Traditional Chinese medicine fuels illegal wildlife confiscations

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has unveiled its league table of the top ten illegal wildlife crimes. Heading the table, with the highest number of seizures made by British Customs, is traditional Chinese medicine. These medicines contain materials from tigers, rhinos, leopards, bears and sea horses. WWF wants to draw attention to this problem to ensure the survival of 827 species of animals and plants currently banned from international trade and a further 32 840 strictly controlled under a wildlife trade convention.

http://www.wwf.org.uk/news/n_0000004243.asp, accessed December 13, 2007.