Wild Animals

Bear Baiting and Bear Bile Farming: Global Welfare Crisis

Bear baiting remains practiced in parts of Pakistan while bear bile farming confines thousands of Asiatic black bears in crush cages to extract bile, causing lifelong suffering.

Key Facts

An estimated 12,000 bears are farmed for bile in China and Vietnam
Bear bile farming typically uses crush cages or catheters causing chronic infection and pain
Pakistan hosts bear baiting events despite a 2001 national ban
Bears show severe psychological distress including stereotypic behaviors in bile farm conditions
Bear bile contains ursodeoxycholic acid now synthesized cheaply in laboratories

Welfare Considerations

Bears in bile farms experience multiple overlapping welfare harms including confinement in devices preventing movement, chronic infection from extraction catheters, physical pain, and profound psychological distress. Bears are intelligent animals with complex behavioral needs that are entirely unmet in bile farm conditions. Synthetic alternatives make bear bile farming medically unnecessary.

What You Can Do

Support organizations rescuing bears from bile farms and providing sanctuary care
Avoid purchasing traditional medicine products containing bear bile
Advocate for enforcement of bear baiting bans through diplomatic channels
Donate to animal welfare organizations working on bear bile farming prohibition
Support synthetic ursodeoxycholic acid as a replacement in traditional medicine contexts