Friday 14 September 2012

Bear bile farms are bad for wild bears

Bear bile farming poses ongoing threat to wild bear conservation
September 2012. According to experts, the existence of bear bile farms has not reduced the pressure on wild bear populations. Instead, confiscation records indicate that cubs are routinely taken from the wild, especially from Southeast Asia, to stock bear farms, which supply much of the medicines and products in demand throughout Asia.
The issue of bear farms will be on the agenda at next month's IUCN World Conservation Congress in Korea after a motion to phase out commercial bear bile farming was tabled for debate at the meeting.
Wild bears continue to be sourced for the extraction of bile
"The term ‘farm' is a misleading one, as it implies the bears are being bred and that the trade may be sustainable" says Chris R. Shepherd, Deputy Director of TRAFFIC Southeast Asia and co-chair of the trade expert team of the IUCN SSC Bear Specialist Group. "This is absolutely not the case and wild bears continue to be sourced for the extraction of bile."
Bear populations are in decline in the bear-farming countries in Southeast Asia and China
Rising prices of wild cubs on the black market indicate a high demand. At the same time, surveys have found that that farms in Lao PDR, Myanmar and Viet Nam show low success in breeding bears. Breeding records on Chinese farms are not available to corroborate the claim that they are self-sustaining. There is little evidence to support claims that farms relieve pressure on wild bear populations, given bear populations are in decline in the bear-farming countries in Southeast Asia and China.

No comments:

Post a Comment

You only need to enter your comment once! Comments will appear once they have been moderated. This is so as to stop the would-be comedian who has been spamming the comments here with inane and often offensive remarks. You know who you are!

Related Posts with Thumbnails

ShareThis