Does the United States import patented chinese medicines?
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service import statistics show that between 1985 and 1992, nearly 2 million medicinal items containing wildlife parts or derivatives were known to be imported into the United States. Of these, thirty percent contained or purported to contain endangered or protected species, and were either confiscated or forfeited to the government. Between 1996 and 1998, USFWS wildlife inspectors seized nearly 36,000 medicinal items containing parts or derivatives of endangered or protected species.
