Musk deer, like many other species, are also threatened by loss of their habitat. Populations of Musk deer are declining in all countries where they occur. In India this decline is particularly dramatic, and experts believe that the population is half the size it was ten years ago. The small size of the musk gland means that it is easy to hide and transport, thus making detection of smuggling more difficult. Hunting of musk deer is done with traps and guns, and as a result, it is estimated that three to five musk deer have to be killed to obtain a single male with approximately 25 grams of raw musk.

Some musk deer populations could be driven out of existence by the demands of the international perfume trade. The musk deer is a small, solitary and very shy animal that lives in the mountainous forests of Asia and eastern Russia. Its total numbers are put at somewhere between 400,000 and 800,000 animals. The populations of Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan are listed on Appendix 1 of CITES (the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), which forbids all international trade.

All other musk deer populations are listed on Appendix 2, which allows limited trade.

'Massive decline'
The problem is the demand for natural musk in the perfume trade and in traditional Chinese medicine, where it is used in making preparations designed to strengthen the bones. The report, entitled "On the Scent", says some populations are now seriously decreasing, and if the threats remain unchecked the deer could disappear altogether. It says musk remains one of the most expensive natural products in the world, three to five times more valuable than gold at up to $45,000 a kilogram.

Scent glands
The raw musk is taken from the male animal's "pods", or scent glands, but the report says that from three to five deer are usually killed before the hunters can find a single male who will yield about 25 grams. It says this means about 160 deer are killed for each kg of musk that is collected. And other species, including the giant panda, stray into the snares intended for the deer.

It says the use of natural musk is linked to some of Europe's best-known perfume makers, WWF says a couple of the houses have acknowledged that they do use musk in a few traditional and expensive perfumes. But it believes the directors of the perfume houses "are unaware of the consequences of their actions on wild musk deer populations".

It also wants all perfume products to be clearly labelled to show whether they use natural musk. The main exporters of raw musk from 1978 to 1996 were China, Mongolia, the Soviet Union, Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.