Tag: Wildlife trade

Over 150 million seahorses are reportedly used in the traditional medicine trade each year, driving many species toward extinction. This massive demand is primarily for what is known as a “seahorse drug,” a traditional remedy rooted in centuries-old beliefs about its medicinal properties.

An estimated 20 to 25 million seahorses are traded globally each year, a staggering figure driven largely by demand from traditional medicine. For centuries, many have asked: **what is dried seahorse used for?** It is a cornerstone ingredient in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), prized for a range of purported health benefits.

Over 20 million dried seahorses are traded annually for use in traditional medicine, primarily in China and Taiwan. This practice has raised significant questions regarding efficacy and ethics, probing what does a crushed seahorse do according to both traditional beliefs and scientific scrutiny.