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=== S.W.A.T.S. ===
=== S.W.A.T.S. ===


In September, 2013, the headquarters of SWATS, an infamous distributor of deer antler velvet spray and other controversial products, was raided and ordered to shut down by [[Alabama]]'s [[Alabama Attorney General|attorney general]] citing "numerous serious and willful violations of Alabama’s deceptive trade practices act".<ref name="url_whnt.com">{{cite web | url = http://whnt.com/2013/09/05/sports-performance-company-ordered-to-stop-selling-deer-antler-spray-other-products/ | title = Sports Performance Company Ordered to Stop Selling ‘Deer Antler Spray,’ Other Products | publisher = WHNT | author = Galloway D | date = 2013-09-05 }}</ref><ref name="url_si.com">{{cite web | url = http://tracking.si.com/2013/09/05/ray-lewis-deer-antler-office-raided/ | title = Ray Lewis’ alleged deer antler supplier has office raided in Alabama | publisher = SI.com | author = Otano J | date = 2013-09-05 }}</ref> <ref>.S. Anti-Doping Agency (2015-9-18) Supplement Shutdown [http://www.usada.org/supplement-shutdown-sos-winter-2013-2014/]. usada.org
In September, 2013, the headquarters of S.W.A.T.S., an infamous distributor of deer antler velvet spray and other controversial products, was raided and ordered to shut down by [[Alabama]]'s [[Alabama Attorney General|attorney general]] citing "numerous serious and willful violations of Alabama’s deceptive trade practices act".<ref name="url_whnt.com">{{cite web | url = http://whnt.com/2013/09/05/sports-performance-company-ordered-to-stop-selling-deer-antler-spray-other-products/ | title = Sports Performance Company Ordered to Stop Selling ‘Deer Antler Spray,’ Other Products | publisher = WHNT | author = Galloway D | date = 2013-09-05 }}</ref><ref name="url_si.com">{{cite web | url = http://tracking.si.com/2013/09/05/ray-lewis-deer-antler-office-raided/ | title = Ray Lewis’ alleged deer antler supplier has office raided in Alabama | publisher = SI.com | author = Otano J | date = 2013-09-05 }}</ref> <ref>.S. Anti-Doping Agency (2015-9-18) Supplement Shutdown [http://www.usada.org/supplement-shutdown-sos-winter-2013-2014/]. usada.org
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Revision as of 02:30, 19 September 2015

a fuzzy velvet antler during summer growth

Velvet antler refers to the whole cartilaginous antler in a precalcified growth stage of the Cervidae family including the species of deer, elk, moose and caribou. Velvet Antler is not to be confused with only the velvety "skin" on growing antlers. The entire velvet antler will be covered in hairs and, as the antler has not calcified or finished developing, the tines will still be rounded.

Industry

Most of the world's supply of velvet antler comes from Sika deer, red deer and elk or wapiti, including a large deer ranching industry in New Zealand. New Zealand is the world’s largest producer of velvet, producing 450-500 tons of red deer velvet antler annually.[1] China produces 400 tons of predominantly Sika deer velvet antler annually. Russia produces 80 tons annually. United States and Canada each produce 20 tons annually.[2]

Farming and Ranching

Moose, elk and deer produce new antlers yearly (primarily males, except in caribou/reindeer). In New Zealand, deer are subject to local anesthesia and restrained during antler removal, and the procedure is supervised by licensed veterinarians. [3] [4] Typically, the antler is cut off near the base after it is about two-thirds of its potential full size, between 55 to 65 days of growth, before any significant calcification occurs.[4] The procedure is generally done around June in the Northern Hemisphere and December in the Southern Hemisphere.[5]

Uses

Velvet antler is an drug in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that classifies many similar substances from a variety of species under the simplified Chinese name 鹿茸; (pinyin Lu Rong) and the pharmaceutical name Cervi Cornu Pantorichum. The two common species used within the TCM system are Sika Deer and Red Deer. Within the TCM system it is prescribed by a doctor to a patient in the use to treat yang deficiency syndromes.[6] [7] [8]

sliced velvet antler that will be used in making a traditional Chinese soup

In the West, velvet antler is dried, powdered, and consumed in capsule form as a dietary supplement. In Asia velvet antler is dried and sold as slices. These slices are then boiled in water, usually with other herbs and ingredients, and consumed as tea. In the traditional commercial trade of Korea and China whole stick antler velvet is divided into three sections based upon their accepted benefits. Although there is an absence of uniform standardization, these sections are known as the wax piece or uppers and tips, the blood piece or middles, and the bone piece or bottoms: "the wax piece is used as a growth tonic for children, the blood piece is used to treat arthritis and related disorders", and "the bone piece is used for calcium deficiency and geriatric therapies."[2] [5] [9]

Within the deer antler velvet industry there are three sections used to identify the composition of velvet antler. The tips and uppers are generally from the end to the first fork and are found as any additional tines. The next section is the middles and goes from top fork down the main shaft to the bottom fork and is also found in the same range on advancer branches. Lastly is the bottoms which includes a flattened center section known as the trunk.[2]

