China is being criticized for relaxing regulations on the use of rhino horns and tiger bones.

Accordingly, the Chinese government's proposal states that only hospitals and doctors will be granted licenses to use tiger or rhinoceros parts for research or processing purposes. The animals used for these purposes must be those raised in government-licensed farms or enclosures.

However, environmental activists in China and around the world believe that this decision by the Chinese government will have devastating effects on conservation efforts for the rare rhinoceros and tiger species. According to Leigh Henry, an expert from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), it will be very difficult to distinguish between the processed or researched parts of rhinoceroses and tigers raised on farms or those hunted from the wild.

The Chinese government has yet to explain its decision to reverse the 1993 ban on activities involving animal body parts.

Peter Knights, Director of WildAid, stated that the decision was "completely spontaneous and without any basis whatsoever." Others suggest that profit may be one of the motivations behind China's decision, aimed at boosting its multi-billion dollar traditional medicine industry.

According to WWF statistics, the current number of rhinos in the wild is only around 30,000, and the number of tigers is much smaller, at only about 4,000.

Phuong Ngoc