Malayan sun bears face threats from deforestation and the wildlife trade. The Free the Bears and BSBCC organizations rescue bears from captivity and work toward wild population protection.
Bile farm sun bears endure among the most severe welfare conditions documented in any farming context. Confinement in tiny "crush cages" prevents any natural movement; bile extraction procedures cause chronic abdominal pain; and psychological trauma from isolation and confinement produces severe stereotypic behaviors that persist even after rescue. The bile farming industry relies on consumer demand for traditional medicine products for which effective synthetic and herbal alternatives exist. The rescue and rehabilitation of individual bears from bile farms is both a direct welfare intervention and a conservation contribution — each rescued bear that recovers sufficiently represents a potential contributor to wild population genetic diversity.