Bears
"We've all heard about aerial hunting of wolves in Alaska and other questionable hunting practices, but none can compare to the blatant atrocities committed against America's black bear population. Forget hunting for sport, or food. These are the worst kind of profiteers: poachers who roam America's forests slaughtering black bears merely to remove and sell their gallbladders! It is time to protect these majestic creatures from this unacceptable horror. Congress must put an end to the trade in bear parts."
— Rife Sibley, who played a bear poacher and bear parts smuggler in the film The Honeysting
Stop the Trade in Bear Parts
Bear gallbladders and bear bile are used in Asia and Asian communities in the United States to create medicines and luxury cosmetic items and toiletries such as shampoos and even hemorrhoid creams. Bear paws are also used in high-priced bowls of soup, known to fetch hundreds of dollars per serving.
Sadly, these bear parts are obtained through inhumane and illegal methods. Bears are often poached, their abdomens sliced open, the gallbladders removed, and the bodies left to rot. In China and Southeast Asia, endangered Asiatic black bears are incarcerated in small cages and a steel catheter is used to "milk" them for their bile. When they stop producing viable quantities of bile, they are usually killed.
There are synthetic alternatives to using bear parts, as well as dozens of herbal substitutes that would still conform to traditional Chinese medicinal practices.
The trade in bears is a global problem, that not only affects North American bears, but also the highly endangered Asiatic black bear and other imperiled bear species.
Born Free USA is working to protect all bears affected by this ghastly trade. Find out more, and help our important work to stop the trade in bear parts.
I. Read more about the threats to bears
- "Bears on the Brink" in Encyclopedia Britannica's online Advocacy for Animals
- "Throwing Caution to the Wind" in Animal Law
II. Learn more about the use of bear bile and bear gallbladders
III. Stop the killing of bears for their parts
- State-by-state
A majority of states prohibit the bear parts trade; a small minority allow it; and others allow internal sale if the bear was killed outside the state. Currently, apprehension of bear poachers or bear parts smugglers is very difficult, and prosecution is even harder. If caught, offenders often claim that the bear part or product came from one of the minority of states that allows unfettered trade. It is difficult to scientifically prove otherwise. To see your state's law, click here.
And contact adam@bornfreeusa.org if you would like to help campaign for a change to the laws in your state.
- Nationally
The Bear Protection Act, recently introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, prohibits the import, export, and interstate trade of bear gall bladders and bile. The legislation is narrowly crafted, not to impede on the ability of states to choose whether or not to allow hunting, set season and bag limits, or determine methods of hunting which may be used.
- Internationally
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) approved a resolution in 1997 unanimously calling on all Parties to confirm, adopt, or improve their national legislation to deter the illegal trade in bear parts. To view the resolution click here.
The next CITES Conference of the Parties will take place in Doha, Qatar in March 2010.
