Extinction Fight Targets Medicines : Campaign: An education program tries to turn people away from Asian remedies that use tiger, rhino parts to treat illnesses.

The fight to save tigers and rhinoceroses from extinction moved to Los Angeles this month, when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced an educational campaign to turn people away from Asian medicines made from the animals’ bones and horns.

Slaughtering of the animals for use in such medicines has cut the worldwide population of wild tigers to about 5,000, and wild rhinos to fewer than 10,000, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service. Meanwhile, demand for the medicines is up in Los Angeles and in the nation, as immigration from Asia has increased the number of consumers as well as interest in the remedies among non-Asians, officials said.

“By purchasing such products, consumers are fueling the illegal trade,” Assistant Interior Secretary George T. Frampton Jr. said at a news conference announcing the yearlong campaign targeted at Asian immigrants. Radio and print advertisements in Asian-language media--along with workshops, posters and brochures--will warn consumers of possible extinction of tigers and rhinos as well as the potential health hazards of medicines made from the animals.

Federal researchers have found toxic substances such as arsenic, mercury and lead in Chinese medicines made with rhino and tiger parts, caused by contamination of water, soil and vats at factories in China that produce the medicines.

News of the possible danger of the medicines may be as important in stemming their use as the desire to protect wildlife. “The last thing anyone wants to do is poison their children,” said Susan Sima Lieberman, a Fish and Wildlife official.

In addition to the Asian media campaign, the Los Angeles Unified School District, the L.A. Zoo and the World Wildlife Fund are developing an educational program for L.A. middle schools.

Los Angeles was chosen for the educational program because of its large Asian immigrant population, Fish and Wildlife officials said. A recent survey of nine Los Angeles stores specializing in Asian products found that six of them carried rhino or tiger-based products, officials said.

Powdered rhino horn is used to treat fever, and a paste made from tiger bones is applied topically for arthritis and rheumatism.

Federal officials acknowledge that U.S. sales of such medicines are tiny compared to sales in Asian countries.

In fact, some local practitioners of traditional Asian medicine say they do not use the remedies at all. “I don’t use them because they’re too expensive,” said T. B. Chew, who works in South-Central Los Angeles. Chew said he substitutes herbal preparations to treat ailments that might otherwise be treated with tiger or rhino medicines.

Kee Duk Paik, who is organizing workshops for Korean senior citizens at the Mid-Wilshire Adult Education Center as part of the campaign, said that older immigrants are most likely to use the medicines. “The younger generation hardly uses them,” he said.

Although the U.S. market may account for only a small fraction of worldwide sales of medicines made from tigers and rhinos, federal officials say the threat to the animals is so great that every effort is critical.

The program is also important, officials say, because the United States has pressured Asian countries to crack down on wildlife trade and start their own educational programs.

“We have to show that we’re getting our house in order as well,” Stansell said.

If the Los Angeles program succeeds in cutting demand for the medicines, Fish and Wildlife officials hope to duplicate the program in other cities.

Along with the World Wildlife Fund, the Humane Society of the United States, the Environmental Security Network and the American Zoo and Aquarium Assn. are assisting the Fish and Wildlife Service with the program.