The Trade of Medicinal Animals in Brazil: Current Status and Perspectives

Biodivers Conserv (2013) 22:839–870 DOI 10.1007/s10531-013-0475-7 REVIEW PAPER The trade of medicinal animals in Brazil: current status and perspectives Felipe S. Ferreira • Hugo Fernandes-Ferreira • Nivaldo A. Leó Neto • Samuel V. Brito • Roˆmulo R. N. Alves Received: 16 May 2012 / Accepted: 20 March 2013 / Published online: 29 March 2013 Ó Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013 Abstract In cities, the trade of medicinal products derived from animals, especially as raw materials, is concentrated in local and traditional markets. The lack of studies on commercialised medicinal faunas restricts an evaluation of the impact of this activity on the exploited species. Within this context, this work reviewed the literature on the trade of medicinal animals in local markets, focusing on urban zootherapy in Brazil and the social factors involved in these practices. Our results reveal that at least 131 species are sold for medicinal purposes in markets and open fairs in Brazil, but results obtained from statistical estimators suggest that this trade actually encompasses a greater richness of species. The medicinal animals sold in Brazil are used to treat 126 illnesses and/or symptoms. Despite the trade of wild animals, including species that are present on the list of endangered species, being forbidden in Brazil, it has been demonstrated that this activity remains common in some Brazilian cities, occurring illicitly and without due monitoring by competent environmental agencies. The results illustrate the need for further research, which should encompass a larger number of cities, especially in regions where information on this subject is currently lacking. Keywords Animal conservation Á Ethnozoology Á Traditional medicine Á Wildlife trade Á Zootherapy Introduction Urban centres are characterised by complex interactions of social, economic, cultural and environmental factors (Alberti 2005). The peculiarity of the urban centers helps preserve F. S. Ferreira (&) Á H. Fernandes-Ferreira Á N. A. Leó Neto Á S. V. Brito Programa de Po´s-Graduaçaõ em Cieˆncias Biolo´gicas (Zoologia), Departamento de Sistema´tica e Ecologia, Centro de Cieˆncias Exatas e da Natureza, Universidade Federal da Paraı´ba (UFPB), Campus I, Joaõ Pessoa, PB 58051-900, Brazil e-mail: [email protected] R. R. N. Alves Departamento de Biologia, Universidade Estadual da Paraı´ba, Campina Grande, PB, Brazil 123 840 Biodivers Conserv (2013) 22:839–870 traditions and knowledge regarding biodiversity, including its use for medicinal purposes (Ceuterick et al. 2008). The most commonly used products in traditional medicine come from animals and plants, and represent an important alternative to drugs from the phar- maceutical industry (Alves and Rosa 2005). In cities, the trade of medicinal products derived from plants and animals is concentrated in local markets or open fairs (Van den Berg 1984;Va´zquez et al. 2006; Albuquerque et al. 2007a; Alves and Rosa 2010; Alves and Alves 2011). Local markets are considered to be important centres for gathering, concentrating, storing and spreading empirical knowledge concerning the therapeutic use of the local biodiversity thus favouring the resilience and maintenance of knowledge about these medicinal species (Monteiro et al. 2010; Alves et al. 2013). The importance of these public markets and open fairs is not restricted to the maintenance and development of knowledge concerning the use of the biological resources for medicinal purposes. Albuquerque et al. (2007a) claim that public markets, on a small scale, may also represent the biodiversity of a region, allowing identification of extensive exploitation areas and providing information that will assist monitoring of regional biodiversity. Despite its cultural, socio-economic and environmental importance, few researchers have investigated the trade of biological resources in public markets and/or open fairs (Jain 2000). In the last decade, however, some research has been undertaken on this theme, especially with regard to medicinal plant markets, which has received the attention of many ethnobotanists (Williams et al. 2000; Albuquerque et al. 2007a; Monteiro et al. 2010; Mati and de Boer 2011). Nevertheless, the trade of animals for medicinal purposes has been largely overlooked in the literature, with this sort of trade only recently being brought to the attention of researchers (Va´zquez et al. 2006; Alves and Rosa 2007; Oliveira et al. 2010; Whiting et al. 2011; Ferreira et al. 2012; Ashwell and Walston 2008; Van and Tap 2008). The studies cited have revealed that extensive medicinal use of animal parts and products is sustained by a thriving trade in medicinal animals, conducted mainly by herbalists in markets (Alves et al. 2013). Connected