Investigating tiger bone glue consumption in north-central Vietnam

Tigers are endangered due to numerous drivers, including illegal demand. In this study we investigate the use of tiger bone glue (TBG), which is used to treat a variety of ailments, including bone and joint ailments. We focused on an area in Vietnam with high levels of wildlife farming and consumption of other wildlife products. Our objective was to understand how much of an emerging threat TBG consumption might be, with the aim of using this information to inform demand reduction and other conservation management efforts if consumption was high. We used a semi-structured (i.e. quantitative and qualitative) questionnaire with a specialized questioning technique (nominative technique), designed to overcome possible deceit when answering. We found that the use of TBG is a sensitive topic, probably due to its known illegality. We found the estimated use of TBG within the last twelve months to be relatively low, at 6.9% prevalence in our sample. Certain predictors, such as a higher-level of use of Western medicine, decreased the probability an individual had ever used TBG. We also found possible evidence for the “rarity effect”, where a predictor of purchasing TBG was knowing tigers are extinct in Vietnam. From the qualitative results, we found a stated motivation of taking TBG when Western medicine was perceived to fail, specifically for bone and joint pain. We suggest efforts to reduce TBG use focus on improving medical care, such as increasing non-animal-based alternative therapies (e.g. physical therapy). We also suggest the Government of Vietnam should continue its efforts to decrease accessibility to TBG by shutting down tiger farms. Both of these strategies should improve global practitioners’ ability to safeguard wild populations.