Bear Welfare: Baiting, Bile Farming and Dancing Bears

Bears face welfare threats including bile farming in Asia where bears are caged for bile extraction, bear baiting in parts of the world, and the traditional practice of dancing bears, each representing severe and prolonged animal suffering.

Key Facts

Approximately 10,000-12,000 bears are held in bile farm cages in China and Vietnam, often in crush cages preventing movement
Bear bile is extracted through catheter or open wounds on the abdomen, causing chronic pain and infection
Bear baiting, in which bears are tethered and attacked by dogs, remains practised in parts of Pakistan despite legal prohibition
Free The Bears and Animals Asia have rescued over 2,000 bile farm bears since 1994
Dancing bears were historically common across Europe and Asia, with bears trained through pain from cubhood; the practice has now been largely eliminated in India and Turkey

Welfare Considerations

Bear bile farming represents one of the most sustained and severe forms of captive animal welfare abuse. Bears in crush cages cannot stand, turn, or perform any natural behaviour for years. Bile extraction through catheters or open abdominal wounds causes chronic infection, pain, and psychological distress in animals capable of complex emotional lives. The bears show stereotypic behaviours, self-directed aggression, and psychological trauma. Bear bile has synthetic alternatives available, making the practice economically unnecessary. Sanctuaries for rescued bears show that, given time, appropriate care, and space, bears can recover substantially from even extreme welfare trauma.

What You Can Do

Support Animals Asia Foundation which campaigns for and operates bile bear rescue in China and Vietnam
Avoid any products containing bear bile, which may be labelled as bear gallbladder or xiongdan in Chinese medicine products
Donate to Free The Bears which rescues and rehabilitates bears from bile farms and the illegal wildlife trade
Advocate for stronger enforcement of bear bile farm closure commitments by the Chinese and Vietnamese governments