Conservation of and trade in Musk Deer

Conservation of and trade in Musk Deer

Siberian Musk Deer Moschus moschiferus is under high poaching pressure in the Russian Far East and Altai-Sayan region of the Russian Federation. The illegal trade in musk was about five times the amount traded legally during the period 1999-2000. In Mongolia, although fully protected, at least 2000 male musk deer were poached annually between 1996-2001. Stricter enforcement measures are recommended, including the use of anti-poaching units in key musk deer range areas and close co-operation between the Russian Federation, Mongolia and the principal consumer of musk in traditional medicine, China. Musk is used also in South Korea, where labelling of products containing musk should be introduced.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This study attempts to clarify the status of populations of Siberian Musk Deer Moschus moschiferus in the Russian Federation and Mongolia. It also investigates hunting (including poaching) of the deer in those countries and the associated trade in musk. The Siberian Musk Deer is a Vulnerable species, according to the IUCN Red List, and is listed in Appendix II of CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). Recent reports of declines in populations and high demand for the musk produced by the male deer prompted research for this study. To complement the findings from the Russian Federation and Mongolia, the principal areas of research, a brief review of musk use and trade in the Republic of Korea (South Korea) is included to provide a snapshot of the consumer end of the trade in musk. South Korea is a country known to use musk in traditional medicine and known to trade musk internationally. It is hoped that the results of this study will fill gaps in information necessary to place musk deer conservation on a firm footing for the future.
Research was undertaken in the winters of 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 (population surveys in the Russian Federation); in 1998-2002 (poaching/musk trade survey in the Russian Federation); in the winter of 2001-2002 (Mongolian research); and in 2001-2002 (Korean research).
Surveys of musk deer populations in the Russian Federation were conducted using model plots in various habitat types in musk deer range in the Russian Far East and the Altai-Sayan region. The results of these model surveys were extrapolated to provide estimates of the musk deer population in wider areas of such habitats in those regions. An assessment of the levels of hunting (including poaching) of musk deer and the associated trade in musk in the Russian Federation and Mongolia was made by questioning stakeholders, for example, hunters, rangers, illegal traders and enforcement agents. Members of South Korea’s associations of doctors and pharmacists of Korean medicine provided information on the demand for musk use in that country. CITES data were used for assessments of international trade in musk in the Russian Federation and South Korea - such trade is banned in Mongolia.
The population surveys in the Russian Federation for this study resulted in estimates of substantially larger numbers of musk deer than official Russian Government figures show, especially for the Russian Far East (about 140 000, as opposed to 40 000 deer). Owing to the limitations of the methodology used, it is emphasized, however, that the results of the surveys conducted for this study cannot be considered as an accurate reckoning of the number of musk deer in the areas selected, but as an estimate only.
Despite the results indicating larger musk deer populations than are recorded by official surveys in the Russian Federation, population surveys for this study nonetheless found densities of musk deer to be low in the Altai-Sayan region, and it was reported to researchers that the musk deer population in the region had decreased, as a result of poaching, for musk. Reproduction of the musk deer was estimated to have been affected in 50% of their habitats in the Altai-Sayan region. Musk deer in the Altai-Sayan region were said to be systematically targeted by poachers and the trade in musk to be monopolized by three dealers. Moreover, the average weight of a musk gland in the region was found to have decreased (from 23-25 g to 17 g) in the past few years - a likely indication of high hunting pressure. In the Russian Far East, musk deer populations are stable, according to results of this study. Although the animals are still the target of poachers, this region is less densely populated by humans and less well served by roads than the Altai-Sayan region. Overall, over 80% of all musk deer killed in the Russian Federation, 1999-2000, were estimated to have been poached. This scale of poaching not only raises the question of how long musk deer populations can sustain this rate of harvest, but also highlights a clear enforcement problem. 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.