to cultural and biological questions of animal trade, the socio-economic aspects are also essential to the maintenance of this activity. For salesmen (often known as herbalists, even if they also sell animal products) and suppliers (collectors and/or profiteers), the trade of medicinal animals represents an important source of income (Alves et al. 2008a). The lack of studies on traded medicinal faunas restricts an evaluation of the impact of this activity on the exploited species. As some authors recognise (Alves et al. 2007; Moura and Marques 2008), the exploitation of species for medicinal purposes may represent an additional pressure on wild fauna, although the influence of the medicinal use of these animals on the conservation of the involved species needs to be thoroughly investigated. Williams et al. (2007) stated that ethnobiological surveys carried out in public markets represent the first step towards the identification of priority species and the establishment of management plans. The trade of medicinal animals is routine practice in several countries around the world (Apaza et al. 2003; Soewu 2008; Whiting et al. 2011; Kang and Phipps 2003; Ashwell and Walston 2008, Alves et al. 2013). Due to the conservation status of many animal species sold for medicinal purposes (Alves and Rosa 2005; Alves 2008. Alves 2012), there are ecological, cultural, social and public health implications associated with their use (Alves et al. 2013). As a result of its faunal and cultural diversity, Brazil represents an excellent scenario for researching the trade of medicinal animals, a common practice in urban areas 123 Biodivers Conserv (2013) 22:839–870 841 of the country, which stand out as having a complex knowledge on the medicinal use of the fauna (Ferreira et al. 2012; Alves et al. 2009; Alves et al. 2013). Within this context, this work reviewed the literature on the trade of medicinal animals in local markets, focusing on urban zootherapy in Brazil and the social factors involved in these practices. The aims of this study were as follows: (i) to estimate the species richness of medicinal animals sold in Brazil; (ii) to evaluate the versatility of different animal species by calculating their relative importance value; (iii) to discuss the idea of utilitarian redundancy in the trade of animals in Brazil; (iv) to discuss those aspects that influence the choice of species for zootherapeutic product trading; and (v) argue about the conservation of species traded for medicinal purposes in Brazil. Materials and methods To examine the medicinal animal trade within Brazilian cities, we reviewed all the available references and reports on this topic. Information was gathered from published articles, books and book chapters, theses and dissertations, as well as from reports available in international online databases such as Science Direct (www.sciencedirect.com), Scirus (www.scirus.com), Google Scholar, Scopus (www.scopus.com), Web of Science (www.isiknowledge.com), and Biological Abstracts (science.thomsonreuters.com) using the following search terms:—medicinal animals ? trade ? Brazil—zootherapy ? com- mercialization ? Brazil, and—Wildlife trade ? Brazil. Information was compiled from 15 studies (undertaken between 1996 and 2012), which recorded the trade of medicinal fauna in 20 Brazilian cities (Fig. 1), from the following regions: Northeast (Crato, Juazeiro do Norte and Fortaleza [Ceara´ state]; Joaõ Pessoa and Campina Grande [Paraı´ba state]; Saõ Luı´s [Maranhaõ state]; Teresina [Piauı´ state]; Recife, Caruaru and Santa Cruz do Capibaribe [Pernambuco state]; Maceio´ [Alagoas state]; Aracaju [Sergipe state]; Natal [Rio Grande do Norte state]; Feira de Santana and Salvador [Bahia state]); North (Bele´m [Para´ state] and Boa Vista [Roraima state]); Midwest (Planaltina, Guara´ and Sobradinho [Distrito Federal state]) (Almeida and Albuquerque 2002; Silva et al. 2004; Alves and Rosa 2007, 2010; Alves et al. 2008a, 2009, 2010; Freire 1996; Oliveira et al. 2010; Costa-Neto 1999; Andrade and Costa-Neto 2006; Pinto and Maduro 2003; Ferreira et al. 2009a, 2012; Costa Neto and Motta 2010). Only taxa identified to the species level were considered. A database of commercialised medicinal species was created, including the animal parts used and the diseases and/or symptoms treated. Those diseases cited in revised studies were categorised according to the International Classification of Diseases model suggested by the World Health Organization (WHO 2012). The disease categories listed by the WHO does not consider emic diseases (as ‘‘attract money’’, simpatias, evil eyes, etc.), for that reason we included an ‘‘undefined illnesses’’ category, which includes all citations for diseases with unspecific symptoms. For each city where research on the

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