The exploitation of animals in traditional medicine is something that not only harms nonhuman animals but harms humans, too.
In prehistorical times, humans sacrificed animals in the hopes that the “gods” would cure their sick relatives. Consequently, the superstition that nonhuman animals can be used to cure human disease has spread through all cultures to this day. To the dismay of vegans, modern medicine still uses animal products, and tests drugs on animals even if there is now enough evidence that such tests are unreliable — almost as if the prehistorical superstition of sacrificing animals to the gods has somehow persisted in the subconscious of scientists and politicians — but this could soon change with the advent and increasing recognition of scientific alternatives to animal testing.
However, in some regions of the world, there is resistance to change and progress, and that ancient superstition is preserved, claiming that it has special value for being “traditional” and having been used for a long time (which is only true if it actually does what it is supposed to do instead of relying on the placebo effect). The traditional medicines whose active ingredient comes from a piece of animal tissue or secretion are called zootherapeutic remedies, and the medicine that relies on ancient remedies rather than modern science is called Traditional Medicine (TM).
The superstitions of carnist societies have always used the supposed “magical” properties of some animal products to justify animal exploitation (i.e. cows milk to avoid bone fractures), and this can still be seen in modern medicine indirectly and subtly, but in traditional medicine, it is far more common and obvious, and no research debunking these magical claims seem to deter those who favour this type of medicine over the more modern science-based version. Therefore, many animals are still being harmed by the TM industry, and we will discuss some here.
An Old Industry That Is Growing
The exploitation of nonhuman animals in traditional medicinal practices remains a pervasive global issue. From bear bile farms in China to the use of endangered reptiles in Sukuma tribal remedies, these practices perpetuate harm under the guise of healing, despite the mounting evidence of their inefficacy and destructiveness.
While traditional medicine involving animal-derived products is often associated with Asian practices, Western cultures have also historically used nonhuman animals for medicinal purposes. Some of these practices persist today, albeit less commonly. For example, vipers and adders were historically used to create “theriac”, a purported cure-all in medieval Europe. Viper flesh was believed to treat leprosy and plague. Badger fat was used in parts of Eastern Europe for chest rubs to treat colds and respiratory ailments (still occasionally used in rural areas). Cod liver oil, derived from the livers of cod fish, has been used since the Viking era to treat rickets and is still used as a vitamin D supplement today.
In North America, rattlesnake oil, popularised by 19th-century “snake oil salesmen” as a cure for joint pain, is no longer used in modern mainstream medicine but persists in some alternative health circles. Beaver castoreum, extracted from beaver anal glands, was used as a pain reliever and anti-inflammatory. Although no longer common in medicine, it is still used in some perfumes and flavourings. In South America, the Emerald Tree Boa is used in Brazilian folk medicine (a whole boa mixed with alcohol is used to treat stings from other animals), and seahorse tea (crushed seahorses) is used in traditional Brazilian medicine for various ailments. Also, honey from bees continues to be used in the West as one of the “magical” substances with therapeutic properties.
Vulture heads, used in some Afro-Caribbean traditions for spiritual protection and healing, are less common today, but this practice still occurs in some communities. The Sukuma tribe in Tanzania uses protected species like monitor lizards and hyenas for conditions including tuberculosis and reproductive disorders. Panchagavya (a blend of cow urine, dung, milk, ghee, and curd) used in India is claimed to detoxify the body and treat diabetes.
However, the most well-known TM in the world (because it has become popular beyond the culture where it originated from and it’s very lucrative) is Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which we will discuss in the next section. The industry behind this practice is not dwindling but instead experiencing significant growth worldwide. The global TCM market was valued at approximately 86.46 billion US dollars in 2025. It is projected to reach 124.64 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 7.59% from 2025 to 2030. Another estimate suggests the market could reach 47.9 billion US dollars by 2034, increasing from 29.1 billion in 2024 at a CAGR of 5.1%. As expected, the Asia Pacific market accounts for the largest market share in the TCM industry, but North America is estimated to be the fastest-growing region for it between 2025 and 2030. Europe accounted for over 30% of the global market share in 2024, with the European TCM market valued at 65.89 billion dollars. Fortunately, herbal medicine constitutes an important proportion of the TCM market, holding a 42.8% market share in 2023. China exported TCM products worth 5.46 billion in 2023, showing a slight decrease from the previous year. Let’s look in more detail at how TCM exploits animals.
Common Zootherapeutic “Remedies” of TCM
Traditional Chinese Medicine is a health care system in which patients are treated with natural plant, animal, and mineral remedies, as it used to be before the advent of modern medicine. It makes claims such as that vital energy or force called ‘qi’ must be able to move smoothly through the body so the yin and yang forces are in balance, and the remedies will restore such a balance.
