Bear Bile Farming Welfare and Alternatives

Bear bile farming subjects bears to severe chronic suffering for a substance with available plant-based alternatives, making abolition the only welfare-positive outcome.

Key Facts

An estimated 10,000-20,000 bears are kept in bile farms in China, Vietnam, and South Korea
Farmed bears have catheters or fistulas implanted that allow continuous bile extraction, causing chronic pain and infection
Animals Of Farthing Wood syndrome describes the psychological deterioration of bears confined in extraction cages for decades
Ursodeoxycholic acid used medically in bile has a synthetic alternative available at comparable cost
Vietnam has committed to eliminating bear bile farming; progress has been inconsistent

Welfare Considerations

Bear bile farming causes extreme chronic suffering - the combination of permanent catheterization or fistula, extreme spatial confinement, inability to perform any natural behavior, chronic pain and infection, and complete social deprivation creates conditions of comprehensive welfare failure. Individual bears can spend 10-25 years in extraction cages. The welfare harm is irreducible by any management modification - it is inherent to the extraction process. The existence of synthetic and plant alternatives means bear bile farming causes extreme suffering for no necessary purpose.

What You Can Do

Never purchase traditional medicine products containing bear bile
Support Animals Asia and other organizations working to rescue farmed bears and end bile farming
Advocate for international pressure on governments retaining bile farming to enforce abolition commitments
Share information about synthetic alternatives to bear bile with users of traditional medicine
Support rehabilitation sanctuaries providing recovered bears with lifetime care