A Chinese wildlife park has been slammed for selling bottles of tiger urine as an effective treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and other diseases.
Traditional medicine is popular in China, despite there being no scientific evidence to demonstrate its effectiveness, but even proponents of it say that tiger urine is not medically viable.
The wildlife park in Sichuan Province, in south-eastern China, has raised eyebrows for selling bottled tiger urine for CNY 50 (GBP 5.56) a pop.
Eyebrows were raised after images of the bottled big cat pee surfaced online, with the Sichuan Ya’an Bifengxia Wildlife Park confirming to local media that it was indeed selling the unorthodox product.
They explained: “The tiger urinates in its own nest, the urine collects in a basin, and then it is put in bottles for sale.”
Chinese media said that the park boasts a 5A-level tourist attraction certification, the highest in the country.
And when asked if they were qualified to sell tiger urine, a spokesperson for Ya’an Xiangyuan Bifengxia Tourism Co., Ltd., the company that operates the zoo, replied: “We definitely have the qualifications. As long as there is a business licence, it will be fine.”
The tiger urine is purported to be a good treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, external rheumatoid arthritis pain, trauma, muscle soreness, and other ailments.
Recommendations for usage include adding white wine to the urine, dipping ginger slices in it and rubbing the affected area.
Other recommendations for “taking it internally” are to stop using it if it causes an allergic reaction.
The zoo claims that the product is popular with customers, saying that they had “many people buying it.”
Chinese media contacted traditional medicine experts who said that tiger urine is not a traditional Chinese medicine and has no therapeutic effect. They said that tiger bones can treat rheumatism, but they are a banned substance.
As to whether tiger urine can be sold to the public, experts said: “No, all drugs need to be approved by government regulatory authorities before they can be used by patients.”
It is currently unclear if the Chinese authorities are looking into the tiger urine bottles the wildlife park has for sale.
To find out more about the author, editor or agency that supplied this story – please click below.
Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
The Ananova page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.
