The number of Asian elephants is nosediving at an unprecedented level.
An elephant conservation group has revealed how Chinese skin traders sell processed Asian
elephant skin for traditional medicine and jewelery.
Choi Si-young has the report.
A growing number of Asian elephants are being slaughtered for their skin as well as their
tusks.
British-based conservation charity Elephant Family has published a report highlighting
how individual traders in China skin elephants for human medicine.
They dry skin and grind it into powder to use as an ingredient in traditional medicine
products, which they claim cure stomach problems..
The traders also mix the skin with elephant fat to make a cream to treat skin infections.
And the elephant skin is used for other products too, like pendants, or beads for necklaces
and bracelets.
The Chinese traders sell the items through social media, labelling them in Chinese and
pricing them using Chinese currency.
In 2016, the conservation group reported its discoveries to the 17th meeting of the Conference
of Parties to the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna
and Flora in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Elephant Family's recommendations were accepted, but it says more action is needed to stop
the trade in products made from animals on the verge of extinction.
Choi Si-young, Arirang News