Protest against bear farming

October 20, 1993
Issue 

By Margaret Bowman

SYDNEY — On September 28 more than 40 people demonstrated outside the Chinese consulate here in a protest, organised by the World League for Protection of Animals, against the cruel farming of Asiatic or "moon" bears in China.

A US government agency has reported that since the mid-1980s bear farming has become a major industry in China. Although these bears have been declared a protected species by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, the Chinese government has listed them in Class II under its own animal protection legislation, which allows government-approved trade.

The bears are taken from the wild to spend the rest of their lives in tiny cages being "milked" for their bile, which is used in "magical" remedies. A tube is surgically connected to the bear's gall bladder, with a tap attached. Every fortnight the bile is extracted by means of this tap. The bear cries out, claws wildly and goes into spasms.

The bears suffer greatly, as the presence of the tube and tap causes chronic inflammatory fibrosis and long-term pain. Many bears show psychotic behaviour by chewing claws and inflicting head wounds.

The paws of living bears are also amputated for gourmet soup, which can fetch up to $400 a bowl. There are now reportedly 8000 bears so farmed.

One bear farm owner revealed that for each bear, a US$1000 permit is required from the government. China has a huge internal demand for bear gall bladder and bile, and caters as well for a tourist trade from Hong Kong and Taiwan. A single spoonful of bile will fetch $70. In Australia a shop in Sydney's Chinatown offered a bear's gall bladder for $3000 in June this year.

Evidence of this barbaric practice was obtained on film by the International Fund for Animal Welfare and was shown on three television networks in Australia. IFAW also reported that the Chinese Government is encouraging the business and plans to increase the "farming" five time over, to 40,000 bears.

This exposure has provoked public outrage and has led to letters of protest and petitions to the Chinese Embassy. So far there has been no response.
[The writer is a member of the World League for Protection of Animals.]

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