Moon Bears Caged for 10 Years for their Bile Crystal

Photo of Crystal, the 'Moon' Bear at the Chengdu Sanctuary, courtesy of Animals Asia Foundation.

Please visit www.animalsasia.org

The Chinese 'Moon' Bear, Crystal, sponsored by the WLPA , was rescued from the China Bear Farms by the Animals Asia Foundation and is now living at their Chengdu Sanctuary. She is a small, middle- aged bear with a huge crescent on her chest and fur which is ebony black, shiny and very shaggy. Crystal's front paws are declared. She also had an older style latex catheter - a rubber tube running under the skin from her gallbladder and emerging from her thigh - to make milking bile "easier". With the catheter successfully removed, Crystal has emerged as a gentle, affectionate bear who loves being handfed apples and sunbathing on the grass. Please find out more about the China Bear Rescue at : www.animalsasia.org Each day, hundreds of bears are surgically mutilated for their gall bile on bear farms in China. See: Cruelty In Chinese Bear Bile Farms - The Worst Outrage In the 21st Century?

http://www.visitvancouver.bc.ca/article-bearfarms.asp Surgery Carried Out By Farm Owners. On most farms, surgery to enable bile extraction is carried out by farm owners with no veterinary training. During illness, drugs are sometimes administered, but when they are not effective, bears are commonly left to die.



Chinese specialists in bear farming techniques inform that for every two successful bile fistula implantations, there are another two or three bear deaths due to complications and infections.



During bile milking, the bears show signs of severe distress. Moaning and banging of heads against the cage is common, while some bears were seen to chew their own paws.



Between the ages of five and ten, bears may stop producing bile. They are then put in another cage, where they wait, either until death comes through sickness or starvation, or they are killed for their paws and gall bladders. 9,000 bears are kept for bear bile farming. Recent developments show that approximately 9,000 bears are kept for bear bile farming.



Developments:

The Chinese government has steadfastly refused to bow to public and international pressure to stop this horrendous cruelty and close these farms. In fact, as reported, bears now number 9,000 from 7,002 last year in Bile Farms across China.





Other ways to help

-Tell your Friends! The more people that protest, the better.

-Email your Premiere and the Prime Minister-- ask them, what are they doing to stop this?!

-Write to: The Chinese Ambassador, EMBASSY OF CHINA Bear Bile product availability ...



Over the course of the past three years, WSPA and member societies have surveyed hundreds of shops and companies in eight countries. A wide variety of products were found including manufactured bear bile medicines, bear bile powder, and bear gall bladders. Illegal bear products were most readily available in the U.S. (91%), Malaysia (78%), Japan (77%), and Singapore (74%), closely followed by Canada (67%), Indonesia (62%), Australia (49%) and Taiwan (30%). Is Bear Bile on your shelf or in your diet?

In recent years, there has been a dramatic growth in the production of bear bile products, which has spawned a market for a whole new range of items far removed from the formulations of traditional Chinese medicine. Today, bile is used as an ingredient in shampoo, wine, eye drops and all manner of pre-prepared ointments. In 1999, bottles of bear bile wine were even handed out as gifts for passengers on internal flights. There are many alternatives to Bear Bile

There are many alternatives to bear bile on the market, containing the active constituent found in bear bile: UrsoDeoxyCholic Acid (UDCA). It is estimated that 100,000 kg of synthesised UDCA is already being consumed each year in China, Japan and South Korea, and that the world consumption may be double this figure.



Many Chinese practitioners also state that there are at least 75 herbal alternatives that can replace the use of bear bile.



TAKE ACTION - please help!