The Horrors of Bear Farming Right now, at least 12,000 bears are suffering in Asia. They are held captive in tiny "crush cages" the size of their bodies in shocking conditions.
So they can approach bears without fear of injury, farmers often mutilate bears by breaking their teeth and pulling out their claws, sometimes brutally removing whole digits. Cubs grow into the bars as their bodies mature, immobilized in an iron corset.
These bears are farmed needlessly for the bile contained in their gall bladders which is used to make Traditional Asian Medicine. The pain of the daily extraction can last for hours and makes the bears shiver continuously.
Their reality is a lifetime of torture and agony-it's a living hell.
FAQs
Why is Become Known Involved? After learning about this horror, how can we not be? We are volunteering and using our PR skills to help spread the word to save these bears and end cruel bear farming and bear baiting forever.
Many people in the United States work on important local animal rescue efforts, and we feel it's also important to work on animal welfare around the globe.
Easy to View Cartoon Video PSA
Bear farming cartoon like PSA (public service announcement) for gentle viewing with Dr. Katrina Warren
Why do we Include Videos? We include videos on this site to inform and spur people to action who need more information, and/or convincing, to sign the petition and/or make a donation to the nonprofits working to rescue bears. Raising awareness is not enough, we need people to take action and do something, that's the only way to stop this horror.
Says Animals Asia founder Jill Robinson, "I know that some of these images are difficult to witness but please do not turn away from them. We must see and understand what is happening to these bears in order to truly help them."
Why Should People in the USA Help?
To prevent them from struggling during the "milking" process, bears are totally constrained within wire cages, called "crush cages", the size of their bodies. Bears like Saskia, since rescued, are terrified as they spend up to a lifetime in barbaric cages like this where they can't move. Photo credit Animals Asia.
Irwin was nicknamed "Hagrid". His huge body was crammed into an impossibly small cage. Just try to imagine this poor bear having to live his entire life crammed into a cage smaller than his body. Irwin had a malignant, invasive inoperable and painful tumour, so he was euthanised before his condition could worsen. Photo courtesy Animals Asia. .
Bear gall bladders and bear bile products were found on sale in Traditional Asian Medicine (TAM) shops across the United States according to the new report" From Cage to Consumer", by the World Society for the Protection of Animals. This report uncovers evidence of the ongoing illegal trade in bear bile products.
Results of Global Investigation
15% of stores surveyed are selling bear bile in United States.
Results of U.S. Investigation-Percentage of Stores Surveyed Selling Bear Bile
Boston 50%
Chicago 27%
New York City 20%
Seattle 14%
San Francisco 12%
Los Angeles 4%
Washington D.C. 0%
Portland, OR 0%
Highlights From U.S. Investigation
Illegal bear products were found for sale in 6 of 8 U.S. cities examined: Boston, New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Seattle.
The bears may be thousands of miles away, but the people of the United States are the heroes these bears desperatley need. Every bear has the right to a cruelty free and humane life, no matter where they reside. The good news is that there are at least 54 cruelty free alternatives to bear bile.
BEAR FARMING
"It's a torture chamber, it's a hell hole for animals. As you can see, they literally can't move, they can't stand up, they can't turn around, they can just about put their paws out of the cage to feed themselves."
Animals Asia Founder and CEO Jill Robinson
"It's a torture chamber, it's a hell hole for animals..." Animals Asia Founder and CEO Jill Robinson
ARTICLE
"Freeing China's caged bile bears" From the San Francisco Chronicle Jill Robinson's life was forever changed when she stole away from her tour group on a Chinese bear bile farm and descended a flight of stairs to a dark basement, where she saw the dim outlines of cages.
"I actually didn't understand what I was seeing at first," Robinson says. "Then it made me sick to my stomach."
Dozens of bears, kept alive only for their bile, were trapped in cages so small they couldn't move, their bellies spiked with crude, dirty, often- infected devices to allow the farmers to "milk" their bile twice a day and sell the fluid secreted by the liver as medicine. Suddenly, one of the bears reached a paw out of its cage. Unaware that moon bears, an endangered Asian black bear species named for the yellow crescent on its chest, are among the most aggressive of bears, Robinson spontaneously grabbed the animal's paw and held it. She marvels that she still has her arm...Read the entire article "Freeing China's caged bile bears".
