Traditional medicine practices that use animal parts contribute to wildlife trafficking and cause significant animal suffering globally.
Bears on bile farms experience some of the most severe captivity-related suffering documented in any farmed animal: permanent confinement in cages too small to stand or turn in, repeated invasive extraction procedures, and complete denial of natural behaviors. The suffering is compounded by the fact that effective synthetic alternatives to bear bile exist and are accepted by many practitioners. Consumer education and demand reduction campaigns have proven effective for some traditional medicine ingredients.