Bear Bile Farming

Why bear bile?

Bear bile is used in Traditional Chinese Medicine as a remedy for a variety of ailments including fevers, epilepsy, inflammation, and as a detox for livers or kidneys (Feng et al, 2009). 

How is bear bile harvested?

It is harvested by confining the bears to cages so small that they are unable to move around, and therefore won’t affect the extraction process. The extraction itself involves painful procedures such as inserting a syringe into the gallbladder to extract the bile by hand; using a the fistula technique where the bile is drained from the gallbladder out of the body with a tube; or the fake technique where a catheter is inserted to the gallbladder, held in place by a combination of an internal bulb, and wire attached to nearby tissue. Bile then drains out of the open wound at its own pace (Kikuchi, 2010).

Fig 1. shows a visual comparison between fistula and fake techniques for extracting bile (Kikuchi, 2010)

Where are these bears coming from?

The bears used in these farms are often taken from the wild, either illegally or with permission granted from the government (Livingstone & Shepherd, 2014). Either way, this impacts the diversity of the ecosystem by removing a substantial number of individuals from an already low population. Bears are also bred in farms as alternative to being caught wild in order to reduce the demand for poached bears (Dutton, Hepburn & Macdonald, 2011), however it does not address the ethical dilemma of the pain and extraction procedures, or the conditions the bears are kept in. While the number of on-record bear bile farms has barely risen between 2008 and 2012, the number of bears has increased dramatically (Livingstone & Shepherd, 2014).

What is being done to help these bears?

Scientists are experimenting with sustainable alternatives to satisfy Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners without causing pain or ecological harm to bears, including synthetic acids to replicate bile, and natural alternatives such as Chinese herbs or other plant matter (Feng et al, 2009). 

The laws throughout Asia at this stage are somewhat lacking in terms of animal welfare, and appear to have been designed to protect the interests of humans over animals. Most countries in the region lack solid legislation to verify what is and isn’t legal, making it easy for bear bile farms to continue operations. Updating legislation as well as enforcing it will be a gigantic job, but one that it essential to ending this trade.

Almost every country adheres to the international CITES agreement, which is possibly the bears' best chance in terms of legislation at the moment. CITES provides a worldwide standard that most countries have voluntarily agreed to meet in regards to the trade of wildlife (Convention of International Trade of Endangered Species, n.d. a). Asiatic black bears and sloth bears are noted in Appendix I (Convention of International Trade of Endangered Species, n.d. b) which details the endangered species most threatened with extinction (Convention of International Trade of Endangered Species, n.d. c) and restricts the trade to those granted a special permit (Convention of International Trade of Endangered Species, 1983).

 

Asiatic Black Bear Exiting Pool (Hush, 2015)

The current situation for bears in the bile farming trade is grim, but there are ways you can help! Read on to our next post to find out how.

References

Appendices n.d. b, Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna, viewed 22 April 2015,

Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna 1983, Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna, viewed 22 April 2015,  

Dutton, A J, Hepburn, C & Macdonald, D W 2011, ‘A Stated Preference Investigation into the Chinese Demand for Farmed vs. Wild Bear Bile’, PLoS ONE, vol. 6, no. 7, pp. 1-10, viewed 20 April 2015, Primo by Ex Libris Search, EBSCOhost, DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0021243.

Feng, Y, Siu, K, Ning, W, Ng, K M, Tsao, S W, Nagamatsu, T & Tong, Y 2009, ‘Bear bile: dilemma of traditional medicinal use and animal protection’, Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, vol. 5, no. 2, Primo by Ex Libris Search, EBSCOHost, DOI 10.1186/1746-4269-5-2. 

Hush, L 2015, Asiatic Black Bear Exiting Pool [Photograph], In possession of: The author: Hush.

Kikuchi, R 2010, ‘Captive Bears in Human Welfare Conflict: A Case Study of Bile Extraction on Asia’s Bear Farms’, Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, vol. 25, pp. 55-77, viewed 22 April 2015, Primo by Ex Libris Search, EBSCOhost, DOI 10.1007/s10806-010-9290-2.

Livingston, E & Shepherd, C R 2014, ‘Bear farms in Lao PDR expand illegally and fail to conserve wild bears’, Oryx, vol. 1, pp. 1-9, Cambridge Journals Online, DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0030605313001014.

The CITES Appendices n.d. c, Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna, viewed 22 April 2015,

What is CITES? n.d. a, Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna, viewed 22 April 2015,  

Wildlife Alliance n.d., Wildlife, viewed 27 April 2015