Investing in Extinction
How the global financial sector profits from traditional medicine firms using threatened species
Leopards and pangolins are threatened with extinction and are among the most trafficked mammals on the planet. The two species are listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which prohibits international commercial trade in them, their parts and derivatives.
However, EIA UK’s research, conducted over the past two years, reveals the continued online availability of at least 88 traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) products stated to contain leopard, pangolin and, in a few cases, tiger and rhino, manufactured by 72 Chinese companies which have been licensed by the National Medical Products Administration of China.
Furthermore, EIA UK discovered that 62 banks and financial institutions – many of which are Fortune 500 companies and household names – have invested in three major pharmaceutical groups which manufacture nine products stated to contain leopard and/or pangolin. Learn how these institutions are investing in extinction here.
