Animals Asia
September 2017
Across Asia, over 14,000 moon bears are being held in captivity on farms and milked for their bile because its believed to be effective in the practice of traditional Asian medicine despite the availability of inexpensive and effective herbal and synthetic alternatives.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World
Conservation Congress, the world's largest and most important conservation
event has today passed a resolution addressing the issue of bear bile
farming.
Across Asia, over 14,000 moon bears are being held in captivity on farms and
milked for their bile because its believed to be effective in the practice
of traditional Asian medicine despite the availability of inexpensive and
effective herbal and synthetic alternatives. In China, the bears can spend
more than 30 years in tiny cages and are milked regularly for their bile
through crude catheters or permanently open holes in their abdomens.
The resolution encourages Korea and Vietnam to continue their efforts
towards ending bear farming and calls for states that practice bear farming
to work with the IUCN to close down illegal bear farms (those that do not
comply with regulations) , issue no further licenses or permits for farms,
prevent an increase in bear numbers on existing farms, ensure no wild-caught
bears are added to farms, conduct research into bear bile substitutes, and
to establish a monitoring system to track trends in wild bear populations.
Importantly, the resolution calls for a scientifically independent,
peer-reviewed situation analysis into whether all these points have been
followed -- most notably, how bear farming affects the conservation of wild
bears. A report will be made to the next World Conservation Congress in
2016, possibly prompting further action at that time.
Jill Robinson MBE, Dr.med.vet. h.c., Founder & CEO, Animals Asia commented:
"The bear bile industry has been put on notice by the international
community that its effects on wild bear populations are now under scrutiny
and we hope to see the monitoring process beginning soon. With the
conservation aspect now being fully addressed in the public arena, we are
determined to continue exposing the welfare reality for thousands of bears
held captive for decades on farms, with their bile extracted through open
wounds cut into their gall bladders. We look forward to the day this
suffering ends."
An explanatory statement from the Bear Specialist Group of the IUCN states
that the group had: "reached the conclusion that commercial bear-farming
does not constitute sustainable use. Even if farms could be made
self-sustaining (by no longer restocking with wild-caught bears), the
increased demand for wild bile created by the surplus of farmed bile has
fueled the over-exploitation of wild bears.
"Wild bear populations are declining dramatically, due mainly to poaching,
throughout the range where bear-farming occurs, and some local populations
have been extirpated. Indeed, the decline of bear species in countries where
bear-farming is taking place is much more rapid than in any other part of
the world."
Held every four years, the World Conservation Congress aims to improve how
we manage our natural environment for human, social and economic
development. The 2012 World Conservation Congress started on 6 September and
finishes tomorrow, in Jeju, Republic of Korea. Attendees are leaders from
government, the public sector, non-governmental organisations, business, UN
agencies and social organisations.
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