Welfare of Animals in the Traditional Medicine Trade in East Asia

Traditional medicine markets in East Asia drive demand for bears, tigers, seahorses, and other species held or killed under severe welfare conditions.

Key Facts

An estimated 12,000 bears are kept in bile farms across Asia, primarily in Vietnam and China
Bear bile is extracted through permanent abdominal catheters causing chronic pain and infection
Tiger bone wine and products drive demand for both wild-caught and captive-farmed tigers
Seahorses are dried alive and sold in millions annually for traditional medicine applications
Substitution campaigns have successfully replaced animal-derived ingredients with plant or synthetic alternatives in some markets

Welfare Considerations

Traditional medicine markets represent one of the most severe ongoing wildlife welfare crises globally. Bears on bile farms live years in crush cages with infected wounds from permanent bile drainage catheters. Tigers are farmed and killed for bone wine. Seahorses are dried alive in the millions. The welfare case for ending these practices is overwhelming. Substitution campaigns that make synthetic or plant-based alternatives widely available have proven effective in reducing demand without requiring purely prohibitionist approaches.

What You Can Do

Never purchase traditional medicine products derived from bears, tigers, seahorses, or other wild animals
Support campaigns promoting synthetic or plant-based substitutes for animal-derived traditional medicine ingredients
Donate to organizations rescuing bears and tigers from traditional medicine farms
Advocate for consumer demand reduction programs in traditional medicine markets