When former Massachusetts Congressman Gerry Studds called for House consideration of the "Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act" on September 27, 1994, he noted that he introduced the bill "out of concern over the senseless slaughter of these magnificent creatures by poachers to satisfy the demand for rhino and tiger parts in oriental medicines." The bill was unanimously passed. While the demand for products containing these highly endangered species still exists, so, too, does Congressional concern for their protection.

This legislative regard for rhinos and tigers recently led the US House of Representatives to approve the reauthorization of the Rhinoceros and Tiger Conservation Act through the year 2004. The law gives the Secretary of Interior authority to select and fund projects around the globe which will contribute to the long-term viability of these fragile species.

On April 28, the House also approved a separate bill, H.R. 2807, "The Rhino and Tiger Product Labeling Act." This bill would ensure that no person may import, export, or sell within the United States "any product, item, or substance intended for human consumption containing or purporting to contain any substance derived from any species of rhinoceros or tiger."

The tiger and all species of rhinoceros except the South African White Rhino are listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). As such, international commercialization of their parts and products is prohibited. Enforcement of this trade restriction is complicated, however, when products claim to contain rhino or tiger, but actually may not. It is difficult and expensive for customs agents to confiscate and reliably analyze such products and determine conclusively that they originate from these endangered species.

Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, testifying before Congress on behalf of the legislation, noted: "Once these products reach the United States even when their labels blatantly claim that the items contain rhino or tiger parts -- the burden of proof is still on the Service to demonstrate scientifically whether the products contain what the label says.

"This is a time-consuming and expensive process. Forensics experts estimate a cost of up to $ 100,000 to develop a DNA analysis test to identify any particular group of wildlife, such as all rhinos or all tigers, and the process would only work if DNA markers had not been destroyed when the product was manufactured. For example, if a product reported to contain tiger bone has been heated to high temperatures during compounding, a DNA analysis test could not be conclusive. The only substance which could be confirmed is the presence of calcium, an ingredient just as likely to represent cow bone and tiger bone." H.R.2807 would prevent the importation and marketing of such medicines and other products, thus facilitating enforcement of important wildlife laws.

This legislation is especially important given the current demand (especially for tiger bone products) in Asian communities throughout the United States and other major cities around the world. In 1997, the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) set out to assess availability of tiger parts in London, Glasgow, Japan, Amsterdam, and New York.

In the United Kingdom, legislation currently prohibits sale of endangered species and products that claim to contain endangered species. It Is not surprising to note that EIA's investigation into six London pharmacies and supermarkets and eight Glasgow pharmacies uncovered no instances of tiger bone products offered for sale.

However, a telephone survey of 30 Chinese pharmacies in Tokyo and Yokohama revealed that 20 admitted to offering products which purported to contain tiger bone. This is an almost twenty percent increase since a similar survey was undertaken in 1995. In Amsterdam, five out of six stores visited had tiger bone available. And a survey in NewYork's Chinatown found that a remarkable 14 out of 17 pharmacies and supermarkets entered had products claiming to contain tiger parts.

This astounding availability in New York was confirmed in a new study by the Wildlife Conservation Society which reveals that during a six-month investigation in New York, of the 37 shops surveyed, "67 percent... contained at least one product" that claimed to contain tiger parts. The report also notes that "all of the products... were manufactured in China" especially ironic since this is the Chinese Year of the Tiger.

When the House Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans held a hearing on these bills February 5, Dr. Lixing Lao of the American College of Traditional Medicine, concluded his remarks by pleading with the subcommittee to " do whatever is in the scope of the committee and of your individual offices to help make this a Year for the Tiger." Part of that goal must focus on education and elimination of the demand for these unacceptable products.

The subcommittee staff briefing document for the hearing references CITES data which notes: "South Korea has imported about 10,500 pounds of tiger bone in the last six years. During the same period, China reportedly exported more than 78 tons of tiger bones, which represents about 5,600 tigers or more than what is alive today." Secretary Babbitt added during his testimony that "three of the recognized subspecies of tigers have become extinct, and the remaining five species have come under severe threat." Babbitt further said that "to break the cycle of poaching and illegal trade which has devastated so many rhino and tiger populations, we must also work to break supply lines and remove rhino and tiger products from the marketplace."

It can not be a unilateral effort by the United States, however. All Parties to CITES must invest heavily in rhino and tiger conservation and the removal of endangered species products from all store shelves. The Parties to CITES decided last summer that the CITES Standing Committee shall examine tiger-trade issues "with a view to identifying, on a country-by-country basis, additional legislative and enforcement measures that may be necessary to stop the illegal trade in tigers and tiger parts and derivatives." The Rhino and Tiger Conservation Act and Product Labeling Act are two important steps toward ending this disastrous trade. Other nations should enact similar laws to save the rhino and tiger for all future generations.

AWI Quarterly Winter 1998, Volume 47 Number 1, p. 8