Sun bears are the smallest bear species and among the least known to the public. Their welfare in zoos and their dire situation in the wild both deserve greater attention and advocacy.
Sun bear welfare spans a spectrum from excellent rehabilitation programs to appalling bear bile farming conditions. In bear bile farms, sun bears and Asiatic black bears are caged in tiny crush cages and subjected to ongoing bile extraction through abdominal catheters or surgically created fistulae — causing chronic pain, infection, and psychological suffering across lifetimes. This represents one of the most severe industrial animal welfare abuses documented. In zoological settings, sun bears require arboreal environments with climbing structures, natural substrate for digging and foraging, pools for bathing, and enrichment that challenges their extraordinary tool-using intelligence. Social housing in compatible pairs or small groups is beneficial. Conservation education through sun bear exhibits, combined with campaigns to end bear bile farming and the illegal bear trade, links zoo programs directly to wild population welfare.