Most TCM medical literature is founded on the Neijing (3rd century BCE), which is still regarded as a great authority by TCM practitioners. During its centuries of development, TCM spread throughout China and then into Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia. TCM uses approximately 1,000 plant and 36 animal species, including wild animals from endangered species, often attributing mystical properties to their biology. Here are the most common:
Big Cats’ bones. In TCM, tiger bones are mythologised as treatments for rheumatism, arthritis, and erectile dysfunction. As tigers are becoming rarer, lions have begun to be used in TCM. South Africa exported 1,500 lion skeletons in 2018 for use in TCM products. Tiger bone wine, brewed with 147 herbs, serves primarily as a status symbol for wealthy elites rather than a therapeutic agent. Body parts of threatened leopards are being used as ingredients in at least 88 traditional Chinese medicines. Practitioners like Dr Zhang Li confirm that these products are absent from legitimate prescriptions due to a lack of efficacy. China’s 2018 reversal of its tiger bone trade ban has legitimised captive breeding, enabling the laundering of poached wildlife.
Rhino horns. Rhino horn powder is falsely claimed to reduce fevers and detoxify the body. The reality, though, is that they do not really help those suffering from these ailments other than by the placebo effect. Rhino horns are composed of keratin (the same protein as human fingernails), rendering their medicinal claims scientifically baseless.
Bear bile. TCM (and Korean TM) uses bile from Asiatic black bears to treat liver diseases, inflammation, and fever. Although modern science has not proved its complete efficacy, its active compound, ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), has been synthetically produced since the 1950s, negating any need for live extraction. Over 10,000 bears endure “free-dripping fistula” techniques in bear farms in China, where catheters are surgically implanted into gallbladders, causing chronic infections and psychological trauma. Other countries in Asia have also farmed bears for the TCM industry.
Pangolin scales. Vietnamese practitioners prescribe scales for mammary gland blockages, rheumatism, asthma, poor circulation and wound healing. However, scales, like rhino horns, contain keratin, and no peer-reviewed studies have validated their efficacy as a zootherapeutic remedy. Pangolins are now the most trafficked mammals globally, with populations declining by 80% in Asia due to the demand for traditional medicine.
Musk deer glands. Hunted for their musk glands, musk deer products are used in numerous TCM preparations. They are used to promote circulation and treat skin infections and abdominal pain. China’s demand for musk is estimated at 500–1,000 kilograms per year, which requires the musk glands of at least 100,000 deer.
Saiga antelope horn. Nearly extinct in the wild, saigas are still used in TCM, despite their critical conservation status, to treat fever and heatiness (a TCM state of illness with symptoms like nasal congestion and sore throat).
Many other animals are the victims of TCM, as other animal parts that are used are buffalo horns, deer antlers, testicles and penis of dogs, etc.
What is Wrong with Zootherapeutic Remedies in Traditional Medicine
Three main things are wrong with the use of animals in traditional medicine. First, it harms the animals that are killed, kept captive, or farmed for such products; second, it harms people who use them in an attempt to cure their ailments because many do not work and may deter people from using medicine that does work; and third, it damages the environment because it often targets endangered species, contributing to their extinction risk and, in consequence, the destabilization of natural ecosystems.
The commodification of animals for traditional medicine inflicts multidimensional harm on them. Firstly, if we are talking of wild animals, these will often be hunted to death to obtain whatever part of their bodies the TM industry is willing to pay a lot of money for (and the rarer the animal, the more they will pay). Secondly, in the case of animals that are farmed for the TM industry, such as black bears for their bile or big cats for their bones, we have to add not only the suffering caused by captivity itself (as in the case of any zoo animal) but also the procedures the animals may endure to “produce” the products the industry will use (such as the live extraction of bile in the bear farms). Chronic pain, mobility loss, and self-mutilation are routine among caged bears in bile farms, with mortality rates (most captive bears survive only four to five years in the farms).
Then we have the issue of these remedies not really helping people’s health as advertised and misleading them into making irresponsible medical choices. Although the herbalist portion is gaining respect among mainstream medicine as a potential alternative, modern research has consistently debunked the TM practices that involve zootherapeutical remedies. Centuries of traditional use do not equate to scientific proof. Traditional use can be culturally important, but it does not automatically validate medical effectiveness. There are no credible studies supporting the clinical efficacy of TCM animal products like tiger bones, pangolin scales, or rhino horns. A 2024 study published in Scientific Reports found that “concentrations of essential minerals inside rhino horns are too low to provide consumers with any health benefits. After examining the horn samples for various minerals like sodium, sulfur, copper and iron, the scientists found both essential and potentially toxic elements present. Of the 12 essential minerals they detected, concentrations were substantially lower than in a much cheaper daily vitamin, so, according to the study, the health benefits of eating rhino horn appear “implausible.” Research has also found that many products claiming to contain tiger derivatives actually contain no detectable tiger DNA, putting into question the health claims of these products linked to the animals they supposedly contain. Also, zoonotic disease transmission (diseases that affect both humans and nonhuman animals), including SARS and potential future pandemics, is linked to unsanitary wildlife markets supplying the traditional medicine industry.
Another harmful problem TM causes to humans is that it fuels poaching, wildlife crime, and criminal networks. The illegal wildlife trade, valued at £15 billion annually, is fuelled by demand for traditional remedies, often involving fraudulent substitution (e.g., dog bones sold as tiger bones or buffalo horns marketed as rhino horns).
Animal-based TCM also harms the environment. It threatens biodiversity as it often targets vulnerable or endangered species (such as rhinos, tigers, or pangolins).
Whether in traditional medicine or modern medicine, animals should not be part of any remedy, and they should not be exploited by the medical or pharmaceutical industries.
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