Bear Farms in China

During 1999 and 2000, the World Society for the Protection of Animals conducted a comprehensive study into bear farms in China.

WSPA's research revealed how at farms across China, bears are surgically mutilated and so their gall bile can be extracted. These animals endure the most appalling levels of cruelty and neglect. Measures taken in recent years to improve conditions in Chinese bear farms are unsatisfactory as they do not address the basic animal welfare problems.

WSPA's research also shows that bear farming continues to jeopardise the survival of bears in the wild. In South East Asia, black bears are captured and sold to bear farms, while the vigorous marketing of bear bile products around the world has put a price on the head of every living bear.

For the past 3,000 years, Traditional Medicine (TM) has prescribed derivatives of bear gall bile for medicinal purposes. Bear bile contains an active constituent known as UrsoDeoxyCholic Acid (UDCA), which on ingestion is believed to reduce fever and inflammation, protect the liver, improve eyesight and break down gallstones. Over the last 20 years, the marketing of and resulting demand for bile products has led to the introduction of the intensive 'farming' of these wild animals. WSPA's study revealed that in 2000 there were 247 bear farms across China, housing an estimated total of 7,002 bears. While TM utilizes a total of 500 kg of bear bile every year, over 7,000 kg is now being produced. Bear bile has begun to show up in a wide range of non-medicinal products such as bear bile wine and shampoo.

The Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was established by the United Nations to regulate the trade in wildlife. The agreement came into force in 1975, and to date, 150 countries have signed the treaty. All bear species in South East Asia are designated as Appendix I, which prohibits virtually all forms of international trade in animals, body parts or products derived from them.

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