Bear Welfare

Bears: Who They Are

Bears are among the most intelligent and emotionally complex of all mammals. They have excellent long-term memories, solve complex problems, and show sophisticated social behaviors in some species. Bears have distinct personalities — researchers working with bears consistently describe individual quirks, preferences, and temperaments. They engage in play behavior well into adulthood and show clear signs of boredom, frustration, and pleasure.

Bears are largely solitary animals but form strong mother-cub bonds; cubs stay with their mothers for 1–3 years, learning survival skills. In captivity, the deprivation of space, social isolation (for non-social species), and inability to express natural behaviors causes documented psychological suffering — stereotypic behaviors (repetitive pacing, head-swaying) that are rarely seen in wild bears but are nearly universal in poorly-managed captive bears.

Bear Bile Farming: The Most Severe Captive Bear Welfare Issue

Bear bile farming is one of the most extreme forms of animal exploitation. It involves keeping bears in captivity to extract bile from their gallbladders for use in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and other traditional medicine systems.

        Bile Extraction Methods
        "Crush cages" (historical, still used in some facilities): Bears kept in cages so small they cannot stand or turn around. Bile is extracted through a permanent catheter surgically implanted in the gallbladder, or through a "free-drip" wound kept open with a tube. Bears may spend their entire lives — up to 30 years — in these conditions.
"Free-drip" method: An open wound is maintained in the bear's abdomen with a metal tube. The bear must be immobilized or held in a crush cage for extraction. Infections are common and typically go untreated.
Surgical catheter: A permanent tube from gallbladder to abdomen is surgically implanted. Bears experience chronic pain, infections, and organ damage.
"Humane" jackets: Some newer Chinese facilities market themselves as more humane, using a vest-like device that allows bears slightly more movement while enabling bile extraction. Welfare researchers note that the fundamental suffering — captivity, repeated extraction, inability to hibernate — remains.

      

Scale: Estimates suggest 12,000–20,000 bears are kept on bile farms in China, Vietnam, South Korea, and Laos — primarily Asiatic black bears (moon bears) and sun bears. China has the largest industry.

Medical justification: Bear bile contains ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), which has genuine medical uses for certain liver conditions. However, synthetic UDCA has been available since 1955 and is equally effective, widely available, and inexpensive. There is no medical necessity for bear bile farming. Campaigns for synthetic substitutes are a key part of the advocacy strategy.

Legislative Progress on Bile Farming

🇻🇳 Vietnam

Vietnam banned new bear registrations in 1992 and commercial bile extraction in 2005. Animals in Motion (Animals Asia) and other organizations have worked to retire bears to sanctuaries. The number of farmed bears in Vietnam has fallen from ~4,000 in 2005 to fewer than 400 by the early 2020s — a significant success story.

🇨🇳 China

China's bear bile industry remains active despite some regulatory pressure. There are approximately 20+ licensed bear farms in China. COVID-19 led to temporary restrictions on wildlife trade, but bile farming was explicitly exempted. The industry has received backlash from Chinese domestic consumers and social media.

🇰🇷 South Korea

South Korea allowed the killing of farmed bears older than 10 years for parts. A long-running campaign by Korean and international organizations worked to end this practice. Most Korean bear farms have been closed or converted as younger bears age out of the program.

🏢 Animals Asia

Animals Asia Foundation has been the most active organization on bear bile farming, operating sanctuaries in China and Vietnam that have rescued hundreds of bears. Their "end bear farming" campaign targets both farm closures and TCM industry reform.

Dancing Bears: A Tradition Ending

The practice of keeping bears for street performance — making them "dance" for money — was once common across South Asia and Eastern Europe:

India: Brown bears and sloth bears were trained from cubs by nomadic communities, their lips pierced with a ring for a rope used to control them. At peak, an estimated 1,200 dancing bears existed in India. Following campaigns by Wildlife SOS and others, India officially ended the practice — the last known dancing bear was rescued in 2009, a historic welfare achievement.
Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey: Brown bears in these countries were subjected to similar practices. Through partnership with FOUR PAWS and local organizations, most countries have ended the practice with the last dancing bears rescued and retired to sanctuaries.
Pakistan: Bear-baiting (pitting bears against dogs, which are called off before death) persists in parts of Pakistan. WSPA and local organizations have campaigned against the practice but face significant cultural resistance.

Bears in Roadside Zoos and Private Ownership

Beyond bile farming, bears suffer in other captive contexts:

Roadside zoos: Many bears in the US are kept at substandard roadside facilities with concrete floors, no enrichment, and minimal space. The USDA inspects licensed facilities under the Animal Welfare Act, but minimum standards for bears have been criticized as inadequate.
Private ownership: Some US states allow private ownership of bears. "Backyard bear" situations — often involving bears obtained as novelty cubs — create welfare disasters when the animals mature.
Russia and Eastern Europe: Brown bears are kept at restaurants, resorts, and private facilities across these regions, often in severely inadequate conditions. The FOUR PAWS Russian bear sanctuary has rescued dozens of such bears.
Bile bear sanctuaries: Organizations including Animals Asia (China, Vietnam), WSPA, and Animals Asia have established sanctuaries where rescued bears from bile farms can live in naturalistic conditions. Bears rescued from bile farms often show severe physical and psychological damage but can recover significantly in sanctuary environments.

Trophy Hunting of Bears

Bears are hunted for trophies in North America, Russia, and Romania:

Black bears are hunted legally in most Canadian provinces and many US states. An estimated 40,000–50,000 black bears are killed by hunters annually in North America.
Grizzly bears were delisted from US Endangered Species protections in 2017, opening the door to trophy hunting in some states — a decision challenged in courts and reversed by 2018
Bear baiting — using food to attract bears for easier killing — is practiced and controversial in some jurisdictions
Russian brown bears are targeted by international trophy hunters, with welfare concerns similar to those in other trophy hunting contexts

What You Can Do

🐻 Avoid Bear Bile Products

Refuse products containing bear bile, bear gallbladder, or bear-derived ingredients. Synthetic UDCA alternatives are available for the legitimate medical uses of ursodeoxycholic acid.

💰 Support Animals Asia

Animals Asia Foundation runs the most active sanctuaries and campaigns for ending bear bile farming. Their Vietnam success demonstrates that campaigns can work.

🏥 Promote Synthetic Alternatives

When discussing bear bile farming, emphasize that synthetic UDCA is readily available, cheaper, and equally effective. Removing the "necessity" argument is key to changing TCM practitioner behavior.

🦅 Support FOUR PAWS

FOUR PAWS operates bear sanctuaries globally and campaigns against dancing bears, bile farming, and roadside zoo conditions. Their track record on dancing bear elimination demonstrates campaign effectiveness.