15
anus. Civet mainly comes from Ethiopian civet farms and is used as a raw substance in the perfume
industry, particularly in France. In 1988, the value of civet was US$0.45/g.
The Russian Desman Desmana moschata produces “musk” from glands at the base of its tail, which
lends the animal a musky odour. The species is distributed in Russia in the Caspian and Black Sea regions.
In particular during the last century, the Russian Desman was hunted for its musk, for use in the perfume
industry (Fons, 1988). The species became so threatened that by 1978 it was placed on the Red List in
Russia and thus became protected.
Musk Oxen Ovibos moschatus occur naturally in Greenland and north of the Arctic
Circle in Canada and
have been introduced into Norway, Sweden, Russia and the USA (Alaska). Musk oxen have pre-orbital
glands rather than musk glands. They do not, however, have a strong musky odour. The origin of the
vernacular name remains unclear. It is assumed to stem from the French translation of the Ojibwa Indian
word for “wet tundra” or “swamp”, where musk oxen were observed. A second possible explanation is
that the discoverers of musk oxen mistakenly believed that they had musk glands (David R. Klein, pers.
comm., March 1998).
The Suni Neotragus moschatus is an antelope inhabiting dry scrub land in south-east Africa (Stuart’
S
and
Stuart’
S
, 1988). The Suni emits a strong musky odour from its pre-orbital glands (Walther, 1988).
The
Musk Mallow Hibiscus abelmoschus Malvaceae produces seeds that
smell of musk and from which
oil is obtained (Falbe and Regitz, 1995). Musk Mallow occurs in India and was introduced to the tropics.
It is also used as a musk scent in the perfume industry. One millilitre of essential oil from Musk Mallow
seeds sells for about US$22, the oils being extracted by means of a distillation process.
The Musk Rose Rosa moschata Rosaceae occurs in the Himalayas, Iran, the countries of the Mediter-
ranean and Ethiopia. It has been introduced into South America as a neophyte and is known there as “Rosa
mosqueta”. The plant smells musk-like.
The Musk Milfoil Achillea erba-rotta subsp. moschata Asteraceae occurs in the central and southern
Alps. It gives off a remarkable aromatic and spicy scent which has undoubtedly contributed to its name
(Wendelberger, 1976). Extracts of Musk Milfoil are used in homeopathy. The species is protected in
Germany under the Federal Species-Protection Regulation.
THE GLOBAL TRADE IN MUSK
As explained in Methodology, inconsistencies and lacuna are inherent in the CITES annual reports on
which the WCMC data are based. In considering the trade information presented in this chapter, this
should be borne in mind. In particular, the records for 1995 and 1996 were found to be incomplete
(M.Gulliver, pers. comm., June 1998). For example, by June 1998, Japan, Russia and Hong Kong had not
submitted their annual reports of 1996 to the CITES Secretariat, while for 1995 data from Hong Kong are
missing. Furthermore, although all musk deer species Moschus spp. have been listed in the CITES Appen-
dices since 1979, some musk deer range States (North Korea, Bhutan and possibly Kyrgyzstan), and some
non-range traders (Yugoslavia and Taiwan) are not Parties to CITES (Tables 3 and 4). These
non-Parties do not report trade in musk deer specimens to the CITES Secretariat and information relating
to such trade has therefore been derived from the CITES annual reports of their trading partners. Yet other
countries, which are Parties to CITES, have held so-called “reservations” for trade in musk deer, with the
effect that they were exempt from CITES requirements with respect to such trade. From 1993 to 1996,
South Korea maintained a CITES reservation for trade in musk deer species listed in Appendix II and, as
a consequence, traded in musk like a non-Party State. Likewise, Japan held a reservation on musk deer
16
included in Appendix I from 1980 to 1989, and a reservation on Appendix-II musk deer species from 1983
to 1989.
The categories of musk deer specimens in trade, as used in CITES tabulations, are shown in Table 2, as
well as the number of records of trade in each, 1978-96.
Table 2
Number of records of musk deer specimens in CITES tabulations, and descriptions of the
specimens in trade (1978-96)
Source: WCMC, January 1998.
Table 2 indicates that international trade in musk deer products appears to have been chiefly in derivatives
and raw musk for the period 1978-96. Most derivatives are medicines containing musk. The great
majority of trade in musk derivatives is dominated by exports from China and imports by some East and
Southeast Asian countries (for example, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore) and by certain Western
countries (USA, New Zealand, Australia). It is important to recognise, when considering the trade in musk
derivatives reported by CITES Parties, that permits would not be issued for all products traded interna-
tionally that could contain musk: examples of products exempt from permitting requirements include
perfume phials and traditional East Asian medicines. Hong Kong, for instance, does not control interna-
tional trade in patent medicines containing musk (J. Mills, pers. comm., October 1998). This observation
notwithstanding, the CITES records indicate that 35 countries exported or re-exported specimens of musk
or other musk deer products between 1978 and 1996 (Table 3).
Abbreviation
Musk deer specimen in trade
Number of records
Proportion (%)
BOC
Bone carvings
1
0.16
BOD
Bodies
14
2.29
BON
Bones
2
0.33
BOP
Body parts
1
0.16
BPR
Bone products
1
0.16
DER
Derivatives
356
58.17
FOO
Feet
1
0.16
HPR
Horn products
1
0.16
LIV
Live animals
24
3.92
MUS
Musk
173
28.27
OIL
Oil
2
0.33
SKI
Skins
2
0.33
SKP
Skin parts
10
1.63
SKU
Skulls
3
0.49
SPE
Scientific specimens
12
1.96
TRO
Trophies
9
1.47
Total
612
100.00