![]() ![]() They also contended that farmed bile was necessary for meeting medical demands, and that bear farms in China were self-sustaining without the need to source cubs from the wild. The Chinese Government disputed this research, claiming that farming helped curtail poaching. The motion to phase-out bear farming tabled at the 2012 IUCN Congress in Jeju, Republic of Korea, stemmed from research which suggested that the wide availability of farmed bear bile may have stimulated, rather than reduced, use of wild bear bile. ![]() However, farming has faced intense scrutiny, especially for animal welfare reasons, because it has often been poorly managed and regulated, involving husbandry that adversely impacts the animals’ health and precludes captive reproduction. Bear farming, where bile is repeatedly extracted from live, captive animals, was intended to provide a legal supply of bile that would act as a substitute for the bile from poached wild bears. The illegal trade in bear gallbladders (containing bile) has become a major threat, especially to Asiatic black bears ( Ursus thibetanus) in China and Southeast Asia. It is rich in ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), which has proven medicinal properties. Bear bile is a traditional medicine ingredient used in several Asian countries, dating back over 1,300 years. ![]()
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