Bear farming is a despicable practice performed cruelly against defenseless, caged animals to remove bile their body produces. The victims in this inhumane bear farming enterprise are Asiatic Black Bears, also called Moon Bears. Some captive Moon bears remain imprisoned their entire life. The cages are only slightly larger than the bears, with no room to move around. The bears must lie flat, rubbing their skin raw against the bars, in agony for years.

Moon Bears get their name from the distinct golden crescent displayed on their black furred chest. Bears are the only mammal to produce large amounts of bile. Bear bile has been used in Chinese medicine for thousands of years.

The Chinese believe the bear bile expels heat from the body. You may say, then it is a medical benefit for humans. A synthetic version of bear bile has been available for decades. It is as effective, readily available, and COST LESS to manufacture than the bear bile extracted through bear farming. Herbal remedies have also been developed.

After bear farming produces a surplus of bear bile for medicinal purposes, it is sold for use in cosmetics. Bear bile is used in other products such as shampoos, skin cream, and wine.

The bear farmers are not veterinarians; they are not skilled in performing surgery. They insert metal catheters into the bear’s gall bladder through its stomach. The bears must suffer the punishment of their gall bladder being drained and milked twice a day.

Under unsanitary conditions, the open wound that bear farming causes can become infected. When a bear struggles from the pain and mistreatment, his teeth are knocked out and his paws cut off. Bear paw is considered a delicacy in Asian countries.

China outlawed poaching native bears in the 1980’s. Bear farming evolved from their ‘model concept’ of conservation. Here is their ‘thinking’ in a nutshell. [An appropriate sized receptacle] Bears were becoming endangered from poaching to sell their body parts. “Let’s start bear farming; we won’t have to hunt down the dangerous bears. We will pen them in tiny cages, at our disposal. Never mind that they are breathing, living creatures. We are protecting their numbers by keeping them here. Meanwhile, to earn their keep, we will painfully extract unnecessary body fluids on demand. Who cares, they are only animals.”

New scientific studies have revealed animals do have emotions, build relationships, and bear grudges. Anyone with a heart and has a pet, knows this. Reports by witnesses to the bear farming practices say the bears moan and bang their head on the cages in pain from the injuries inflicted on them.

Bear farming is taking place in an estimated 208 bear bile farms in China. Researchers believe more than 12,000 bears are kept on bear farms in China, Vietnam, and South Korea.

The World Society for the Protection of Animals [WSPA] has invented a kit that will detect the presence of bear tissue in medicines and other consumer goods. [Remember the recalls from 2007] Trade in bear products is prohibited. ‘Positive test results detected bear meat, blood, dried and fresh galls, teeth, bones, skin, and fur in Chinese medicines.’

Moon bears are a close relative of the American black bear. Let’s do all we can to help.