Bear Welfare: From Factory Farming to Habitat Loss

Bears face multiple welfare threats: bile farming, habitat destruction, trophy hunting, and the exotic pet trade. Understanding bear cognition and welfare needs is essential for effective protection.

Key Facts

Approximately 20,000 bears are currently held in bile farming operations across Asia
Bile farming involves permanent catheterisation or open wounds to extract bile from living bears
Bears are highly intelligent animals with large home ranges — captivity causes severe psychological distress
Stereotypic pacing and self-mutilation are common in bears kept in inadequate conditions
Habitat loss and fragmentation are the primary threats to wild bear populations globally
Trophy hunting of bears continues in several countries with limited population monitoring
The black market exotic pet trade captures bear cubs annually, almost always involving adult bear killing

Welfare Considerations

Bears experience complex emotions and have sophisticated cognitive abilities. The conditions of bile farming — permanent restraint, chronic pain, and complete behavioural deprivation — represent some of the most severe documented animal welfare violations. But welfare concerns extend beyond farming to roadside zoos, baiting practices, and even so-called sanctuary facilities that keep bears in inadequate conditions. Wild bears are increasingly forced into human-wildlife conflict zones as habitat shrinks, leading to lethal control of animals that are behaving naturally.

What You Can Do

Never purchase bear bile products or traditional medicines containing bear-derived ingredients
Support sanctuaries rescuing bears from bile farming like Animals Asia and Free the Bears
Advocate for complete bans on bear bile farming and trade through international campaigns
Oppose trophy hunting of bears in countries where it remains legal
Support bear-human coexistence programmes that use non-lethal conflict deterrents