Viagra Not a Panacea for Wildlife

[Guest guest]

http://ens-news.com/ens/feb2003/2003-02-18-09.asp#anchor4

 

Viagra Not a Panacea for Wildlife

 

WASHINGTON, DC, February 18, 2003 (ENS) - There is

little evidence to support a recent suggestion that

the introduction of the impotency treatment Viagra is

reducing demand for traditional folk aphrodisiacs such

as seal penises and reindeer antlers, argue experts in

wildlife trade.

 

An assessment by experts at TRAFFIC, the global

wildlife trade monitoring network of World Wildlife

Fund and the World Conservation Union (IUCN),

discounted the premise of an article in the quarterly

journal " Environmental Conservation. " The article,

arguing that Viagra's arrival on the market has

reduced demand for some wildlife products, has been

characterized as a boon for endangered species.

 

" Viagra may be a quick fix for many people, but it

isn't the long term conservation answer for endangered

species, " said Craig Hoover, deputy director of

TRAFFIC North America.

 

The " Environmental Conservation " article was written

by Frank and William von Hippel, college professors

who maintain that Viagra is replacing two traditional

Chinese medicine products to treat impotence: seal

penises and reindeer antlers. The von Hippels'

research found that North American sales in both have

dropped since 1998, the same year that Viagra came on

the market. The two species studied are not

endangered.

 

" The von Hippels have used two small snapshots to

interpret a very broad landscape, " Hoover said. " While

they note that sales of Canadian seal penises and

Alaskan reindeer antler have declined since 1998,

their research is not convincing that there is any

connection to the introduction of Viagra. "

 

Hoover said the Canadian seal hunt is not driven by

demand for penises, but by demand for skins and meat.

Fluctuations in that harvest are caused by factors

such as weather during hunting season.

 

The decline in seal penis sales is a result of reduced

overall harvest, likely driven by difficulty marketing

the meat and skins, Hoover said. And the trade in deer

antler from Alaska is not an accurate measure of

global demand.

 

An assessment of international trade in other species

used to treat erectile dysfunction, such as seahorses

and sea cucumbers, or even a wider assessment of the

antler trade, fails to support the Viagra argument,

said Hoover.

 

Demand for wildlife based remedies in traditional

Chinese medicine has been a major factor in the

decline of some species, including tigers and rhinos.

Though often reported to be used as aphrodisiacs,

tiger bone and rhino horn are also used to treat pain,

arthritis and fever.

 

Traditional medicine consumers place great faith in

such products and are very hesitant to switch to

Western medicines, said Cao Dan, head of WWF's

traditional Chinese medicine outreach program.

 

" If it were true that we could save endangered species

simply by handing out Viagra, World Wildlife Fund

would be first in line at the pharmacy, " Dan said. " We

could give up the difficult work of anti-poaching

efforts and public education and just hand out little

blue pills. But TRAFFIC's assessment shows that,

unfortunately, the evidence isn't there. "

 

 

 

 

 

Send Flowers for Valentine's Day