By Ben Blanchard BEIJING (Reuters) – Traditional Chinese medicine risks extinction if there is a push by the government to completely replace the wild animal parts now used with substitutes, a senior Chinese lawmaker said on Saturday. China, where an animal-loving middle class has been trying to change old ways, has promoted substitutes for tiger bones, rhino horns and certain other wild animal products, but doubts persist about their usefulness even among some officials. Beijing in 1993 banned trade in tiger bones and rhino horns, both prized in traditional medicine, as part of global efforts to halt declining animal stocks.
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China defends use of wild animals in traditional medicine