Marketing

Since 1999, two companies have attributed illegal and unsubstantiated marketing claims consisting of both medical claims and health benefits to dietary supplements produced from velvet antler. These companies have received warning letters from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concerning the sale of encapsulated powders connected to their marketing claims. These statements were in violation of the United States Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act [21 USC/321 (g)(1)][36] because they "establish the product as a drug intended for use in the cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease" when velvet antler has no such scientific evaluation. Additionally stated by the FDA, velvet antler was "not generally recognized as safe and effective for the referenced conditions" and therefore must be treated as a "new drug" under Section 21(p) of the Act. New drugs may not be legally marketed in the United States without prior approval of the FDA. [10] [11] [12] [13]

Deer Antler Spray Controversy

Velvet antler in the form of deer antler spray has been at the center of multiple controversies with professional sports leagues and famous athletes allegedly using it for injury recovery and performance enhancement purposes. [14] [15] In mid-2011 a National Football League (NFL) player successfully sued a deer antler velvet spray manufacturer for testing positive for methyl testosterone in 2009 in the amount of 5.4 million. [16][17] In August of 2011, Major League Baseball (MLB) added deer antler spray to their list of prohibited items because it contains "potentially contaminated nutritional supplements." [18]

On January 30th 2013, one professional PGA Tour golfer was caught unaware and openly admitted to the personal use of deer antler spray which contained a banned substances at the time. [19] A week later the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) lifted the ban on deer antler spray, but not without urgency, "Deer Antler Velvet Spray may contain IGF-1 and WADA recommends therefore that athletes be extremely vigilant with this supplement because it could lead to a positive test." [20] The consensus opinion of leading endocrinologists concerning any purported claims and benefits "is simply that there is far too little of the substance in even the purest forms of the spray to make any difference." [9]

S.W.A.T.S.

In September, 2013, the headquarters of S.W.A.T.S., an infamous distributor of deer antler velvet spray and other controversial products, was raided and ordered to shut down by Alabama's attorney general citing "numerous serious and willful violations of Alabama’s deceptive trade practices act".[21][22] [23]

References

  1. ^ (2015-09-15)Velvet Pricing and Production Trends. deernz.org
  2. ^ a b c Kamen, Betty PhD and Paul, The Remarkable Healing Power of Velvet Antler, Nutrition Encounter, Novato, California, 2003, p. 12-34
  3. ^ (2015-9-16), Removal, http://www.deernz.org/deerhub/deer-information/antlers/velvet/removal-0#.VfozssKh2M8, deernz.org
  4. ^ a b (2015-9-16), Velvet Antler, http://www.deerfarming.com.au/DFH/DFH18-Velvet_Antler.pdf, deerfarming.com.au
  5. ^ a b Davidson, Alison, Velvet Antler, New Century Publishers, Connecticut , 2000, p. 76
  6. ^ Bensky, Clavey, Stoger, Chinese Herbal Medicine Materia Medica 3rd Edition, Eastland Press, Seattle, Washington, 2004 p. 766-770
  7. ^ Wu, Jing-Nuan, An Illustrated Chinese Materia Medica, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2005 p. 170
  8. ^ Tierra, Michael L.Ac, OMD, AHG and Leslie L.Ac, AHG, Chinese Traditional Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica and Herbal Resource Vol II, Lotus Press, Twin Lakes Wisconsin, 1998 p. 202
  9. ^ a b DiSalvo (2015-9-18). How to Squeeze Snake Oil from Deer Antlers and Make Millions. [1] forbes.com
  10. ^ US FDA (2015-9-18) http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/.../CyberLetters/ucm056971.pdf fda.gov
  11. ^ US FDA (2015-9-18) http://www.casewatch.org/fdawarning/prod/2001/velvet_antler.pdf fda.gov
  12. ^ US FDA (2015-9-18) Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act), http://www.fda.gov/regulatoryinformation/legislation/federalfooddrugandcosmeticactfdcact/ fda.gov
  13. ^ US FDA (2015-9-18)Label Claims for Conventional Foods and Dietary Supplements http://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/LabelingNutrition/ucm111447.htm fda.gov
  14. ^ Adelson (2015-9-18). Yahoo Sports!: Deer antler spray gets a pass, so now what?[2]. yahoo.com
  15. ^ Spector D (2013-05-15). DEER ANTLER SPRAY: The Natural Supplement That Seems Too Good To Be True. BusinessInsider.com.
  16. ^ Associated Press (2015-9-18). David Vobora awarded $5.4M [3]. espn.go.com
  17. ^ Adelson, Watson (2015-9-18). ThePostGame Exclusive: NFL RB Heath Evans Says He Uses Controversial SWATS Spray [4]. thepostgame.com
  18. ^ Fordin (2015-9-18) MLB warns players against deer-antler spray. [5]. mlb.com
  19. ^ Nicholson (2015-9-18). Singh admits using deer antler spray, says he was unaware it was banned. [6]. pga.com.
  20. ^ WADA (2015-9-18). WADA urges vigilance over Deer Antler Velvet Spray. [7]. wada-ama.org
  21. ^ Galloway D (2013-09-05). "Sports Performance Company Ordered to Stop Selling 'Deer Antler Spray,' Other Products". WHNT.
  22. ^ Otano J (2013-09-05). "Ray Lewis' alleged deer antler supplier has office raided in Alabama". SI.com.
  23. ^ .S. Anti-Doping Agency (2015-9-18) Supplement Shutdown [8]. usada.org
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