17
Exports of musk deer specimens
Nine of the countries listed in Table 3 were musk deer range States, while 26 were re-exporting countries
(a distinction will be made below between exporting and re-exporting only when it is explicitly
mentioned). Seven countries reportedly exported raw musk; eleven reportedly re-exported raw musk.
Although China hardly features in the raw musk trade (see Trade in raw musk only), it is one of the major
exporters of musk deer derivatives. Very little is known about the trade and consumption of musk inside
China. According to Wang et al. (1993) the quantity of musk that was annually traded in China in the early
1980s ranged from 2000 to 2500 kg. According to Sheng and Ohtaishi (1993), some 500 000 musk deer
were killed every year in China in the 1960s. This over-exploitation of Chinese musk deer populations led
to declines from approximately three million musk deer in the 1950s to about one million animals in the
1970s. Much of this musk is used in the production of medicinal derivatives and then traded worldwide.
Country
Year of CITES membership
Musk deer range State
Export of raw musk
Re-export of
raw musk
Australia
1976
Austria
1982
Cambodia
-
xxx
Canada
1975
Chad
1989
China
1981
xxx
xxx
East Germany
1976
Finland 1976
France
1978
xxx
Germany
1976
xxx
Hong Kong
1976
xxx
India
1976
xxx
xxx
Indonesia 1978
Japan
1980
xxx
R!
-
7/83-4/89
Kenya 1978
Kyrgyzstan
-
xxx
xxx
Macao
1980
xxx
Malaysia
1977
Mongolia 1996
xxx
xxx
Nepal 1975
xxx
xxx
North Korea
-
xxx
Philippines 1981
Poland 1989
South Korea
1993
xxx
R! - 10/93-10/96
Russia
1992
xxx
xxx
Senegal 1977
xxx
Singapore 1986
xxx
Soviet Union
1976
xxx
xxx
Switzerland 1974
xxx
Taiwan
-
Thailand 1983
UK 1976
USA 1974
Uzbekistan 1997
xxx
Vietnam 1994
xxx
Table 3
Table to show the 35 countries that exported or re-exported musk deer products, including
musk, 1978-96, according to CITES annual reports
R!: CITES reservation clause in respect of the listing of musk deer.
Source: CITES annual reports. WCMC, January 1998.
18
Imports of musk deer specimens
In terms of imports, 42 countries were recorded as importing musk products, according to CITES annual
reports, 1978-96 (Table 4). Thirteen countries reportedly imported raw musk; seven reportedly re-
exported raw musk.
For the period under review, Asian
countries accounted for two-thirds of all
records referring to international trans-
actions of musk deer products, as
reported by CITES Parties (Figure 2);
American countries, including USA and
Canada, accounted for about one-fifth of
the same; European countries, including
the Soviet Union and Russia, for 11%;
and Oceania and Africa played minor
roles.
The products in trade (e.g. trophies, live
animals) are numerically quantified, but
some of the transactions reported by
CITES Parties do not allow calculation
of the amount of musk, nor the number
of musk deer in trade (Anon., 1993).
Musk oil, for instance, is specified in
terms of the number of bottles traded and
derivatives are quantified by number of
crates, boxes or bags. For the remainder
of this chapter (The global trade in
musk), therefore, only trade of
raw musk
is examined in detail, since it is possible to quantify the amounts
of this category in trade.
Trade in raw musk only
As it is possible to quantify the amounts of raw musk in trade, it follows that it is also possible to estimate
the numbers of musk deer implicated. For this study, such estimates have been made using the following
average values: weight of musk in one musk gland: 25 g (Green, 1989); number of musk deer killed: three
to five animals taken to obtain one male musk deer with a sufficiently large musk gland (Green, 1986;
Jackson, 1979 and Prikhod‘ko, 1997). The quantity of raw musk in trade is expressed in kilogrammes (kg)
or grammes (g). Of the 173 available records of musk traded (see Table 2), only six lacked reference to
the weight in trade and these transactions are not included in the analysis that follows.
According to CITES records, there were seven musk deer range States that exported raw musk between
1978 and 1996 (Table 3). The quantities of raw musk reported in trade differed widely between exporting
countries and their corresponding importing countries (Table 5). As pointed out in Methodology, this
may be a function of varying reporting methods; of different levels of detail in the reports; of the timing
of the submission of the annual reports; of clerical errors; a question of whether or not the trading State
was a CITES Party; or a combination of these factors.
Source: WCMC, January 1998.
Figure 2
Percentage of international trade in musk deer
products, including musk, attributable to different conti-
nents, 1978-96, according to CITES annual report data
Asia: 66%
Oceania: 4%
Europe: 11%
America: 18%
Africa: 1%