Traditional Chinese Medicine Leaders Advocate for Wildlife Protection and Sustainable Practices
Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners, researchers, educators and distributors from around the world have gathered to launch a new initiative to preserve global biodiversity by committing themselves to abstain from using endangered species in their healing practices.
Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners, researchers, educators and distributors from around the world have gathered to launch a new initiative to preserve global biodiversity by committing themselves to abstain from using endangered species in their healing practices. The Coalition for Wildlife Protection in TCM was launched at a meeting at the New York College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Mineola on April 14.
In Chinese medicine, wildlife products have a long history of being prescribed and consumed by the public as medicinal ingredients. Certain wildlife species are now on the edge of extinction due to such demand. The positive image of Chinese Medicine has been seriously distorted by illegal use of endangered wildlife in Chinese medicinal products. In 2022, Dr. Yemeng Chen (President, NYCTM), Dr. Lixing Lao (President, VUIM) and Ms. Lixin Huang (former President, ACTCM) teamed up to bring awareness of this issue to our community. To help push this important work forward with a unified front, we have formed the Coalition for Wildlife Protection in Traditional Chinese Medicine.