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

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farmed and/or wild animals should be promoted as models to emulate.  China and Russia should exchange

knowledge and share experience relating to the management and breeding of musk deer on farms and

make the same available to other relevant countries, for example, North and South Korea. 

Regulation of trade in musk in non-range countries

Importing countries should be required to assist source countries to safeguard and monitor wild musk deer

populations, by means of financial or technical assistance.  While all CITES Parties trading raw musk

internationally should enforce all CITES provisions pertaining to musk, the role of Cambodia in the inter-

national musk trade should be singled out for further investigation and the significance of Hong Kong,

Singapore, Taiwan, Japan and Cambodia in the international trade in, and use of, medicines containing

musk should be examined in greater detail.  Enforcement problems relevant to the international trade in

musk derivatives should be detected and eliminated - for example, proposals for labelling of musk

specimens and products containing musk should be developed jointly with the traders and authorities in

the countries of origin and forensic techniques should be developed and shared among CITES Parties to

determine the presence or absence of musk in derivatives.

Use of musk and musk products in Asian medicinals, perfumes and homeopathic products

The level of Asian medicinal consumption of musk needs to be ascertained to better understand the

existing and expected market needs.  Until the presence or absence of genuine musk in Asian medicines

is clarified, all items that claim to contain musk should be traded with CITES permits. Simultaneously,

research on musk substitutes for use in TEAM needs to be encouraged. 

Although it seems likely that the demand for musk in the perfume industry in Europe is decreasing, this

requires monitoring, particularly since there are reports that natural musk is used in the Russian perfume

industry.  Reported use of natural musk in Chinese and Arabian perfume manufacture also requires

monitoring.  Perfumes that contain natural musk should be subject to permitting requirements when in

international trade, as are other products containing the ingredient, but since the amount of musk used in

homeopathic medicine is very low it is not recommended that homeopathic products containing musk need

CITES permits when in international trade.  

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INTRODUCTION AND  BACKGROUND

This study aims to summarise information on musk deer and musk itself as a background to describe the

international musk trade and the demand for musk, and to determine the significance of Europe’s role in

the global trade.  It is part of a comprehensive international analysis of the trade in, and use of, musk in

medicine and in the perfume industry which TRAFFIC is conducting in a number of countries. 

The word “musk” derives from the ancient Indian word Muskáh meaning “testicles”.  This probably

alluded to the musk sac of the male musk deer which is located close to the male genitals.  The musk sac

contains the musk substance which is secreted into the sac by musk glands.

In western Europe the term “musk” conjures up images of strength, sensuality and erotic attraction.  In

some European countries many people may be thinking of the large and powerful Musk Oxen Ovibos

moschatus of the Arctic latitudes.  Few people know that the musk aroma originates from a small member

of the deer family Moschidae, found in South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia and the eastern parts of

Russia.  Musk is so sought-after that it is one of the most expensive substances derived from any animal

in the world: the price of musk in Europe in the 1990s has reached three to five times that of gold.  

Musk is known to have been used in medicine and as a fragrance for over 5000 years and was praised by

Mohammed in Hadith (the major source of guidance for Muslims after the Qur’an) when describing

paradise (6579: “...the water‘s fragrance is better than musk”).  The natural musk aroma exceeds most

other similar-smelling animal and plant constituents in intensity, persistence and fixative properties.  For

this reason, musk is used not only as a fragrance but also as a fixative for other fragrance.  In the past, musk

has been confused with castoreum from Beavers Castor fiber, as the Sanskrit word for musk is Kasturi

(Leeser, 1961).  The Ancient Greek medicine of Hippocrates treated infertility with castoreum, but the

musk “which kings receive and use as gifts” was introduced to Western medicine by Arab doctors, and

most notably Serapio.  Musk was prized as a tonic for the heart and mind, for chronic headaches and for

stimulating sex drive. 

The most important market for musk products now is in Asia, for traditional East Asian medicine (TEAM).

Musk is included in about 300 pharmaceutical preparations in traditional Chinese and Korean medicine as

a sedative and a stimulant, to treat a variety of ailments of the heart, nerves, breathing and sexuality and is

therefore one of the most commonly used animal products in this type of medicine (Mills, 1998).  Musk

has also been used for some hundreds of years in the perfume industry in Europe (Pilz, 1997 and 

Müller, 1991).  During the 1990s, international trade in musk increased in a number of European countries.

Although it is possible to obtain musk from a live deer, traditionally musk pods are harvested by killing

the deer and the high value of musk has often been an incentive for illegal hunting of musk deer.  High

levels of international trade have been of concern and all musk deer species Moschus spp. have been

included in the Appendices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna

and Flora (CITES) since 1979, with the purpose of improving control of international trade.  The popula-

tions of the Siberian Musk Deer Moschus moschiferus in Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal and

Pakistan (which Green (1998) considers to be of Himalayan Musk Deer Moschus chryogaster and Black

Musk Deer M. fuscus) were included in Appendix I at that time, with the effect that international

commercial trade in musk deer or parts of musk deer from specimens of wild origin from these popula-

tions is prohibited.  All other musk deer species were listed in Appendix II and, as such, international trade

is allowed but strictly monitored, according to the provisions of the Convention.  An export permit issued

by CITES authorities in exporting countries is a minimum requirement for specimens of Appendix II-listed

musk deer to be exported.  Notwithstanding the species’ CITES listing, knowledge of the biology of

Moschus spp., their numbers in the wild and the degree to which they are threatened are prerequisites for

determining effective measures for their conservation in the wild.  The taxonomy of the musk deer species

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