It is almost exclusively for their musk glands that musk deer are poached in the Russian Federation. An estimated 400-450 kg of raw musk from Russian musk deer were traded illegally, annually, 1999-2000, corresponding to about 17 000 to 20 000 male musk deer, assuming the weight of one musk gland to be 23 g. This is about five times the amount calculated to have been traded legally during the same period (72 kg). The musk harvested in the Russian Federation is almost without exception for export. Both legal and illegal exports were reported to be overwhelmingly to East Asian destinations, for use in traditional forms of health care. China (including Hong Kong) and South Korea are particularly notable as consumers of Russian musk.
There are no estimates based on up-to-date surveys for the size of the population of musk deer in Mongolia. Research for this study ascertained that an upsurge in hunting the deer at the beginning of the 1990s was in response to the opportunity to trade with China in the wake of changes in Mongolia’s political regime. The hunting of musk deer is banned in Mongolia, but from market surveys in Mongolia in 2001 and 2002, it is calculated that, during the period 1996- 2001, a minimum annual average of 2000 male musk deer were poached. As in the Russian Federation, therefore, musk deer poaching in Mongolia represents an enforcement problem on a significant scale. This level of poaching is likely to have a deleterious effect on Mongolia’s musk deer populations, estimated to have numbered no more than 44 000 in the 1970s. Numbers of musk deer in some of the few areas of Mongolia surveyed recently by scientists indicate that some populations are barely viable. Trading musk in Mongolia is illegal, but this appears to be virtually academic and the fact that musk was traded in and from Mongolia was widely acknowledged during surveys. University students were notable as a group involved in transporting musk from poaching regions to market in Mongolia. Onward trade from Mongolia over the border to China, the sole reported destination for musk from Mongolia, is seemingly largely unimpeded by enforcement authorities.
Musk for traditional Korean medicine was found to be considered indispensable by about one third of traditional health care professionals responding to the survey undertaken in South Korea. Approximately 24% of survey respondents were using musk, 1998-2001, although almost 50% said their use of musk had decreased since 1994. Musk trade is legal according to South Korean law, providing the musk has been obtained legally. The retail price of musk in South Korea was reported to be the equivalent of approximately USD24-36/g and the import price about USD12/g, at least four times the stated price per gramme received by hunters in the Russian Federation and Mongolia. All recorded musk imports to South Korea since 1997 have been from the Russian Federation, with the exception of three kilogrammes from China. Additionally, reports of illegal trade in musk to South Korea from the Russian Federation were received during research. Reports of illegally traded musk to South Korea are supported by the fact that records of Customs authorities there show several seizures of musk, 1997-2002.
What this study shows is that lack of effective enforcement of domestic laws for musk deer hunting in the Russian Federation and for the total protection of musk deer in Mongolia, coupled with demand for musk in traditional East Asian medicine, is likely to have been to the detriment of musk deer populations in those source countries. Although the sizes of the musk deer populations of the Russian Federation and Mongolia are not known with any degree of certainty, extraction of musk deer from the wild in the two countries has been unrestrained and musk deer populations have been reported to be adversely impacted by poaching. In the Altai- Sayan region, it was alleged that musk deer populations had been reduced to a quarter or one fifth of their levels in the 1970s and 1980s and, in Mongolia, experts believe that poaching is inevitably threatening populations of musk deer, a species classed as “very rare” in Mongolian national legislation. Disproportionately low ratios of male to female musk deer were reported from parts of Mongolia and the use of indiscriminate snares, the common form of catching musk deer illegally in the Russian Federation, are likely to have skewed gender balances in musk deer populations in that country.
Although enforcement of the law in relation to musk deer hunting and musk trade is weak in the Russian Federation and Mongolia, stepping up enforcement pressure alone would not be likely to reduce poaching sufficiently, nor would it always be practicable in the Russian Federation and Mongolia, both countries where the musk deer range extends into remote and sparsely populated regions. Poverty was a stated cause for musk deer poaching and, rather than focus on applying disincentives for illegal practice, financial benefits could be linked to legal hunting of musk deer and trade in musk in the Russian Federation, and alternative forms of income explored for musk dealers in Mongolia. Meanwhile, in consumer countries, where demand for musk so clearly still exists, if South Korea is representative of this, much can still be done to improve regulation of the trade, alongside efforts to research medicinal alternatives for musk and to promote awareness of the detrimental effect that illegal musk trade is having on musk deer populations.


The final report can be downloaded