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

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Moschidae remains unclear, however, and biologists are only beginning to understand their ecology and

behaviour (Green, 1998).  According to some experts in Russia, the number of musk deer in Siberia and

in the Russian Far East has fallen dramatically since the beginning of this decade (Anon., 1993; Poyarkov

and Chestin, 1993; Prikhod‘ko, 1997 and Prikhod‘ko and Ovsyanikov, 1998).  These populations are

estimated to have declined by as much as 50% within a period of less than ten years.  Green (1986 and

1989) describes a decline in populations of musk deer in India and Nepal, also.  According to the

IUCN/SSC Deer Specialist Group, the numbers of most musk deer populations in those countries are

diminishing (Wemmer, 1998).  

Owing to the decline of most musk deer populations, it is considered necessary to attain an overview of

the worldwide demand for, and trade of, musk and musk deer products.  Only once this is gained can

realistic strategies for the conservation of wild musk deer and the sustainable use of musk be developed.

METHODOLOGY

Research for this study on the trade in, and use of, musk from musk deer was carried out by TRAFFIC

Europe-Germany between January and July 1998.  In this report, the word “musk” is used to mean natural

musk from musk deer Moschus spp. 

Consultation of Customs statistics in order to analyse international trade in musk deer products was not

possible, as the trade is classed with trade in a number of other commodities (“Ambergris, castoreum,

civet, cantharides, bile, glands and other animal substances for manufacturing drugs”) under tariff

heading number 0510 00, according to the internationally used Harmonised Commodity Description and

Coding System.  Therefore, TRAFFIC Europe-Germany analysed all data relating to international trade in

specimens of musk deer reported by CITES Parties in annual reports.  These annual reports are compiled

by the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC).  Trade of a CITES-listed specimen between two

Parties is required, according to the terms of the Convention, to be reported by both the country of export

(or re-export) and country of import and each Party is also required to submit an annual report of such

trade to the CITES Secretariat.  The analysis of musk trade data conducted by TRAFFIC Europe-Germany,

based on these annual reports, spanned 18 years (1978-96) and comprised 612 records.  Each record

included the year of trade; species in trade; CITES Appendix listing; country of import; country of 

(re-)export; country of origin of the specimen; specification of terms and units; purpose of the transaction

and source of trade.  This information was analysed to document trade flows, and to assess the conser-

vation impact on musk deer, but it was recognised that this methodology will reflect imperfections inherent

in the system of annual reporting by CITES Parties.  The imperfections include, for example, the fact that

many Parties do not submit annual reports at all, that others submit far too late and that most reports finally

submitted are incomplete.  There are many possible reasons for the fact that annual reports are incomplete

and that the correlation between export and import figures is poor.  One reason is that some Parties, for

example, Russia, report the trade quantities for which CITES documents were issued (A. Vaisman, pers.

comm., June 1998), while others (for example, Germany, France and Switzerland) follow the 

recommended CITES procedure and report the actual trade quantities imported or exported.  For these

reasons, the trade data were analysed by separating the reported import and (re-)export figures before

carrying out careful cross-comparison between reported exports and imports.

It should be noted that not all the countries that traded musk during the period under investigation were

Parties to CITES.  The musk deer range States of North Korea, Bhutan, Kyrgyzstan (a possible range

country), and the non-range States of Yugoslavia and Taiwan are examples of non -Parties which trade in

musk products.  There was therefore no annual report of CITES-listed trade for these States for analysis

and their share of international trade in musk was assessed using the annual reports of their trading

partners.

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TRAFFIC Europe-Germany consulted with CITES Management Authorities in Germany, Switzerland and

France, respectively the Bundesamt für Naturschutz (Federal Agency for Nature Conservation) in Bonn,

the Office Vétérinaire Fédéral in Bern, and the Ministère du Territoire et de l`Environnement, Direction de

la Nature et des Paysages in Paris, to confirm the accuracy of the import and export data on musk for these

countries.  The Zollkriminalamt and the Zollfahndungsamt (Customs Criminal Investigation Department)

in Cologne were also consulted about the illegal trade in musk deer products in Germany.  In Switzerland,

such enquiries were addressed to the Office Vétérinaire Fédéral and the Swiss Customs administration in

Bern, while in France the Direction de la Nature et des Paysages and the Direction National du

Renseignement et des Enquêtes Douanières in Paris were consulted.  Information on legal and illegal trade

of musk deer products in Russia was provided by TRAFFIC Europe-Russia.  It was not possible to confirm

the accuracy of the export data on musk for the former Soviet Union since all documentation dated prior

to 1992 has reportedly been lost in the course of administrative changes (A. Vaisman, pers. comm., June

1998).

Analysis of trade in musk to Germany, Switzerland and France revealed that only a few middlemen are

involved in trade of significant shipments of musk (i.e. of several kilogrammes each).  These middlemen

were interviewed as part of research for this report. 

To verify information about the use of musk in the perfume and cosmetics industry, TRAFFIC Europe-

Germany consulted companies and associations of companies in the aromatics and perfume industries in

Germany, Switzerland and France.  The research focused on Germany, France and Switzerland because

perfume manufacturing has a long tradition in these countries and is economically of great significance

compared to the industry in other European countries.  The three countries referred to are also the only

ones in Europe found to be legally importing musk according to CITES permits.  To document the use of

musk in the pharmaceutical sector, well-established manufacturers of homeopathic medicines and other

relevant companies in Germany, Belgium, Switzerland and the UK were consulted. 

Information about the keeping and breeding of musk deer in zoos was gathered during interviews with

personnel at Leipzig Zoo, which is presently the only zoo in Europe outside Russia that is breeding musk

deer, in this case Siberian Musk Deer.  

Finally, TRAFFIC Europe-Germany consulted literature on musk, the musk deer and the use of musk.  It

is possible to estimate the numbers of musk deer harvested, according to known amounts of musk in trade.

For this study, such estimates have been made using the following average values: weight of musk in one

musk gland: 25 g (Green, 1989); number of musk deer killed: three to five animals taken to obtain one

male musk deer with a sufficiently large musk gland (Green, 1986; Jackson, 1979 and Prikhod‘ko, 1997).  

THE MUSK DEER: BIOLOGY, DISTRIBUTION, CONSERVATION STATUS AND

PROTECTION

Morphology

Musk deer Moschus spp. are small members of the deer family with a head to body length of 86-100 cm,

a height at the shoulder of 53-80 cm and a weight of 13-18 kg (Zhivotshenko, 1988).  Musk deer do not

have antlers, but males and females possess clearly elongated upper canine teeth that project far below the

lower lip.  The length of male canines usually reaches six to eight centimetres, and in rare instances as

much as 10 cm, and they are used in fights between rivals.

The rear part of the body is more powerfully built than the forequarters, with the back being curved and

hind legs longer than the forelegs.  Musk deer movement appears more like jumping than running.  Their

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