Bile bear
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A bile bear or battery bear is the term used for Asiatic black bears kept in captivity in Vietnam and China so that bile may be extracted from them for sale as a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). [1] The bears are also known as moon bears because of the cream-colored crescent moon shape on their chest.[1] The Asiatic black bear, the one most commonly used on bear farms, is listed as vulnerable on the World Conservation Union’s (IUCN’s) Red List of Threatened Animals.
Contents
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•1 Extraction methods
•2 Living conditions
•3 Numbers
•4 Bile trade
•5 Pharmacology
•6 Notes
•7 References
•8 See also
•9 Further reading
Extraction methods
Latex catheter
In a crude surgical procedure, a latex catheter is implanted into the bear’s abdominal wall and gall bladder, where the bile is stored. This method allows 10 and 20 ml of bile to be tapped from each bear twice daily, but is liable to clogging.
Metal jacket
A rubber catheter drains the bile into a fluid bag attached to the bear via a metal jacket. At up to 10kg in weight, this crude device is locked in place for years at a time, leading to infection, hairloss and painful irritation for the bear.
Metal catheter
Similar to the latex catheter method, the bears are forced to lie flat on the bottom of cage for more effective ‘milking’. Often a metal ‘crush’ forces the bears to remain in the flat position permanently, in some cases for years at a time.
Free Drip
A supposedly more humane method, instead of a catheter, a permanent hole or fistula is punched in the bear’s abdomen and gall bladder, from which bile can freely drip out. This open wound is, unsurprisingly, highly liable to infection.
Living conditions
To facilitate the bile milking process, the bears are commonly kept in cramped extraction cages, also known as crush cages. While this allows for easier access to the abdomen, it also prevents the bears from being able to stand upright, and in some extreme cases, move at all. Living up to twenty-five years in this extreme confinement, results in severe cases of mental stress as well as severe muscle atrophy.[2] The World Society for the Protection of Animals reports that investigators saw bears moaning, banging their heads against their cages, and chewing their own paws. The mortality rate is high. Bears in bile farms suffer from a variety of physical problems which include loss of hair, malnutrition, stunted growth, muscle mass loss and often have teeth and claws extracted.[3] When the bears stop producing bile after a few years, they are usually killed for their meat, fur, paws and gall bladders. Bear paws are considered a delicacy.
Population figures for the Moon bears in China are causing concern, with estimates ranging from 50,000 to as low as 16,000. Some estimates put the total Asia-wide population as low as 25,000.
There are estimated to be 4,000 bile bears in Vietnam, where their bile can sell for 100,000 dong (~ US.25) a millilitre (with 37,500 dong a week regarded as the poverty line for an urban resident), and around 9,000 bile bears in China. The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) conducted a study in 1999 and 2000, and estimates that there are 247 bile-bear farms in China, holding 7,002 bears, [1] though the Chinese government has called the figures "pure speculation." [2]
In July 2000, Animals Asia Foundation, a Hong-Kong based charity, signed an agreement with the Chinese government to remove 500 endangered Moon Bears from the worst bile farms in Sichuan province, and work towards ending the practice. Today, the China Bear Rescue has placed 219 previously farmed Moon Bears at a Sanctuary in Chengdu, and is helping to advance the concept of animal welfare in China.[3]
The Chinese consider bear farms a way to reduce the demand on the wild bear population. Officially 7,600 captive bears are farmed in China. According to Chinese officials, 10,000 wild bears would need to be killed each year to produce as much bile.[4] The government sees farming as a reasonable answer to the loss of wild bears from poaching, and at the same time claim insouciance regarding the cruelty issues that concern Western animal rights activists. However, the government’s agreement to allow the rescue of 500 bears may represent a softening of this stance.[4]
Bile trade
The monetary value of the bile comes from the traditional prescription of bear bile by doctors practising traditional Chinese medicine. Bear bile contains ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), which is believed to reduce fever, protect the liver, improve eyesight, break down gallstones, and act as an anti-inflammatory. The high demand for the bile has led to the introduction of intensive farming of bears. Because only minute amounts are used in traditional Chinese medicine, a total of 500 kg of bear bile is used by practitioners every year, but according to WSPA more than 7,000 kg is being pr