The Horror of Bear Farming Under-nourished and highly stressed from horrific pain and confinement, the bears lie in agony, in their own filth. They endure this torture for up to 25 years. Try to imagine it.
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Extreme Suffering These poor animals have endured years of extreme suffering, trapped in barbaric, tiny cages, unable even to turn around. They don't even have free access to water and are deliberately starved, because hungry bears produce more bile.
Medieval Torture Devices Many bears are kept in metal jackets – barbaric devices with sharp metal spikes poking into the bear's necks to stop them bending their heads, and straps and strips of metal restricting their limb movements. The jackets also have a permanent catheter running from inside the bear's abdomen to a pouch under the jacket to make bile removal easier for the farmer.
Be an Activist To paraphrase Director Louie Psihoyos, who says in the film The Cove, "You are either an activist or an inactivist." So do something important this week, watch this movie and then look in the mirror and ask yourself - which one am I?" And if you are so inclined, take action.
Warning! Some videos below contain disturbing graphic images and sounds of bears in distress.
Videos
Bear Farming
Stop Bear Farming (video above)
Animals Asia Moon Bear Rescue.
Interview with Jill Robinson, Founder of Animals Asia.
Heartwarming story about the rescue of Snoopy, the Moon Bear. With Jill Robinson, Founder of Animals Asia.
Moon Bear Rescue: A decade on...
The Moon Bear Story. With Jill Robinson, Founder of Animals Asia.
The Good News
For the very first time the South Korean government is considering a phase out of bear bile farming. The WSPA is talking to the South Korean Government about a way forward to end this cruel industry. By signing the petition near the top of the page, you are helping show the South Korean government there is much support to end bear farming.
From the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) website: WSPA is working to end this suffering by ending bear farming in Asia. In February 2005, WSPA secured an historic agreement with the Vietnamese authorities in which the government stated its commitment to end bear farming in Vietnam. WSPA has agreed to help them with their ongoing public awareness campaign and national micro-chipping program.
WSPA has funded a Vietnamese Wildlife Crime Hotline which is being run by our member society Education for Nature (ENV). Radio, television and print advertising for the WSPA-funded hotline are clear: the bear bile trade is based on extreme cruelty and buying or selling products made from bears is illegal. This is getting real results for bears - tapping into public determination to stop the bear bile trade, tip offs have led to bears being removed from bear farms.
Jackie Chan PSAs In addition to the Vietnamese ads, actor Jackie Chan has teamed up with WSPA to produce 30-second television public service announcements (PSAs) in Mandarin and Cantonese to spread awareness of this issue.
When Animals Asia rescued Oliver, he way laying on his back and bore indentations of a hedious barbaric full metal jacket around his torso. The staff noticed something strange about the way he was lying, and about his body. He had dwarfism, a condition related to years in cages as limbs are not able to grow.
Oliver suffered unimaginable horror for 30 years caged on two bear farms. The Animals Asia staff was looking at a creature that had all but given up.
He was close to death on the journey back to the Animals Asia sanctuary, but through emergency surgery on the road, and the help of the Chinese Police, he pulled through and is now enjoying his twilight years at the Animals Asia Sanctuary. Please help bears like Oliver and support Animals Asia China Bear Rescue. Add Links to your Website or Blog Link to the WSPA to help stop bear farming with these free Web banners
BEAR BAITING
Bear baiting is possibly the world's most savage blood sport.Teeth and claws removed, bears are tied to a post and set-upon by trained fighting dogs. All in the name of entertainment.
Warning! The videos below contain disturbing graphic images and sounds of bears in distress.
Videos
Bear Baiting
Help stop cruel bear baiting
The Good News From the World Society for the protection of Animals (WSPA) Website:With the full commitment of the Pakistani government, the chances of ending bear baiting is very high. WSPA is pleased to report increased efforts by the Pakistani Government and wildlife officials, but more action is still needed.
WSPA is seeking to form a Memorandum of Understanding to ensure that all leads are followed and acted upon, confiscations are made and that any confiscated bear is released into the WSPA-built Kund Park sanctuary.
WSPA's work has helped to reduce the number of bear baiting events held; opposition to the fights is increasing, but there is still much work to be done.
