Bear bile company tries disguising abuse

It is doing this through a PR strategy of lies and deception, and more than ever we need you to add your voices to the protest to stop this from happening.

Since our last article , the company has pulled in the China Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine (CATCM) to support them. The CATCM held a press conference in Beijing, and its Secretary General, Fang Shu-Ting, made this ridiculous statement: “I have seen the bear bile extraction myself. The process of extracting bear bile is like turning on a tap: natural, easy and without pain. After they’re done, the bears can even play happily outside. I don’t think there’s anything out of the ordinary! It might even be a very comfortable process!” http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2012-02/17/content_14628801.htm

If he really believes that creating and maintaining an open wound in an animal is ‘natural’ and ‘without pain’, then he knows nothing about animal welfare, which is obvious from the statement. The company has posted pictures of bears in outside enclosures in order to support their claim that bears are not kept in cages, but that is just to show the public – in reality, they are not taken outside much (and the photos show barren small areas with no enrichment), as the wounds would get dirtier and possibly infected. And they are lured back to the torture of extraction because that is the only time they are fed.

There is no way to extract bear bile humanely – besides the horrendous lifelong open wounds, some of the problems they face include great stress, sores, skin conditions, hair loss, dental problems, bone deformities, injuries, swollen limbs, breathing problems, and diarrhoea.

As a result of this support from the CATCM, Gui Zhen Tang invited reporters to their bear bile factory. A newspaper reporter from Xiao Xiang Daily, shot this footage inside the bear bile extraction room. Bear bile is tapped twice a day by inserting a tube into an open wound in the bear’s abdomen. Judge for yourself whether this seems a ‘very comfortable process’.

They have now invited celebrities and members of the public to view their farm, but no matter how much they try to make bear bile farming look humane, it cannot be done. The visits never show what goes on behind the scenes.

If this company becomes publicly listed, it legitimises a horrific form of abuse, and we all need to do everything we can to prevent it. Please write (if you have written, please write again) to:

• The China Securities Regulatory Commission at gzly@csrc.gov.cnand (politely) ask them not to proceed with a public listing for Gui Zhen Tang on the grounds of animal abuse, including the way they are bred, kept and tortured every day for their bile.
• The China Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine at Zgzyxh@catcm.org.cn, asking them to stop supporting such cruel practices, and pointing out that synthetic bear bile alternatives are widely available.

Thank you for supporting Chinese animal activists at this difficult time as they fight against organised animal abuse.