Traditional medicine and its threat to animals

In a previous column (April 2013), I drew attention to the powerful impact of beliefs on behaviour and outlined some significant risks that might arise from this relationship. For example, parents who believe that homeopathic vaccines protect their children from measles, mumps and rubella put their offspring at considerable risk, as do parents who refuse blood transfusions in line with their beliefs as Jehovah's witnesses. We also witnessed the tragic demise of Steve Jobs, who chose to treat his operable pancreatic cancer with a special diet.

I recently became aware of another widespread example of this phenomenon. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which is a metaphysical rather than a scientific system, utilises a vast array of animal parts and products in the manufacture of its treatment materials. This has led to some very distressing and extremely cruel practices. TCM is underpinned by a system of beliefs stretching back through millenniums that owes everything to folklore and nothing to science.

According to marine biologist Keelan Doyle, many species of seahorse could become extinct in the next 20 years due to massive harvesting for TCM consumption. Practitioners and users of TCM believe that dried seahorse is a natural aphrodisiac and is also an effective treatment for a variety of other ailments including depression, insomnia, baldness and asthma. There is no objective scientific evidence to support these beliefs.

Originally, whole adult seahorses were utilised in TCM, but since the introduction of seahorse pills, specimens at all stages of development are used. Doyle referenced one product labelled “seahorse genital tonic pills”, the supposed efficacy of which is increased by the addition of cervix of deer and semen of otter. The presumed connection between cervical tissue, semen and sexual potency might seem obvious, although wrong, but the unfortunate seahorse’s inclusion is predicated on the fact that these animals are monogamous – another desired trait.

Asiatic black bear
The lot of the Asiatic black bear is a sorrier one. Across China there are more than 100 legally recognised bear farms containing a total of about 20,000 bears. Farming also occurs in North and South Korea, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar. The bears are kept in order to milk their bile, a process that is carried out two or three times per day. Bile is a digestive juice that is produced by the liver and is stored in the gall bladder.

Bear bile is believed to be effective in treating hepatitis, haemorrhoids, sore throats, muscle ailments, epilepsy, fever reduction and many more conditions. The active ingredient in bile is ursodeoxycholic acid and a synthesised version of this is used in the treatment of some specific liver problems. It can be used to dissolve small gallstones in patients who are very overweight or who do not wish to undergo corrective surgery. There is no supportive evidence regarding the many other conditions bear bile is purported to treat.

Despite the fact that a synthesised version of bear bile is available and that all of the conditions listed as treatable with bear bile can be treated with TCM herbal alternatives, many practitioners and users insist on the natural product.

The bears are cruelly treated. They are kept in small extraction cages known as "crush cages" to facilitate milking. This is done using one of a variety of methods, but generally involves the opening of a fistula through the abdomen and into the gall bladder. The bile is collected via a catheter. The fistula is kept open and is prone to infection and bile can seep back into the abdomen causing severe pain to the bear.

Bears kept in these conditions develop a multitude of physical and psychological problems ranging from joint deformities, muscle loss and stunted growth through behaviour such as head-banging and severe self-mutilation.

Other disturbing practices have been reported, such as the sawing away of teeth, and the removal of claws and paws for sale as culinary delicacies. For more details see the Loeffler et al report in Animal Welfare (2009).

While laws exist to counter the cross- border smuggling that serves this trade, it continues to increase. Demand for TCM has increased in China and its popularity has expanded in the West, with a general increase in interest in complementary and alternative practices. It is difficult not to be pessimistic, but efforts to educate young Chinese people with regard to the individual animal and wider ecological costs inherent in TCM practices appear to be bearing some fruit.

Paul O’Donoghue is a clinical psychologist and founder member of the Irish Skeptics Society, contact@irishskeptics.org