GIGO

Cross-disciplinary Interaction

Tigers, rhinos, seahorses -- these creatures have more in common than just being the subject of documentaries on endangered creatures. It seems every programme I have watched recently on such animals has noted that the creatures are being hunted as a source of ingredients for Chinese medicine.

Certainly China has had a long history of using all manner of ingredients in the potions and lotions in its medical lore. Much of this usage does not fall within the Western scientific paradigm, in the sense that it relies on concepts and beliefs that cannot be tested or replicated; nowhere more so than in the rather dubious elixirs designed to allegedly raise the sexual abilities of flagging men.

Perhaps we should start a rumour that possum testicles will do wonders for male potency. Who knows -- the placebo effect may even help some flaccid fellows and it certainly would do wonders for possum control here, not to mention our overseas earnings...

However, one would expect that, should rhino pizzles or tiger bones really work wonders on male members, there would have been a massive research effort to identify, duplicate and market the substances involved. There are organisations undertaking careful painstaking research on Asian pharmacopias, but it appears that the magic of the tiger has far more to do with myth and minds than with substance and science. It is unconscionable to accept the unnecessary deaths of such rare creatures without a murmur of protest.

I find it frustrating that many New Age friends who call themselves environmentalists are also keen on the reputed wonders of Oriental medicine. They don't seem to be aware that uncritical support of the latter means tacit support for the illegal slaughter of tigers, rhinos and other endangered charismatic mega-vertebrates.

One can argue about the cultural imperialism involved in attempts to police the world's environment. All too often it is a case of the "haves" telling the "have-nots" that they can't do the sort of thing that built up the former's wealth. But where it's a matter of choice, rather than necessity, a sense of global citizenship demands that we be appalled and outraged.

Vicki Hyde is the editor of New Zealand Science Monthly.