Bile bear

Bear bile and gallbladders, which store bile, are ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Its first recorded use is found in '' (Newly Revised Materia Medica'', Tang dynasty, 659 CE). The pharmacologically active ingredient contained in bear bile and gallbladders is ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA); bears are the only mammals to produce significant amounts of UDCA. The demand for bile and gallbladders exists in Asian communities throughout the world, including the European Union and the United States. This demand has led to bears being hunted in the US specifically for this purpose. ==Methods of bile extraction==

Several methods can be used to extract the bile. These all require surgery and include: • Repeated percutaneous biliary drainage uses an ultrasound imager to locate the gallbladder, which is then punctured and the bile extracted. • Permanent implantation uses a tube entered into the gallbladder through the abdomen. According to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the bile is usually extracted twice a day through such implanted tubes, producing 10–20 ml of bile during each extraction. • Catheterization involves pushing a steel or perspex catheter through the bear's abdomen and into the gallbladder. • The full-jacket method uses a permanent catheter tube to extract the bile which is then collected in a plastic bag set in a metal box worn by the bear. • The free drip method involves making a permanent hole, or fistula, in the bear's abdomen and gallbladder, from which bile freely drips out. The wound is vulnerable to infection, and bile can leak back into the abdomen, causing high mortality rates. Sometimes, the hole is kept open with a perspex catheter, which HSUS writes causes severe pain. An AAF Vet Report states that surgeries to create free-dripping fistulae caused bears great suffering as they were performed without appropriate antibiotics or pain management and the bears were repeatedly exposed to this process as the fistulae often healed over. • Removal of the whole gallbladder is sometimes used. This method is used when wild bears are killed for their bile. It has been estimated that 50–60 per cent of bears die from complications caused by the surgery or improper post-surgical care. ==Housing and husbandry==

Cubs are sometimes caught in the wild and used to supplement numbers held captive in farms. In 2008, it was reported that bear farms were paying the equivalent of US$280 to US$400 for a wild bear cub. To facilitate the bile extraction process, mature bears are usually kept in small cages measuring approximately 130 x 70 x 60 cm. ==Welfare concerns==

International concern about the welfare of bile bears began in 1993. Other physiological indicators of stress and potentially reduced welfare include growth retardation and ulcers. One survey of 165 bears removed from a farm showed that (out of 181 free-drip bears), 163 (90%) had cholecystitis, 109 (66%) had gallbladder polyps, 56 (34%) had abdominal herniation, 46 (28%) had internal abscessation, 36 (22%) had gallstones, and 7 (4%) had peritonitis. Many of the bears had a combination of these conditions. Behavioural indicators Academic sources have reported that bile bears exhibit abnormal behaviours such as stereotypies, lethargy, anxiety, and self-mutilation. Longevity and mortality Farmed bile bears live to an average age of five years old whereas healthy captive bears can live up to 35 years of age and wild bears for between 25 and 30 years. ==Legislation==

China In 1994, Chinese authorities announced that no new bear farms would be licensed and in 1996, issued a special notice stating that no foreign object was allowed to be inserted into a bear body. No bears younger than 3 years of age and lighter than 100 kg were to be used for bile extraction, and bears could be confined in cages only during the time of bile extraction. The authorities required the adoption of the free-drip method which necessitates the creation of an artificial fistula between the gallbladder and the abdominal wall by opening a cut into the gallbladder. In 2006, the Chinese State Council Information Office said that it was enforcing a "Technical Code of Practice for Raising Black Bears", which "requires hygienic, painless practice for gall extraction and make strict regulations on the techniques and conditions for nursing, exercise and propagation". However, a 2007 veterinary report published by the Animals Asia Foundation (AAF) stated that the Technical Code was not being enforced and that many bears were still spending their entire lives in small extraction cages without free access to food or water. The report also noted that the free-dripping technique promoted in the Technical Code was unsanitary as the fistula was an open portal through which bacteria could infiltrate the abdomen. The report also stated that surgeries to create free-dripping fistulae caused bears great suffering as they were performed without appropriate antibiotics or pain management and the bears were repeatedly exposed to this process as the fistulae often healed over. The free-dripping method still requires the bears to be prodded with a metal rod when the wound heals over and under veterinary examination, some bears with free-dripping fistulae were actually found to have clear perspex catheters permanently implanted into their gallbladders. In addition to the suffering caused by infection and pain at the incision site, 28% of fistulated bears also experience abdominal hernias and more than one-third eventually succumb to liver cancer, believed to be associated with the bile-extraction process. South Korea In South Korea, bear farming was declared illegal in 1992. However, it was reported in 2008 that over 1,300 bears were still on 108 farms where farmers were hoping that legal farming would resume. and made a commitment to phase out bear farming. In 2008, there were still 3,410 bears on farms in Vietnam. ==Alternative sources==

