Bear Baiting and Bear Welfare Persecution

Bear baiting and related forms of deliberate animal persecution inflict extreme suffering and persist in parts of the world despite widespread condemnation.

Key Facts

Bear baiting — chaining a bear and setting dogs to attack it — was banned in Britain in 1835 but continues in Pakistan
The World Animal Protection estimates several hundred bears are used in baiting events in Pakistan annually
Dancing bears were common across South and Eastern Europe; India declared the practice illegal in 1972
Most dancing bears had their canine teeth removed and nose rings inserted without anaesthesia in infancy
Bear bile farming confines Asiatic black bears in crush cages for decades to extract bile through abdominal fistulas
Moon bear bile farming is practised in China, Vietnam, Laos, and South Korea — an estimated 12,000 bears remain in farms
Animals Asia Foundation has rescued over 700 bears from bile farming operations since 1998
Dog-baiting events in Pakistan using captive brown bears have been documented as recently as 2023

Welfare Considerations

Bears subjected to baiting, dancing, or bile farming experience lifelong suffering compounded by multiple types of harm: physical injury from attacks or abdominal devices, psychological trauma from captivity and forced performance, and social deprivation for highly intelligent animals that in the wild range over hundreds of kilometres. Rescued bears from bile farms commonly show stereotypies, self-directed trauma, and severe physical deformities from years in crush cages. Welfare intervention requires both legal prohibition and community engagement — in Pakistan, baiting events are embedded in cultural traditions, and sustainable change requires providing alternative livelihoods alongside enforcement.

What You Can Do

Donate to Animals Asia Foundation for bear bile farm rescue operations
Support World Animal Protection campaigns targeting bear baiting in Pakistan
Never purchase bear bile products or traditional medicines containing bear-derived ingredients
Advocate for trade sanctions on countries that permit bear bile farming
Share documentation of bear welfare persecution to build international pressure for change
Support ecotourism projects that provide economic alternatives to bear exploitation