Bear Bile Farming Welfare Crisis

The severe welfare impacts of bear bile farming and the global movement to end this practice through advocacy and alternatives.

Key Facts

An estimated 20,000 bears are kept on bile farms across Asia, primarily in China and Vietnam
Bile extraction involves catheters or implanted devices causing chronic pain and infection
Bears on bile farms develop severe physical and psychological pathologies
Synthetic and plant-based alternatives to bear bile exist for all traditional uses
Moon bears are the most commonly farmed species, listed as vulnerable to extinction

Welfare Considerations

Bear bile farming causes profound suffering. Bears are confined in small cages for their entire lives, subjected to repeated invasive extraction procedures, and denied all natural behaviors. Physical conditions including peritonitis, liver cancer, and joint problems are widespread. The practice has no justification when effective synthetic alternatives are available. International advocacy combined with traditional medicine practitioner engagement has reduced but not eliminated the practice.

What You Can Do

Support organizations like Animals Asia that rescue bears from bile farms
Avoid products containing bear bile and choose synthetic alternatives
Contact your government representative to support trade restrictions on bear bile products
Educate others about bear bile farming and available alternatives