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When an injured Red-footed Falcon was brought into the Raptor Rescue Center at the Beijing International Fund for Animal Welfare three years ago, the dove-sized creature couldn't stand or hold onto branches with its talons. When the bird was diagnosed with a paralyzed left claw, almost all the veterinarians who specialized in Western medicine shook their heads and concluded that there was no suitable treatment.
"The functions of a raptor's talons are beyond people's imagination - without them, it couldn't support itself because it wouldn't be able to compete for food with other birds of prey," said Li Ying, a vet and a member of the center.
In terms of treatment, Li took a different view to her colleagues, and a few needles and herbal treatment saved the bird's life. Li took the falcon to Beijing University of Agriculture three times a week over a three-month period. There, during a typical 20-minute session, Li's teacher Chen Wu, who is also the deputy secretary-general of the Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine Society, inserted needles into four acupuncture points on the raptor's left talon.
After the session, the falcon underwent physical rehabilitation treatment every second day, standing in water heated to 45 C and mixed with extract of saffron, a traditional herbal remedy known to invigorate the circulatory system. By the end of three months, the falcon was brimming with energy and was returned to the wild in 2010.
Elsewhere in Beijing, veterinarians are hooking dogs and cats to electric acupuncture machines, treating them with homeopathic remedies, feeding them traditional Chinese herbal medicines and even spraying herbs such as lavender, lemon and eucalyptus in the name of aromatherapy. Traditional Chinese medicine is back in fashion, but this time, it's focused on the pet industry.
According to Chen, dogs and cats aren't the only beneficiaries and the traditional skill can also be used to treat horses, cows, rabbits and even guinea pigs.
It has commercial uses as well. In Japan, people use acupuncture on fish to save the huge costs of refrigerating sashimi, said Chen, explaining that acupuncture can induce sleep in fish, so that the expense of keeping raw fish in cold storage is no longer necessary.
However, not everyone is convinced that the treatment is beneficial.
Li Mo, a medical affairs commissioner from the biomedical researcher Shanghai Huayi Bio Lab, who majored in veterinary studies and studied both Western and Chinese medicine, said it will be a long time before animal acupuncture is accepted in China.
“First of all, it's a demanding skill - how many experienced acupuncturists can you find in China for people, let alone animals, so there's a lack of talent," he said. Li also argued that the high treatment costs - 300 yuan ($47) per session, means that the therapy is limited to pets rather than other domesticated animals such as chickens and ducks.
Researchers understand relatively little about how and why this alternative therapy works, but Chen said his practical experience is the best proof.
About the broadcaster:
Emily Cheng is an editor at China Daily. She was born in Sydney, Australia and graduated from the University of Sydney with a degree in Media, English Literature and Politics. She has worked in the media industry since starting university and this is the third time she has settled abroad - she interned with a magazine in Hong Kong 2007 and studied at the University of Leeds in 2009.