Perception, Price and Preference: Consumption and Protection of Wild Animals Used in Traditional Medicine.

Zhao Liu,Yan Zeng,Chunwang Li,Aizi Mi,Songhua Tang,Zhigang Jiang,Daiqiang Chen,Hongxia Fang,Zhenhua Luo,Zhibin Meng,Shaopeng Cui,Chunlin Li,Xiaowei Zhang,Jing Chen,Feng Li,Xiaoge Ping,Brock Bastian

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0145901

Abstract

A wide array of wildlife species, including many animals, are used in traditional medicines across many medicinal systems, including in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Due to over-exploitation and habitat loss, the populations of many animals commonly used in TCM have declined and are unable to meet market demand. A number of measures have been taken to try to reduce the impact that this large and growing market for TCM may have on wild animal species. Consumer preferences and behavior are known to play an important role in the consumption and protection of wild animals used in traditional medicine, and thus are likely to be an important factor in the success of many of these mechanisms—particularly given the significant percentage of TCMs that are over-the-counter products (access to which is not mediated by practitioners). In this study we conducted questionnaires and designed stated preference experiments embodying different simulation scenarios using a random sample of the population in Beijing to elicit individuals’ knowledge, perceptions and preferences toward wild or farmed animal materials and their substitutes used in traditional Chinese medicine. We found that respondents had a stated preference for wild materials over farm-raised and other alternatives because they believe that the effectiveness of wild-sourced materials is more credible than that of other sources. However, we also found that, although respondents used TCM products, they had a poor understanding of the function or composition of either traditional Chinese medicines or proprietary Chinese medicines (PCM), and paid little attention to the composition of products when making purchasing decisions. Furthermore, awareness of the need for species protection, or “conservation consciousness” was found to play an important role in willingness to accept substitutions for wild animal materials, while traditional animal medicinal materials (TAMs) derived from well-known endangered species, such as bear bile and tiger bone, show relatively higher substitutability. These results suggest that there is still hope for conservation measures which seek to promote a transition to farmed animal, plant and synthetic ingredients and provide clear directions for future social marketing, education and engagement efforts.

Highlights

A wide array of wildlife species, including many animals, are used in traditional medicines across many medicinal systems [1,2,3]
The respondent was required to choose their preferred traditional animal medicinal materials (TAMs) from either “wild”, “farmed”, “other animal materials” as a substitute, “plant material” as a substitute, “synthetic” or “whatever” material under the following sets of conditions: (i) both the curative effects and prices of the TAMs were identical; (ii) the TAMs had identical curative effects but prices that decreased in the order presented above; and (iii) the TAMs had identical prices but curative effects that increased in the order presented above
Despite consuming traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), respondents in our study demonstrated minimal understanding of the function and composition of TCMs and proprietary Chinese medicines (PCM)

Summary

Introduction

A wide array of wildlife species, including many animals, are used in traditional medicines across many medicinal systems [1,2,3]. Captive breeding programs and research on synthetic sources of medicinal materials have been conducted in China since the 1950s in an attempt to reduce the impact of TCM on wild populations [6]. If current conservation mechanisms including substitution and captive breeding programs are to be successful and social marketing efforts appropriate designed and targeted [11,12,20], a more in depth understanding of consumer preferences and beliefs will be an important first step toward preventing unsustainable wildlife consumption [19,24]. We examined our data with a view to answering the following research questions: 1. What are consumers’ knowledge and perceptions of medicinal animal materials?

Sampling Method

Results

Discussion