Over 15,000 moon bears, sun bears & brown bears are held in torturous captivity on illegal farms in Asia to have bile extracted from their gall bladders for profit. It contains high levels of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) known to be useful for treating liver conditions in humans. The bile is used in traditional medicine, in common products like toothpaste & promoted as a cure for multiple ailments already served well by the pharmaceutical industry. Over 30 herbal alternatives to bear bile are already available. The demand for bear bile products comes mainly from China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia & Taiwan.
The extraction of bear bile from live bears causes unimaginable physical & psychological suffering. A number of extraction techniques exist. Invasive & traumatic. Range from the ‘free drip‘ method where the bear suffers a hole in their gall bladder which is continuously re-opened, to the insertion of permanent catheters, to extracting bile through a needle. Bears live in tiny cages on bile farms. Most farmed bears are starved & dehydrated to encourage bile production. Because of the unnatural & unhygienic conditions, bears suffer from multiple diseases that ultimately kill them.
Please generously donate to change the world for thousands of bears who are in desperate need of our help.