Sun bears are kept in severely restrictive conditions on bile farms across Southeast Asia, enduring chronic pain from surgical bile extraction devices in one of the most widely condemned animal welfare practices globally.
Bears on bile farms endure multiple simultaneous welfare harms. Permanent confinement in crush cages causes muscle atrophy, joint problems, and psychological breakdown manifested in stereotypic rocking and self-harm. Extraction devices cause chronic infection, pain, and abdominal scarring. Bears often develop liver cancer and other diseases from the extraction process. Animals may spend their entire lives in these conditions. Bear bile farming is legal in China despite widespread domestic and international condemnation. Rescue organizations including Animals Asia and Free the Bears operate sanctuaries that rehabilitate bears released from farms, though recovery is often partial given years of traumatic confinement.