Study Shows Decrease in a Medicinal Use of Animals

by Sherry Morse and Patricia Collier

A recent study has shown that demand for at least some animal body parts traditionally used to treat impotence has decreased dramatically since Viagra first became available in 1998.

Worldwide sales of reindeer antler velvet, which is used in China to make an anti-impotence drug, declined by approximately 72 percent between 1997 and 1998.

In addition, demand for seal penises, which are thought to increase virility, decreased by about one-half between 1996 and 1998, and became almost nonexistent by 2000.

"Because market forces are driving the overcollection of and subsequent threat to some species, the elimination of these market forces may prove to be the most effective conservation solution," stated University of New South Wales psychology professor Dr. Bill von Hippel, who conducted the study along with his brother, University of Alaska biologist Frank von Hippel.

Along with seals and reindeer, pipefish, seahorses, sea cucumbers and elk are among the animals from which body parts are taken in order to prepare impotence remedies.

"While Viagra has enormous potential, the transition (away from using animal body parts) is clearly not happening quickly enough," Animals Asia Foundation founder and Chief Executive Officer Jill Robinson said.

The reasons for this, according to Robinson, are that:

* ingredients obtained from animal body parts are often added to black market versions of Viagra for sale in China

* many practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine don’t believe modern drugs can replace remedies that have been in use for thousands of years

* animal body parts are used to make a wide variety of traditional medicines

"The von Hippels have used two small snapshots to interpret a very broad landscape," stated Craig Hoover, who is the Deputy Director of TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring network. "While they note that sales of seal penises and reindeer antlers have declined since 1998, their research is not convincing that there is any connection to the introduction of Viagra."

"The evidence is still merely suggestive, but it’ll be nice if it turns out to be true," Dr. von Hippel said.

© 2003 Animal News Center, Inc.