28 May 2019


The World Health Organization (WHO) approved the inclusion of traditional Chinese medicine in the revision of its influential International Classification of Diseases for the first time on May 25, touching off worries that the move could drive up demand for body parts of wild animals.

“As the world’s leading global public health organisation, the WHO should be well aware that human health is highly dependent on the vitality of animal populations in the wild and the ecosystems they support,” Fred Launay, the president and CEO of the global wild cat conservation organization Panthera, said in a statement. “Condemning traditional Chinese medicine utilising wild animal parts is a common sense, win-win move for the wellbeing of people and wild animals alike.”

The decision, widely expected for months, occurred during the World Health Assembly in Geneva. Some 400 traditional Chinese medicine diagnoses have been added to the current volume. Panthera and other organizations acknowledge that many groups supporting this health care approach no longer advocate the inclusion of wildlife parts in medications.

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