David S. Lee & Liao Shi
David S. Lee & Liao Shi Kun Figs. 37 & 38. Painted Trachemys scripta elegans on a Chinese market. Photos: T. Blanck concerned with the issues created by China’s continued mass consumption of turtles and wishes to find a remedy for the problems this creates, we suggest that perhaps it is important for the Western world to first understand the depth of the ingrained tradition in order to set the stage for alternate foods and medicines to effectively replace a cultural heritage that extends back thousands of years. A handful of additional studies have been conducted but most are inconclusive or remain incomplete. Research in the use of turtle and tortoise urine as an anti-bacterial agent shows some effects in sterilization and as an anti-oxidation agent, but these have simply been chemical test and have not been used in trials on humans. The role of turtle shell of various tortoises and freshwater turtles to treat or improve symptoms of liver and kidney deficiency, weight loss, reduced locomotor activity, thyroid, thymus and spleen and arterial problems have been conducted on laboratory mice with mixed results. No trials have been conducted on humans, and the lab experiments are often performed by the very companies 26 RADIATA 23 (2), 2014
Turtles in Traditional Chinese Medicine promoting commercial sales of the various traditional medicines. China also has modern medical treatment, though this is largely limited to practices in major cities. Of the people living in cities 60–70% used modern hospitals, though because of the cost most people only go when absolutely necessary. There are four levels of care: modern hospitals, Chinese medicine hospitals, small clinics (some of which practice formal modern medicine, typically there is only one doctor present, and many do not have business licenses) and Chinese medicine shops. City dwelling middle class people prefer the modern hospitals, but some prefer the Chinese medicine hospitals as the cost is far less expensive. The working class and the poor mostly use the small clinics because of their low fees. The older citizens continue to prefer the Chinese medicine shops as the elderly feel more comfortable using traditional medicine. Most of these shops do not have trained practitioners and people simply pick up whatever traditional medicines they think will cure their particular ailments. In that most Chinese people do not have health insurance they continue turn to traditional medicines for colds, flu, and other minor ailments. In rural China the situation is different. Over eighty million Chinese are farmers. Farmers typically have low incomes and no health insurance. Over 90% of them rely entirely on traditional Chinese medicines. Throughout China medical doctors are not particularly respected as most will not take the time to provide a proper diagnosis unless they are bribed with substantial sums. Thus, for a number of reasons modern medicine has failed to displaced traditional medicine. Figs. 39–42. Scenes of a delivery playing out on a Chinese market: Packed in sacs and crates, the turtles are offloaded from a truck and collected by the local merchants. Photos: T. Blanck RADIATA 23 (2), 2014 27
