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POACHING MUSK DEER |
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by Neha Swaminathan | 17-01-2015 22:31
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Musk is a strong-smelling brownish substance secreted by the male musk deer usually found in Central Asia - China, Mongolia and the Himalayas The stag drops these woody balls to attract females and mark its territory. The musk is a highly precious raw material in perfume making. As a result musk deer are favorite for poachers. Just one kg of musk is priced around US $50,000 in the black market. Since only a few grams can be extracted from a single animal, more than 150 deer have to be killed for each kilogram of musk. Though it is possible to remove the gland without killing the animal, this is usually not done and cruel methods are routinely used to trap and kill the animal. After all poachers are after the quick money and why bother about the cruelty to these beautiful creatures!
Recently a sting operation has uncovered a gang of Indian poachers who are going door to door in the UAE, peddling dubious medicines derived from the highly-endangered musk deer. They claim their medicines can cure 101 diseases, including cancer. Already, many UAE residents have reportedly bought these medicines shelling out as much as US$ 10000 for a bottle of their medicine. The sting team posed as customers and called the Abu Dhabi-based gang members to a Sharjah home and trapped them while they were giving cures for arthritis and blood pressure.
All musk deer species are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) of which the UAE is a signatory and anyone trading in products made from the deer is punishable with jail, fine or both.
Dr Layla Marzouqi, Acting Director of the Health Regulation Department at the Dubai Health Authority, said: "No one without a licence is entitled to sell any medication in the UAE, let alone unlicensed medications. People need to be aware about unlicensed people selling such medications. The fact that this is not allowed by the health authorities is reason enough for people to understand that it is unfit for their consumption. Such unlicensed medications have potential long-term side effects and must be avoided at all costs" she said. |
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11 Comments
Very useful Neha. We must resist buying such products.
Must save beautiful & endangered Musk Deers. Poaching must be punishable by death.
Posted 30-01-2015 05:04
Thanks for the eye opening facts regarding musk deer and musk's use. I have started to hate perfumes after reading this -especially the ones with musk as its components. I am surprised that even some medicines use these. You are right that the fact that this is not allowed by the health authorities is reason enough for people to understand that it is unfit for their consumption. Thanks again for an informative report.
Posted 21-01-2015 20:35
Dear Neha, Thank you for this informative report :). As mentioned by Alina, musk deer are at threat in our country Nepal too. We the aware citizens should be cautious about such poachers and their cascade of unlicensed medicines. Glad to know the sting operation has uncovered Indian poachers in UAE. We should avoid the usage of such cosmetics that take the lives of innocent creatures
Posted 21-01-2015 03:52
Musk Deers are beautiful animals.They are under serious threat in Nepal too.
Such crucial action are really disgusting.There are two kinds of people in the world onw who want and work for conservation and others who do illegal trades of innocent animals.Thank for sharing Neha.
Posted 20-01-2015 20:54
It's disgusting to kill the musk deer merely to get a few grams of musk fragrance.
Musk fragrance became a chic word used for perfume and all cosmetic products.
I will not use any product includes musk in it unless it's artificially composed.
Posted 19-01-2015 18:07
Thanks Neha for this informative report on deer Musks. Hope these cruel poachers get their due punishment.
As citizens we also must not accept any of these kind of products. Then only we can curb poaching.
Posted 19-01-2015 15:39
Poaching has been emerging as a serious threat in the home of such adorable species Strict implementation of the convention should be done and awareness about the importance of wild fauna should also be given many people don't really care about them and importantly not words but action should be seen against those poachers.
Thank you for your share.
Posted 18-01-2015 23:40
Thank you for sharing the information Neha.
Human's greed has become menace to life of such adorable animals. Poaching challenges to existence of those endangered and rare animals.
Ban in the use of such materials which can only be obtained from the rare and endangered animals, strcit Punishment to poachers and reward to those people who 'reveled the poaching activity and poachers' should be done.
I appreciate the task performed by UAE.
Posted 18-01-2015 19:05
Thank you, Ambassador for this concerning report.
Posted 18-01-2015 16:31
This is so disgusting act by Poachers. Why kill the beautiful Deer. Thanks for reporting Neha.
I believe users must avoid taking interest in such dubious products. No Demand No Supply.
Posted 18-01-2015 13:55
Thanks for sharing the useful information. Well, we should work with each other to protect this endangered species as this species is also found in my country.
Posted 18-01-2015 10:30