Conserving Musk Deer the Uses of Musk and Europe's Role in its Trade (pdf, 360 kb)

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were kept in very small cages (Green and Taylor, 1986).  When musk deer farms were first established in

China, in the 1960s, the animal losses were high, reaching 60-70% of all wild-caught animals.  The

animals died from gastro-enteritis and poor husbandry.  Young musk deer, which are easier to tame than

the adult animals, are particularly prone to such infections if no preventative measures are taken.

Pneumonia is another frequent cause of illness.  Green (1989) reported that only 17 (53%) of 32 musk deer

born in zoos worldwide from 1959 to 1980 survived but, during that period (specifically, 1959-73), the

survival rate of young deer on farms in China was reported to have improved.  Trials in China proved that

Forest Musk Deer were easier to domesticate than Himalayan Musk Deer (Green, 1989).  Some farms were

exclusively for breeding, while in others the musk was removed from the deer.  Green (1989) reported that

the number of musk deer farms in China was still growing, as demand for musk continued to rise, but this

may no longer be the case.  A new report on musk deer farming in China is expected to be completed soon

by TRAFFIC-East Asia, which will shed more light on the current activities of China’s musk deer farms.

Since 1965, there have been attempts in India to domesticate musk deer for the purposes of musk

extraction from live animals at Kufri in Himachal Pradesh, and at Kanchula Kharak and Meroli, in

northern Uttar Pradesh (Bhadauria, 1990 and Green, 1989).  These musk deer farms were under

government control and reportedly do not operate very effectively (Sathyakumar et al., 1993).

Russia has also planned a programme for captive musk deer management (Prikhod‘ko, 1997 and

Prikhod‘ko and Ovsyanikov, 1998).  The management and breeding of animals in the Altai and Sayan

Mountains appears promising, because the cost of managing and feeding could be kept low: in the opinion

of Prikhod‘ko (1997), 10 000-15 000 musk deer could be managed in captivity in Russia at comparatively

low cost and small farms with 20-25 musk deer could be profitable. 

Capturing musk deer and extracting musk from live animals

Experience with musk deer has shown that populations bred in captivity, as with captive collections of

many animal species, regularly require replenishment with wild animals (Green and Taylor, 1986).  At

present, there are no efficient methods of capturing live musk deer.  Kattel and Alldredge (1991) proposed

large nets, six metres long by two metres wide, used by a team of 10-15 people.  Using this method, 50%

of catching attempts were successful.  Once captured, the musk deer were sedated. 

Flerov (1952) and Zhang (1983) describe the extraction of musk from the live animal, using a spatula that

is inserted into the musk sac via the external orifice while the animal is manually restrained (Flerov, 1952

and Green, 1989).  The procedure takes a few minutes, and the opening to the musk sac is afterwards

treated with an antibiotic cream.  The extracted musk is dried, weighed and sealed in an airtight container.

Because of their susceptibility to stress, the extraction should initially be carried out under anaesthesia,

until the animals are sufficiently tamed (Green, 1989).

The collection of musk from wild musk deer could form a substantial contribution for the income of people

in rural areas, and could at the same time encourage the protection of musk deer populations and their

habitat (Green and Taylor, 1986).  It is precisely in rural areas that earning cash is difficult and that the

temptation for poaching and smuggling is significant (P. Fomenko, in litt., March 1998 and Jackson, 1979).

Musk deer in European zoos

Musk deer are rarely kept in zoos.  Their shy, inconspicuous lifestyle makes them little attractive to

visitors.  Except for one musk deer farm near Moscow, Leipzig Zoo in Germany is the only zoo in Europe

that breeds Siberian Musk Deer, which it has been doing since 1980.  Musk deer are also kept in zoos in

Berlin, in Paris, and in northern Italy, but have not bred.

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Staff at the Leipzig Zoo responsible for the keeping of musk deer reported that they considered the estab-

lishment of successful musk deer farms to be feasible (staff at Leipzig Zoo, pers. comms, 1998)

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(see

Footnotes).  Zoo keepers and the curator for ungulates at Leipzig Zoo report that managing and breeding

musk deer is without problem once the animals reach maturity, for although juvenile mortality can be high,

as the animals grow older the incidence of mortality falls off dramatically (F. Meyer, B. Schneider and G.

Nötzold, pers. comms, April 1998).  The zoo now has five musk deer in two groups (Müller and Eulen-

berger, 1995) and since 1980, over 40 musk deer have been born, although 50% of all musk deer born in

the zoo died in their first year.  The oldest musk deer born at the zoo is now nine years old.  According to

Müller and Eulenberger (1995) and Seidel (1993), it is primarily infectious diseases which kill the musk

deer in zoos.  In-breeding at Leipzig Zoo has not so far been a problem, but the zoo is nevertheless trying

to incorporate musk deer from other sources into their breeding programme (F. Meyer, pers. comm., April

1998). 

CONCLUSIONS

The biology of musk deer species is little understood and their taxonomy remains unsolved.  Knowledge

of their distribution is incomplete and the population sizes of the different species most uncertain in several

cases.  In many range countries laws to protect musk deer and their habitats exist and musk deer popula-

tions can reproduce quickly relative to other large mammals, given suitable environmental conditions, yet

in practically all countries in Asia where musk deer occur, wild populations are declining because of over-

exploitation to meet the high demand for musk. 

Musk deer and musk trade

Worldwide

A large variety of musk deer products is found in worldwide trade but most were found to be derivatives,

mainly in the form of traditional East Asian medicines, and raw musk.  From 1978-96, 35 countries

exported or re-exported specimens of musk or other musk deer products, according to CITES annual

reports.  Nine of them were musk deer range States and seven exported raw musk.  Of these exporting

range States, the Soviet Union, Russia and Mongolia were the most important exporters of raw musk.

Between 1978-96, 42 countries were recorded as importing musk products, according to CITES annual

reports.  Thirteen countries reportedly imported raw musk, of which Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea,

Japan, France and Canada were the most significant importers.  Of these, Canada may be a mistake.  South

Korea, Japan and France apparently consumed most of their imported musk, or re-exported it in a

processed form, while Hong Kong and Singapore acted as entrepots.  Six countries reportedly re-exported

raw musk.

The role of Asia

According to reports from literature and European musk traders, the demand for musk in Asia is still

growing.  South Korea, for example, appears to play an increasingly important role in the international

musk trade, notably for consumption, and the already high level of demand for musk in South Korea in

1998 is expected to continue to rise.  East and Southeast Asia, as a whole, constitute the largest market for

musk.  China has a high domestic demand for musk, reportedly 500-1000 kg/year, and the majority of

musk that is locally used in medicine originates from within the country from both legal and illegal

sources: China does not show up as a major international trader of raw musk, but according to CITES

annual reports it was the biggest exporter of musk derivatives.  Japan may still be a major consumer, of

musk medicines in particular, and, moreover, Japan could be far more significant an importer than CITES

data show

.

Hong Kong, Singapore and Cambodia act as notable re-export centres of musk: the origin of

several hundred kilogrammes of musk traded by Cambodia is totally unknown.  In India, although hunting

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