There are two alternative sources for bile from farmed bears, i.e. wild bears and synthetic sources. Wild bears Bile from farmed bears is considered inferior to bile and gall from wild bears. Implications for conservation 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. Government officials see farming as a reasonable answer to the loss of wild bears from poaching and are insouciant about animal welfare concerns. However, the government's agreement to allow the rescue of 500 bears may represent a softening of this stance. Earthtrust reported in 1994 that demand for bear parts from South Korea and Taiwan was one of the greatest threats to bear populations worldwide. Due to partnerships between some South Korean travel companies and South Korean bear farmers, 'bear bile tourism' from the country has reportedly helped fuel the farming industry in China and Vietnam. World Animal Protection reported in 2002 that Japan's demand for bear bile remained at a level of at least 200 kg per year which in theory would require 10,000 bears killed to be satisfied. Legislation and enforcement for bear products in the country has also been lacking. A 2015 report indicated that the illegal trade in bear bile and gallbladder for traditional medicine is open and widespread across Malaysia and is potentially a serious threat to wild bears. In a survey of 365 traditional medicine shops across Malaysia, 175 (48%) claimed to be selling bear gallbladders and medicinal products containing bear bile. Some supporters of bile bear farms argue, "Wildlife farming offers, at first glance, an intuitively satisfying solution: a legal trade can in principle be created by farming animals to assuage demand for wild animals which thus need not be harvested." Nonetheless, bears continue to be hunted in the wild to supply the bile farms. A survey in 2000 reported that almost all of the farms in the study supplemented their captive population of bile bears with wild-caught bears. Poaching in the United States In the late 1980s, US park rangers began finding bear carcasses missing only gallbladders and paws. Initially, it was considered that occasional hunters were the cause, but investigations uncovered evidence that large commercial organizations were dealing in poaching and smuggling. During a three-year operation (Operation SOUP) ending in 1999, 52 people were arrested and 300 gallbladders seized in Virginia. Another investigation in Oregon led police to bring racketeering charges against an organisation that poached an estimated 50 to 100 bears per year for a decade. It was estimated in 2008 that in North America, 40,000 American black bears are poached illegally for their gallbladders and paws each year. It was estimated in 2008 that 100,000 kg of synthetic UDCA was already being used each year in China, Japan and South Korea, and that the total world consumption may be double this figure. In May 2024, Kaibao reported to investors that the approval process for its "artificial bear bile powder" has been delayed by recent law changes, in that additional clinical trials need to be approved and executed. Kaibao has been granted three separate Chinese patents on this topic: a 2013 application on a mixture of tauroursodeoxycholic acid with goose bile powder, a 2014 application on treating goose bile powder with 7α-HSDH and 7β-HSDH enzymes, and a 2016 application on treating goose bile powder by fermenting with a bacterium engineered to produce the two HSDH enzymes. ==Statistics==

Wild population The world population of Asiatic black bears decreased by 30% to 49% between 1980 and 2010. Although their reliability is unclear, range-wide estimates of 5–6,000 bears have been presented by Russian biologists. Rough density estimates without corroborating methods or data have been made in India and Pakistan, resulting in estimates of 7–9,000 in India and 1,000 in Pakistan. Unsubstantiated estimates from China give varying estimates between 15,000 and 46,000, with a government estimate of 28,000. The government sees farming as a reasonable answer to the loss of wild bears from poaching. However, the government's agreement to allow the rescue of 500 bears may represent a softening of this stance. China has been found to be the main source of bear bile products on sale throughout South-East Asia; this international trade in their parts and derivatives is strictly prohibited by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. In 2010, there were approximately 97 establishments in China keeping bile bears. In 2013, estimates of bears kept in cages in China for bile production range from 9,000 to 20,000 bears on nearly 100 domestic bear farms. In 2022, the number of bears on South Korean farms had declined to 322 animals in 20 farms. Project Moon Bear, a South Korean nongovernmental organization (NGO) has been campaigning to end bear farming in the country. In 2022, the South Korean government, associations of bear farmers, and NGOs announced a joint declaration to end bear farming by 2026. In Laos in 2011, bear bile was selling for 120,000 kip (US$15) per ml, half the average monthly wage of 240,000 kip. A 2019 survey of locals in Luang Prabang found that although attitudes towards bears and conservation were generally positive, awareness of cruelty in the bear farms was lacking, with 43.7% of respondents regarding bile consumption sourced from bear farms as acceptable. Vietnam A 2019 survey published by the Claremont Colleges of 206 older Northern Vietnamese locals found that roughly 44% of respondents knew at least one other person who had used bear products from farms in the past year, compared to 55.33% of those who did not. 8.72% of respondents listed protecting bears as one of the reasons a person would not use such products, compared to roughly 21% who listed quality or preferring different medicine as reasons. ==Bile products==

