china reinstates ban on use of rhino horns and tiger bones in medicine asia pacificchina after outcry reinstates ban on rhino and tiger parts in medicine dufouragence francepresse getty imagesnov 12 2018beijing the chinese government bowing to pressure from environmental groups said on monday that it would temporarily reinstate a ban on the use of rhinoceros horns and tiger bones in medicinemaking a rare concession the state council chinas cabinet said that it had decided to postpone an order made last month to undo a 25year ban on the tradethe chinese government has not changed its stance on wildlife protection and will not ease the crackdown on illegal trafficking and trade of rhinos tigers and their byproducts ding xuedong a top official with the council said in remarks published in the staterun news media on mondayenvironmentalists celebrated the change though some warned that it might be temporarykeeping these products banned is the only way we stand a chance of protecting the future survival of these incredible animals that are already in decline said gilbert m sape a campaigner with world animal protection an advocacy group based in londonchinese officials did not specify on monday when they might revisit the order mr sape urged the government to drop the policy altogetherthe order last month undermined chinas efforts to portray itself as an environmental leader and it drew a fierce backlash from animal rights advocates who said it was a significant setback for the protection of the fewer than 30000 rhinos and 3900 tigers still in the wildon monday wildlife advocates said chinese officials had helped to ease some of their concernsthis move helps maintain the leadership role china has taken in tackling the illegal wildlife trade and reducing market demand said margaret kinnaird of the world wildlife fund in washingtonas it seeks more respect on the global stage the chinese government has tried in recent years to cultivate an image as an environmentally responsible nation china announced it would ban the sale of ivory in 2016 and officials have recently led crackdowns on the sale of a variety of endangered animals like the pangolinwildlife advocates speculated that the governments decision to end the ban on rhino and tiger parts in medicine had aimed to help chinas growing traditionalmedicine industry at the time the government said it would allow the use of the animal parts in medical research or in healing but only by certified hospitals and doctors and only from rhinos and tigers raised in captivity excluding zoo animalswhile rhino and tiger parts are rarely used in chinese medicine these days most doctors prefer herbal remedies they are the subject of a small but lucrative tradeenvironmentalists led a vigorous campaign over the past few weeks to persuade chinese officials to change course in late october shortly after the decision to allow the use of rhino and tiger parts in medicine was announced nine foreign nongovernmental organizations met with the state forestry and grassland administration to make their case against the measure