As a crossroads of Eastern and Western cultures, Hong Kong has deep-rooted traditional customs within its society. These customs, whether involving the use of wildlife products for medicinal purposes to pursue health or the practice of releasing animals to accumulate merit, carry specific cultural meanings and spiritual values. However, when these traditional practices intersect with modern wildlife conservation ideals and animal welfare science, profound tensions and contradictions often arise. Our organisation believes that a progressive society should be able to seek a wise balance between respecting cultural traditions and protecting ecological welfare. This paper aims to analyse the impact of relevant traditional practices on local and global wildlife conservation and propose policy optimisations that consider both cultural sensitivity and animal welfare.

Wildlife Consumption Under Traditional Customs: Scale, Impact, and Regulatory Challenges

The traditional use of wildlife in medicine is a significant factor affecting the survival of these animals. According to a 1996 survey, approximately 6.8% of Hong Kong’s adult population regularly use traditional Chinese medicine containing wildlife ingredients. Although the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance (Hong Kong Ordinance No. 586) has generally fulfilled its obligations under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, regulating the international trade of endangered species, public

awareness of the regulations is insufficient, law enforcement resources are limited, and market preference for “wild” sourced herbal medicines continues to create loopholes for illegal trade. This demand not only directly threatens the wild populations of endangered species such as pangolins, antelopes, and bears but is also accompanied by severe animal welfare issues related to the capture, transport, and farming processes involved (e.g., bear bile extraction). In addition, the technology for breeding some medicinal animals is still immature or prohibitively expensive, making it difficult to replace wild capture, complicating regulation further.

Another widely practised custom is religious release. The original intention of release activities is to embody compassion and respect for life; however, without scientific planning and strict supervision, these activities often achieve the opposite. Improper releases can lead to several severe consequences: firstly, the animals released (be they invasive species or non-native indigenous species) may die in large numbers due to an inability to adapt to the wild environment, experiencing extreme suffering in the process, which fundamentally contradicts the intention of “compassionate care for life.” Secondly, these animals can cause invasive damage to local ecosystems, threatening the survival of native species. Moreover, large-scale commercial release practices have birthed a “capture—trade—release” industry chain, leading to further suffering for more animals during capture, transport, and temporary care, creating a vicious cycle driven by animal suffering.

Finding Dialogue Space Between Cultural Heritage and Animal Welfare

To address the challenges outlined above, we must transcend mere condemnation or prohibition, instead seeking constructive dialogue and innovative transformation. The core principle is to respect the cultural essence of customs while guiding their forms towards more scientifically informed, humane, and sustainable directions. Regarding the use of traditional medicine, emphasis should be placed on distinguishing between “efficacy” and “source,” promoting the use of sustainably farmed products, synthetic components, or plant substitutes to replace herbal medicines derived from endangered wildlife. This does not deny traditional wisdom; rather, it seeks to perpetuate its essence in innovative ways while addressing contemporary ecological ethical responsibilities. For release activities, the focus should return to the essence of “compassionate care for life,” shifting attention from merely the quantity of animals released to a genuine concern for the quality of animal life and the ecological consequences.

Policy Optimisation Recommendations: Guiding Towards Sustainable and Humane Practices

Based on the above analysis, the Research Department of the Hong Kong Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals proposes the following multi-layered policy recommendations aimed at guiding rather than opposing traditional customs’ transformation:

• Strengthen Law Enforcement and Policy Coordination
  The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department and the Customs and Excise Department should enhance cooperation to increase random inspections of retail outlets selling traditional herbal medicines, traditional markets, and potential circulation channels involving release activities. At the same time, the government should review existing legislation to consider whether a dedicated regulatory framework is needed for large-scale commercial release activities, such as requiring major release event organisers to conduct ecological impact assessments and obtain permits to control their scale and select suitable locations and species.
  
• Promote Industry Self-Regulation and Sustainable Standards
  The government could collaborate with leaders in the traditional medicine industry and trade associations to develop and promote a Sustainable and Animal Welfare Code of Practice for the Traditional Medicine Industry, encouraging practitioners to commit not to purchase or sell products derived from endangered wildlife or involving cruel breeding or capture methods. It could also support industry collaboration with research institutions to accelerate the efficacy certification and promotion of common wild animal medicinal substitutes.
  
• Conduct Targeted Public Education and Community Engagement
  Educational campaigns must be culturally sensitive. Collaboration should occur with traditional medicine groups, religious leaders, and community organisations to design educational materials. Content could include: explaining the impact of wildlife trade on biodiversity, revealing the ecological and animal welfare consequences of improper releases, and providing information on sustainable alternatives (such as participating in local habitat conservation or choosing to rehabilitate and release injured native wildlife). Through these collaborations, the protection messages can be internalised within cultural contexts, making them more readily accepted by the public.
  
• Support Relevant Scientific Research
  The government should fund local academic institutions to conduct research on the current status and drivers of wildlife product consumption in Hong Kong; assess potential risks of various released species to local ecosystems; and study feasible methods to enhance the welfare standards of farmed medicinal animals. Evidence-based data is essential for making policy decisions and enhancing the effectiveness of public persuasion efforts.

Conclusion: Innovatively Transmitting Culture and Practicing Compassionate Care for Life

Traditional customs are fluid; their forms evolve with contemporary knowledge and values. In the face of a global biodiversity crisis and a growing societal concern for animal welfare, reassessing and innovating our traditional practices related to wildlife is a responsibility that Hong Kong, as an international city, must undertake. This path of reform requires the collective effort of the government, industry, religious and cultural leaders, animal protection organisations, and every citizen. Let us be guided by wisdom and compassion, transforming the profound wisdom within traditional culture that advocates for the kind treatment of life into concrete actions that protect ecosystems and respect animal lives, building a harmonious society where cultural heritage and nature conservation coexist.