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| Crystal, the 'Moon' Bear at the Chengdu Sanctuary, courtesy of Animals Asia Foundation. |
Bear bile extraction from farmed bears is widely considered to be one of the worst forms of systematic animal cruelty in the world. On bear bile farms throughout Asia, Asiatic black bears – known as moon bears because of the crescent-shaped marking on their chests –
are held in “crush cages”, smaller than the average phone booth, for their entire lives to deliver traditional Eastern medicine.
The bears are held in metal cages and forced to remain prone – unable to even stand or move – to have bile crudely and painfully extracted from their gall bladders through either implanted steel catheters or crude free-dripping holes in their abdomens.
There are some estimated 10,000-13,000 of the “vulnerable” Asiatic Black Bear (or Moon
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| Crush cage. Photo courtesy animals Asia Foundation |
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| Catheter surgically implanted into gall bladder. |
On the other hand, the Chinese consider bear farms a way to reduce the demand on the wild bear population. 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 way to protect wild bears from poaching. The successes of farming crocodiles in reducing the poaching of wild crocodiles for their skins is held up as justification for bear bile farms. The Chinese government had supported farming for conservation purposes since 1980, and the practice quickly spread to Viet Nam, South Korea, Laos and other Asian neighbors.
Nevertheless, bears are still hunted in the wilds to supply the bile farms with fresh animals as animals succumb to their tortured lives. The poor health and horribly filthy conditions preclude captive breeding. Even worse, research has shown that consumers of bear bile have a strong preference for bile produced from wild bears.
What’s So Special About Bear Bile?
Bear bile contains high levels of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) known to be useful for treating liver and gall bladder conditions. It is a traditional Chinese remedy to shrink gallstones, improve vision, cure fevers— and, more recently, neutralize hangovers. It is also
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| Surplus bear bile products. |
The increased supply of farmed bile, and the harvest’s reliability, has only escalated demand. Indeed, a surplus of bear bile is being produced, so bile is now used in many non-medical products, like bear bile wine, shampoo, toothpaste and cosmetics. Since bear farming began in China in the early 1980’s, bear bile has been aggressively promoted as a cure-all remedy for whatever ails.
Bear Bile Farming is Now Irrelevant
However, there are now many readily available herbal and synthetic alternatives that deliver the same medicinal properties. Today, pharmaceutical-grade UDCA is collected from slaughterhouses, then refined and marketed under trade names such as Ursosan, Ursofalk,
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| Small vials of fresh bear bile sell for less than US$2.00 in Viet Nam. Photo courtesy of EPA/Barbara Walton |
A 2011 poll by Animals Asia Foundation found that a staggering 87% of Chinese people disagree with the cruel practice of bear bile farming. As public awareness grows, there has been growing outcry from the people of China to end this cruel practice. In fact, according to AAF, “20 of China's 31 provinces have become proudly bear farm-free.”
Jill Robinson and the Animals Asia Foundation
That brings us to the amazing Jill Robinson, CEO of Animals Asia Foundation, and the story of her quest to help the bears. Born and raised in England, she had hoped to be a veterinarian until it was apparent her school grades were not adequate. She worked as a
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| Jill and rescued bear cub. |
There she worked as an assistant to a neighbor, David Dawson, Asia coordinator of the International Fund for Animal Welfare. She accompanied him on field trips to South Korea, China and the Philippines, where they investigated the wild animal trade and the food trade in cat and dog meat. Working with Dawson she learned a key lesson: making a fuss about a problem without understanding the local culture was patently ineffective. To really improve the conditions for animals it was essential to win the understanding and involvement of local people— by understanding them.
In 1993, Robinson visited her first bear bile farm in China, and the horrors she witnessed moved her to take action. Her first instinct was to draw public attention to the problem. She visited another farm and sent photos and video footage of the caged bears to the International Fund for Animal Welfare's UK office. The fund's publicity machine swung into action. Television screens and newspapers from Sydney to London showed scenes of bears lying forlornly in their iron prisons. Protests flooded in to IFAW offices worldwide.
Solving the problem, however, would take years and a thorough understanding of the odds against her in order to devise the appropriate strategy for success. Robinson learned that:
- bear farming was encouraged by the Chinese government. To succeed she would have to persuade high-level officials to reverse their policies. As a Western woman could she persuade them even to listen to her?
- bear bile was a highly prized ingredient of traditional Chinese medicine. She would have to learn enough about Chinese medicine to seek out acceptable substitutes.
- the captive bears couldn't simply be released in the wild. Many, maybe even thousands of bears would need care for the rest of their lives: she needed land for a sanctuary and the funds to maintain it.
Eventually Robinson received help from Hong Kong businessman and politician David Chu, who had been disturbed by the news reports of the cruel practices. He introduced her to Sally Banks, wife of Tony Banks, an IFAW supporter and British MP over lunch at Hong Kong's Foreign Correspondents' Club. Robinson told them she was looking for land in China to establish a sanctuary for rescued bears. Chu, an animal lover, was moved by the bears’ plight. An experienced politician, he wasn't hopeful the inflexible Chinese government would reverse policies promoting bear farming any time soon, but he was able to offer land for a sanctuary.
Meanwhile, Robinson had left International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) to establish the Animals Asia Foundation. With its primary operations in Asia and with fund raising and education bases in Germany, Australia and the UK, she believed the foundation would have more credibility in Asia.That was 1998.
In July 2000, Jill and the Animals Asia Foundation signed a breakthrough agreement with
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| Ricky and Joey play in Animal Asia's Chengdu sanctuary, courtesy of Animals Asia Foundation |
Jill Robinson currently divides her time between living in China with the bears, living in Hong Kong with her five cats and four dogs, staying on site at the secondary bear sanctuary in Vietnam, and giving presentations on Animals Asia’s work around the world.
Robinson's work and tenacity over 30 years has garnered increasing international recognition, including an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) from Britain's Queen Elizabeth. Over the years she has given hundreds of presentations and has been interviewed on CNN, GMTV, BBC News and NPR.
The Chengdu China bear rescue operations- the largest rescue of its kind- is hugely expensive. The sanctuary for 500 bears costs some US$3 million per year. It costs $600 to feed each bear, and that does not include medical treatment or facility expenses. For further information, visit www.animalsasia.org or write to: Animals Asia Foundation, P.O. Box 82, Sai Kung Post Office, Hong Kong.
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