South Korea Considers Banning Vile Bear Bile Farms

Great news from WSPA and Green Korea United (GKU), it looks hopeful that South Korea will put an end to bear bile farming, aiming to have a policy in place by the end of 2010, provided it can secure enough support from the relevant authorities.

The South Korean government should be applauded for taking this huge step forward, as South Korea is one of a handful of countries that still farm bears for bile, using horrific and gruesome methods to house the bears before they are slaughtered to extract the bile. This age old method is still in place despite many other herbal alternatives.

Throughout Asia, around 12,000 bears are housed in tiny cages, resting on bars for their entire life. Naturally, the bears are showing signs of psychological distress; bar biting, rocking and head banging. To extract the bile, which is thought to cure a range of diseases, the bears, depending on the country are either:

1. Raised in a cage until a certain age, and then killed and the gall bladder removed.

An Entire Bear Gall Bladder. Source: www.acres.org.sg

2. An ultrasound machine is used to locate the gall bladder and a syringe is inserted in the area, and the bile removed.

Bear with 'Modern' method of extracting bile. Source: Animals Asia

3. An open wound leading to the gall bladder is created and a catheter is inserted to let the bile drip out. In order to maintain this method, the wound needs to be reopened several times a day.

Catheter Used to Extract Bile. Source: www.all-creature.org

The conditions of the bear farms actually means that instead of working as a medicine, bear bile can actually cause harm to those who take it, due to the unhygienic conditions the bears are kept in, and the methods used to extract it.


WSPA reports that there are 1,400 bears currently being farmed in South Korean bear farms, where, unlike most other bear bile farming countries, in South Korea it is illegal to extract the bile while the bears are alive, instead the bears are kept in cramped cages until they reach ten years and are then slaughtered and the bile extracted.

If the South Korean government does push ahead for a ban, then it will provide hope, not only for the bears housed in the farms, but for all those who are working in the exhausting field of ending bear bile farming. The government actually informally asked WSPA and GKU to investigate feasible methods to phase out farming in the country, a positive and progressive sign.

Not only is bear bile consumed in the countries with farms, but the bile and the gall bladders are illegally imported to countries all over the world, including Singapore.

If you use traditional medicines, please ensure that your practitioner does not use any endangered animals in their products, including tiger parts or bear bile. If you live in a country that does not farm the animals, then they would have been imported, which is illegal and against CITES. If you do live in a country that farms, ask for herbal alternatives. Once the buying stops, the killing stops.

Trade in Endangered Animals Still Rife in South East Asia

More news from TRAFFIC; a live tiger cub was found concealed in a woman’s luggage at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport on Sunday. The tiger was sedated and hidden amongst stuffed toy tigers.

Airport staff suspicions were aroused when the bag went through the sensors and the x-ray showed an image of a cat’s beating heart and other organs. Tests of the tiger DNA are currently being conducted to determine the tiger’s origin and sub species, which will determine whether it was wild caught, or captive born.

Tiger Cub Found at Bangkok's Airport, Sulma Warne-TRAFFIC

While over in Vietnam, a massive seizure of wildlife from restaurants was conducted by the Lam Dong Forest Protection Department (FPD). A huge co-ordinated campaign involving over 100 officers from the province investigated restaurants suspected of selling illegal wildlife based on results from a survey that found that 44 restaurants and 33 Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCM) shops (representing 68% restaurants and 21% TCM shop visited) were serving wildlife.

Civets Found During the Raid. ZooNews Digest

A huge number of animals and animal parts were found, over 300kg of meat from animals including civets, pangolins, porcupine, mouse deer, bear paws, clouded leopard, short-clawed otter, leopard cat, binturong, and small Indian civet. These animals were destined to end up on the plates of customers at the restaurants.

Langurs and Other Animals Seized. ZooNews Digest

The two findings this week indicate that the illegal wildlife trade is still going strong in South East Asia, and with the tiger heading for Iran, the trade is not just staying in South East Asia. Although it is fantastic that the raids occurred, and the staff at the airport were quick witted enough to spot the tiger amongst the toys, it shows that people will still try to smuggle animals, dead or alive, and will continue to poach them unless something is done to really act as a preventative.

Plight of the Pangolin - 8,000kg of Pangolin Carcass and Scales Seized

Chinese police and TRAFFIC have reported that 8,000kg of frozen pangolins have been seized from a boat off their southern coast. The cargo found amounts to 2,000 frozen, de-scaled pangolin carcasses, as well as 92 cases of pangolin scales. The boat was found in June, and the penalty for smuggling an endangered animal, such as some species of pangolin, is either a prison sentence or the death penalty. The crew of the boat have confessed that they were ordered to sail from China to two meeting points, where they received the cargo. They were on route to an undisclosed location in South East Asia.

Descaled and frozen pangolins found in previous raids. CREDIT: TRAFFIC

Pangolins are protected species and international trade is prohibited under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Two (Chinese Pangolin and Sunda Pangolin) of the four Asian species found are classified as endangered by ICUN.

There is a high demand for pangolin scales as they are ground up and used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), although the scales are made from the same substance as our hair and nails, keratin. Eating pangolin scales for medicinal purposes, is about as effective as eating your own fingernails.

The meat is considered a delicacy, it, and sometimes the whole body, is used in soup. Although it is not on the menu, if you know who and how to ask it is possible to order it. It is this illegal trade that is dramatically reducing the number of pangolins in South East Asia.

There is general lack of awareness amongst Asians as to the plight of the pangolin, these scaly anteaters are shy and nocturnal, many people have never seen this elusive animal. Governments need to educate the public on the plight of the pangolins, and be more stringent in their checks on cargo in order to cease the trade and strengthen conservation efforts.