Since the second half of the 20th century, as part of a wider modernization of traditional medicine manufacture, factory production techniques are increasingly employed to make medicines containing tiger bone in the form of pills, plasters, gels, and wine. Traditionally, tiger bone is soaked, then fried, ground to powder, and later mixed with other ingredients in prescribed combinations by pharmacists and doctors. Tiger bones are also used to make wine, which, depending on the location, is marketed as both a tonic and a virility product. The pharmaceutical value of tiger bone, particularly in China, Japan, Korea, and Viet Nam, has been described in medicinal texts for centuries for treatment of rheumatism and a variety of other ailments of the muscles and bones. Because of their presumed healing effect, the same animal and plant species used in the production of medicine, tonics, and supplements are also often consumed for food (UNODC, 2016). Captive breeding or plantation alternatives, if available, are regarded by many consumers as inferior and less efficient than products based on wild-sourced material. The use of such products is, however, not limited to persons sharing this belief the use of wild animals and plants is deeply enshrined in traditional medicine, which makes it all the more challenging to change consumer behaviour, even if endangered species or commodities acquired illegally are involved.
Consumption of such products is often based on the belief that they may confer some qualities of the animal or plant from which they come. Many tonics and supplements include derivatives from wild animals or plants.
Animals and animal parts used for medicinal purposes range from medicinal leeches (used to increase blood circulation and break up blood clots) to the gall bladders of pythons (the bile of which is used to treat ailments such as whooping cough, rheumatic pain, high fever, infantile convulsion, hemiplegia, haemorrhoids, gum bleeding, and skin infections) (Broad et al, 2012). It is estimated that 95 per cent of traditional medicines are based on plant material (Broad et al, 2012). Traditional medicines, upon which about 80 per cent of the world population relies for primary healthcare, frequently involve components derived from wild animal or plant species. The use of animal parts, plants, or compounds extracted from them is commonplace around the world, ranging from herbal remedies to ingredients of industrial pharmaceuticals. The following section outlines the consumption and use of living animals, animal parts and derivatives, trees and timber, plants and plant products insofar as it impacts on endangered species or involves illegal use. Much of the demand involves luxury goods such that consumption is driven by choice rather than necessity. Types of demand and levels of consumption change over time, sometimes rapidly, as uses and commodities come in and out of fashion.
To understand the illicit market for wildlife, animal parts, and plants it is necessary to explore what is driving the demand. It involves animal parts, products, and derivatives, as well as trees, plants, timber, and plant products that are sought for a range of diverse purposes. Wildlife trafficking is, for the most part, driven by demand.