The monetary value of the bile comes from the traditional prescription of bear bile by doctors practicing traditional medicine. Bear bile contains ursodeoxycholic acid. It is purchased and consumed to treat hemorrhoids, sore throats, sores, bruising, muscle ailments, sprains, epilepsy, reduce fever, improve eyesight, break down gallstones, act as an anti-inflammatory, reduce the effects of overconsumption of alcohol, and to 'clear' the liver. Some South Korean bear bile farmers in the same year advertised that their products could also help with the coronavirus, drawing criticism from local animal rights groups. Efficacy Scientific studies have found components of bear bile to have some anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, or hepatoprotective effects. The active ingredient in bear bile is ursodeoxycholic acid. Ursodeoxycholic acid has been shown to exert anti-inflammatory and protective effects in human epithelial cells of the gastrointestinal tract. It has been linked to regulation of immunoregulatory responses by regulation of cytokines, antimicrobial peptides defensins, and take an active part in increased restitution of wound in the colon. Moreover, UDCA's effects has been shown to have exert actions outside the epithelial cells. Bear bile has been shown in studies to be able to get rid of gallstones or dissolve them in the gallbladder. Due to controversy around the use of bear farming to obtain bile, synthetic sources for ursodeoxycholic acid are currently being worked on and investigated. Scientists in China have been working on synthetic forms of bile products, so that scientists need not use animal sources for bile. In this way, it is hoped that in the future, bile can be created in methods that do not involve animal cruelty. Cost In 2011, the overall worldwide trade in bear parts, including bile, was estimated to be a $2 billion industry. Gallbladder In 1970, 1 kg of bear gallbladder cost approximately US$200, but by 1990 the price had risen to between US$3,000 and US$5,000 per kg. In 2009, the market price for legally sold gallbladders in Hong Kong had risen to between US$30,000 and US$50,000 per kg. In 2002, the pricier bear galls in Japan were reported to be selling for as much as US$83 per gram, and were either sourced domestically, or from Tibet or China. A report published in 2013 stated that a poacher in North America can usually get US$100 to $150 for a gallbladder, but the organs can fetch $5,000 to $10,000 in the end-market once they are processed into a powder. The report also stated that the HSUS indicated a bear gallbladder can cost more than $3,000 in Asia. A TRAFFIC report estimated that prices for whole gallbladders were as low as $51.11 (Myanmar) and as high as $2,000 (Hong Kong SAR). For gallbladder by the gram, the least expensive was $0.11 per gram (Thailand) and the highest was $109.70 per gram (Japan). Raw bile and bile powder Raw bile can sell for as much as US$24,000 per kg, about half the price of gold. There is huge profitability in the trade of bile powder. In 2007, while the wholesale price of bile powder was approximately US$410 per kg in China, the retail price increased from 25 to 50 fold in South Korea, and to 80 fold in Japan, i.e. US$33,000 per kg. Pills Pill prices ranged from as low as $0.38 per pill (Malaysia) to $3.83 per pill (Thailand). and in the US, approximately $1 per pill, which is an average price between the two countries. ==Businesses==

In 2010, the Guizhentang Pharmaceutical company was one of the most successful bile extraction companies in China, paying some 10 million yuan in taxes. In 2012, the company tried to go public in the Shenzhen stock exchange and proposed to triple the company's stock of captive bears, from 400 to 1,200. and protesters. It was followed by a number of controversies along with public interviews. The company responded with demonstrations of the extraction process where the bears seemed unconcerned by the procedure, in an attempt to counter the allegations its business was cruel. ==See also==