oct 29, 2018

Unless those ingredients are necessary to achieve eternal life, why not just take some fucking pills like everyone else does? What is this incredible, soul revigorating medicine that needs endangered species to be concocted?

Money, that what this is all about. Nothing more, nothing less.

Buckle · Oct 29, 2018

cameron said:
Only doctors at hospitals recognised by the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine will be allowed to use powdered forms of rhino horn and tiger bones.

Tourism and cultural heritage authorities will also have to sign off on any rhino and tiger products that are used for "temporary cultural exchange".

Trade volume will be "strictly controlled", the State Council said, with any trade outside of authorised use cases to remain banned.

Garbage.

Only the best snake oil.

Mivey · Oct 29, 2018

I was just looking at the taxonomical list of all species, and thought "Man, there are so many different living species on this Earth, it's so hard to keep track of them, somebody has to get to this number down!" and here China heard my wishes.

Crissaegrim · Oct 29, 2018

"Well since it's selling like hotcakes in the black market, let's open the floodgates!"

Why do we measure such things like the black market and then apply what we find to anything? Like, it's the black market, it's bad. And of course shit sells there. Doesn't mean it's a good thing. I understand the culture thing, but it's not a good enough excuse this day and age. It's not being used to find cancer cures.

Deleted member 4274 · Oct 29, 2018

Tiger Bone and Rhino Horn are used specifically for "virility" and "vitality", correct? Why is almost EVERY old medicine focused on the dick? Oysters, Tiger Bone, Horse Hoof, and whatever else... Leave those poor animals alone

Kodama4 · Oct 29, 2018

The world continues its backward march to madness

Aztechnology · Oct 29, 2018

"Medicinal and Cultural" that's the God damn problem in the first place.

Dhaos · Oct 29, 2018

Cyanity said:
This is potentially devasating. Like, extinction outside of captivity-level endgame here. Fuck you China.

Tuorom said:
Fuck off Asia

This is really, really terrible for animal conservation everywhere, but let's not conflate animal cruelty, poaching and hunting as a solely Chinese or Asian thing, ok? It's a racist stereotype that Asians exploit and mistreat animals.

Kthulhu said:
I imagine this will go as well as Japan's "scientific" whaling.

Guess who hunts more endangered whales than Japan? Norway. Iceland does a huge amount of whaling as well. In fact, Norway kills more whales than Japan and Iceland combined each year. http://time.com/4370478/norway-whaling-report/

Please don't use a worldwide tragedy as a way to be casually racist. All countries, not just Asian countries, have a ways to go in protecting animal rights.

Chae3001 · Oct 29, 2018

Damn, wasn't expecting this. With China's growing financial stakes in Africa, I worry greatly about the rhino. Money talks, unfortunately, and those "officially sanctioned" Chinese medicine schools are going to be flush with it.

Between "clean coal," threats to the rainforest from the newly elected fascist in Brazil, and this, it's been rough going on the conservation and environmentalism front this week.

It's been rough all over. I feel bruised.

bane833 · Oct 29, 2018

This is beyond disgusting. Fuck you China and fuck everyone who supports this.

Dhaos · Oct 29, 2018

bane833 said:
This is beyond disgusting. Fuck you China and fuck everyone who supports this.

Fuck you America. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...us-lifts-import-ban-african-elephant-trophies

bane833 · Oct 29, 2018

Dhaos said:
Fuck you America. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...us-lifts-import-ban-african-elephant-trophies

Fuck all of them.

Kthulhu · Oct 29, 2018

Dhaos said:
This is really, really terrible for animal conservation everywhere, but let's not conflate animal cruelty, poaching and hunting as a solely Chinese or Asian thing, ok? It's a racist stereotype that Asians exploit and mistreat animals.

Guess who hunts more endangered whales than Japan? Norway. Iceland does a huge amount of whaling as well. In fact, Norway kills more whales than Japan and Iceland combined each year. http://time.com/4370478/norway-whaling-report/

Please don't use a worldwide tragedy as a way to be casually racist. All countries, not just Asian countries, have a ways to go in protecting animal rights.

It's not casual racism to condemn a country's killing of endangered species under the guise of scientific research.

Dhaos · Oct 29, 2018

Kthulhu said:
It's not casual racism to condemn a country's killing of endangered species under the guise of scientific research.

Did you read the link, and the report? Norway has been the worldwide leader in whaling since 1993, and it's not even close. They use the same 'scientific research' loophole to justify whaling, and they're making skin creams from the whales to sell.

Why are you calling out Japan, and not Norway? Probably because there is some level of subconscious bias and prejudice. It's easier to call out a foreign country with a less familiar culture than to call out an European country that's likely much closer to home.

Kthulhu · Oct 29, 2018

Dhaos said:
Did you read the link, and the report? Norway has been the worldwide leader in whaling since 1993, and it's not even close. They use the same 'scientific research' loophole to justify whaling, and they're making skin creams from the whales to sell.

Why are you calling out Japan, and not Norway? Probably because there is some level of subconscious bias and prejudice. It's easier to call out a foreign country with a less familiar culture than to call out an European country that's likely much closer to home.

Or maybe it's because I didn't know Norway had a whaling problem.

Cyanity · Oct 29, 2018

Dhaos said:
This is really, really terrible for animal conservation everywhere, but let's not conflate animal cruelty, poaching and hunting as a solely Chinese or Asian thing, ok? It's a racist stereotype that Asians exploit and mistreat animals.

Guess who hunts more endangered whales than Japan? Norway. Iceland does a huge amount of whaling as well. In fact, Norway kills more whales than Japan and Iceland combined each year. http://time.com/4370478/norway-whaling-report/

Please don't use a worldwide tragedy as a way to be casually racist. All countries, not just Asian countries, have a ways to go in protecting animal rights.

Please explain to me how telling the country that is now permitting the trade of endangered animal goods to fuck off is racist. Can't wait to hear this one.

edit - "china" is not a synonym for "asians"

China permits limited trade of rhino, tiger goods

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