News

Poaching of musk deer a conservation concern in Russia and Mongolia

15 July 2004 / WWF / TRAFFIC

Musk deer populations in some parts of Russia and Mongolia are rapidly dwindling as a result of poaching for highly valued musk pods, highly valued in traditional Asian medicine despite conservation laws that provide for a regulated and managed legal hunt and trade. In Russia, an estimated 80% of all musk deer killed appear to have been poached and the illegal trade in musk is thought to have been five times that of the legal trade in the early 2000s, according to a new report launched today by TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, and WWF, the conservation organization.

A report by TRAFFIC Europe, No Licence To Kill: The population and harvest of musk deer and trade in musk in the Russian Federation and Mongolia, found densities of musk deer to be low in the Altai-Sayan region of Russia, where it is alleged that musk deer populations were at only a quarter or a fifth of their levels in the 1970s and 1980s - mainly as a result of poaching.

"This scale of poaching not only raises the question of how long musk deer populations can sustain this off-take, but also highlights a clear enforcement problem," said the editor of the report, Volker Homes of TRAFFIC Europe.

With the bulk of the musk being destined for China and other parts of East Asia, most of it for use in traditional medicine, TRAFFIC and WWF are urging Russia and Mongolia to strengthen their enforcement efforts significantly and calling on China to co-operate closely with Russia and Mongolia in addressing any illegal cross-border trade.

The report estimated that between 1999 and 2000 about 400-450 kg of raw musk from Russian musk deer were traded illegally each year, corresponding to about 17 000 to 20 000 male musk deer killed. According to Homes, this volume is about five times the amount estimated to have been traded legally per year. "Although there is a quota for the legal hunting of musk deer in the Russian Federation, the illegal alternative is apparently widely preferred, as there is little incentive, including from a financial perspective, for musk deer hunters to operate within the law."

The situation in neighbouring Mongolia appears to be just as dire. Despite the fact that hunting of musk deer has been illegal in Mongolia since 1953, a minimum average of 2000 male musk deer were poached annually between 1996 and 2001 in the country. As with Russia, musk deer poaching in Mongolia represents an enforcement problem on a significant scale.

The report recommends that enforcement measures and trade controls in the countries where musk is illegally traded be strengthened and that the countries need to collaborate closely not only on enforcement issues but also to establish a system of information exchange on population data, quotas, trade and seizures. Furthermore, an international enforcement and training workshop should be organised that will include participation from China, Russia, Mongolia and other musk range and consumer States, with a focus on anti-poaching efforts and cross border trade. The report also calls for the implementation of marking systems for raw musk and labelling of musk products to allow legal musk products to be easily identifiable.

“Gram for gram, musk is one of the most valuable natural products in the animal kingdom and can be worth three times more than its weight in gold,” said Stuart Chapman, Head of WWF-UK’s Species Programme. “Investing in the protection of musk deer makes both commercial and conservation sense.”

Stepping up enforcement pressure alone is not likely to reduce poaching sufficiently. "If we are to succeed in eliminating illegal harvest and in bringing trade in musk under control, it is crucial that the range States address local livelihood issues and provide economic incentives to the local people involved," Homes stressed.