Is the toad actually a nationally protected animal?
Toads can be seen in the grass of fields, and their appearance is covered in many bumps. Yet we find in the news that some people have been arrested for catching toads. Could it be that they are nationally protected animals? Let us find out.
1. Is the toad a nationally protected animal?
The toad is a national “three-have” protected animal. It has important ecological, scientific and social value. According to China's Criminal Law and relevant legal provisions, privately catching 20 or more “three-have animals” constitutes a crime, catching 50 or more constitutes a major criminal case, and 100 or more constitutes an especially major criminal case.
2. The value of the toad
The toad is an animal of very high medicinal value, and every part of it is useful.
1. The dried white secretion from the toad's skin glands and parotoid glands is called toad venom (chansu), a precious traditional Chinese medicine that can reduce swelling and relieve pain, detoxify and act as an anesthetic, and resist radiation and cancer. It is now used clinically to treat coronary heart disease, and many medicines for inflammation, swelling and pain, and skin cancer in daily life contain this ingredient.
2. The keratinous membrane shed by the toad is called chanyi (toad slough), which can be used as medicine and can treat chronic liver disease, chronic bronchitis and various cancers.
3. The toad's body, dried in the sun after the internal organs are removed, is called dried toad skin (ganchanpi), which can be used as medicine. It is used to treat sore and swollen throat, chronic bronchitis, infantile malnutrition and other diseases, and is now also used in cancer research.
4. In addition, the toad's liver, gallbladder and tongue can all be used as medicine.
The toad is useful in every part. Although it does not look good, its contribution to humans is still great. Toads are protected by law and may not be caught privately. At the same time, they are themselves poisonous and must not be eaten casually.