A disturbing environmental investigation has uncovered the use of endangered animals in the production of medical products by three Chinese pharmaceutical companies.
Reports from Reuters reveal that Beijing Tong Ren Tang Group, Tianjin Pharmaceutical Group, and Jilin Aodong Pharmaceutical Group have included body parts from endangered leopards and pangolins as ingredients in 88 of their traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) products.
“The use of highly threatened animals such as leopards, pangolins, rhino and tigers in traditional medicine products disregards CITES recommendations made by the international community to protect these species,” a legal and policy specialist for EIA, Avinash Basker, said.
“This is use on an effectively industrial scale which can only push these species ever closer to extinction,” Basker claimed.
“It’s particularly disappointing to see so many major banks and financial institutions effectively endorsing this damaging exploitation,” she added. “They need to divest from TCM manufacturers using threatened species at the soonest opportunity.”
This revelation from the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) U.K. poses significant challenges for these Chinese firms. The EIA has called upon global investors to divest from their holdings in these companies due to their inclusion of leopards and pangolins in their TCM products.
Notably, 62 banks and financial institutions, including BlackRock Inc., BNP Paribas SA, Citigroup Inc., Deutsche Bank, and the Royal Bank of Canada, have investments in these Chinese pharmaceutical firms.
EIA’s investigation also highlighted the situations of leopards and pangolins, which are on the brink of extinction and are among the most trafficked animals globally. These animals are currently listed on CITES Appendix I, which prohibits their international commercial trade and the trade of their parts.
“We strongly urge the Government of China to fulfill CITES recommendations and prohibit the use of the body parts of leopards, pangolins, tigers and rhinos from all sources for all commercial purposes in its domestic markets,” Basker concluded.
The news came months after China’s amended Wildlife Protection law came into effect in May.
“It bans trade in most wild animals for consumption as food, but permits for breeding and use can still be issued in certain circumstances,” Reuters reported.
