Traditional Asian medicine has been using bear bile for thousands of years to cure a myriad of ailments. In the United States, doctors prescribe medicine containing ursodeoxycholic acid (a chemical found in high concentrations in bear bile) to treat biliary and liver disorders. Research is also being done on the effects UDCA has on heart attacks, Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s disease, strokes, spinal cord injuries, and eye ailments.
While the proven benefits of Ursodeoxycholic Acid are numerous, with potential for even more uses, there is a downside to this wonder drug. The demand for bear bile treatments in Asian countries and cultures has led to a cruel and thriving business in bear farming.
Before the 1980’s, Asian countries were killing bears in the wild to extract their bile. This was seriously damaging the bear populations, and not supplying enough bear bile to meet the demand, so the Chinese government began to encourage bear farming.
Inside the Bear Farms
The World Society for the Protection of Animals estimates that over 12,000 Asian Black bears are being kept inside bear farms throughout Asia for the purpose of extracting their bile. Life inside a bear farm is full of suffering and angst. Bears are kept in cages that are too small to allow any movement. They are trapped in these cages for years, suffering from infections, starvation, mental health issues, head injuries, and tooth problems from biting the bars out of frustration.
During one visit to a bear farm, Jill Robinson, founder and CEO of Animals Asia Foundation, described seeing, "wounds three feet along where they (the bears) had grown into the cage bars, and gaping, infected holes from where crude metal catheters protruded."
The bears are kept immobile by the cages so that the painful bile extraction process, also called ‘milking', can be performed with less difficulty. To extract the bile, plastic or metal shunts are inserted through the abdomen of the bear to drain the bile. Farmers are also using the new ‘humane’ option suggested by the Chinese government, free dripping. With the free dripping method, a permanent hole is carved into the bear’s abdomen and left open so the bile can constantly drip out. If the hole closes up, a red-hot catheter is inserted to re-open the wound, without the use of anesthetics. The majority of the time, these surgical procedures are not performed by veterinarians and often lead to infections, illness, and death.
When the bears are no longer useful, they are left to die of starvation.
Alternatives to Bear Bile
The bear bile trade is a booming market, however there are alternatives that make this trade, and the inhumane bear farming, obsolete.
In the United States, pharmaceutical companies are mass-producing Ursodeoxycholic by breaking down chemicals taken from gall bladders obtained from slaughterhouses. Medical professionals argue that this method keeps the chemical clean and pure, while the bear bile coming from bear farms can contain impurities such as pus and dead skin. This method also protects bears from being used for their bile.
With safer, and more humane options, many practitioners of traditional Asian medicine are moving away from bear bile. Even with these changes, the bear bile trade is far from being extinguished.
For those who want to help put an end to bear farming and the bear trade, there are ways to help:
- Educate others about the bear bile trade, alternatives to bear bile, and bear farming.
- If you use traditional Asian medicine, make sure there are no bear products and encourage your practitioners to use alternatives.
- Write letters to the government in countries where bear farming is prevalent
- Write letters to politicians to ask them to support national laws and oppose the bile trade
- Support organizations that are combating bear farming.
 |
 |
