Welfare of Animals Used in Traditional Medicine

Traditional medicine practices globally consume wildlife including bears, tigers, rhinos and sharks, causing immense welfare harm and driving population declines.

Key Facts

Bear bile farming holds over 12,000 bears in Asia; bile is extracted through permanently inserted catheters
Rhino horn, tiger bone and pangolin scales are among the most traded wildlife products in traditional medicine
Seahorse populations have declined dramatically from traditional medicine demand
CITES listings partially restrict trade but enforcement in consumer countries is inadequate
Synthetic alternatives for most traditional medicine applications have been scientifically validated

Welfare Considerations

Bears on bile farms endure permanent catheter implantation causing chronic pain, infection and psychological distress from lifetime confinement in crush cages that prevent movement. Pangolins caught for scale trade die in transit at high rates from stress and inappropriate handling. Seahorses dried alive for traditional medicine products suffer acute distress. The welfare harms across traditional medicine-consumed species are among the most severe in any wildlife trade context.

What You Can Do

Refuse all traditional medicine products containing wildlife derivatives
Support Animals Asia Foundation, Born Free and other organisations working on bear bile farming
Advocate for demand reduction campaigns in Vietnam, China and other major consumer markets
Donate to development of synthetic and plant-based alternatives to wildlife traditional medicine ingredients