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The Illegal Trafficking Of Bear Gallbladders

One of Asia’s five Bear Subspecies – the Asiatic Black Bear. Its gallbladder is harvested to procure bile acid tauro ursodeoxycholic acid or UDCA. Bears are the only mammals known to produce great amounts of the bile acid especially used in traditional Chinese medicine. Chinese medical sources recommend Asiatic Black Bear’s bile.

Bear Gallbladders

Bear gallbladders are coveted for its bile acid. Tauro Ursodeoxycholic Acid or UDCA is the acid found in seven bear subspecies’ gallbladders. The Giant Panda is the only exception, for it does not produce UDCA. UDCA is used for the treatment of different types of cancer, general kinds of pain, asthma, burns, sinusitis, and liver damage. It is because of these that bears are hunted down, raised in farms, and eventually slaughtered to harvest its gallbladders, which bile are needed to supply the black-market.

Illegal Trafficking of Bear Gallbladders

Illegal trafficking of bear gallbladders exist. One hundred tons of UDCA are consumed by China, Japan, and South Korea annually. This comprises more than half of the global consumption of UDCA. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) bans from international commercial trade the Asiatic Black Bear, Brown Bear, Sloth Bear, and the Sun Bear. However, bear bile is widely produced and publicly sold in China, Macau, and the Sino-Russian Border. Some Hong Kong stores sell bear gallbladder without a license, which the country has required for the importation, exportation, sale, and possession of bear gallbladder and bile acid since January 1994. Most stores in Seoul, South Korea are familiar with bear gallbladder and bile acid trade, although their stocks are kept hidden and locked. The importation, exportation, display, and sale of bear gallbladders is prohibited in Taiwan. Only American Black Bear parts and derivatives are allowed with government approval to enter trade. Bear bile is worth $400-600 in domestic markets, shooting thirty times more than that in Asian drugstores, where it is available in powdered form. Its liquid form sells for $25 per teaspoon.

Bear Gallbladder Uses

Bear gallbladder has life-saving uses. Its bile acid is milked and used to treat terminal illnesses and minor ailments or discomforts, ranging from cancer to pain. It is also used for the treatment of gallstones, poor eyesight, and rheumatism. In China, ten thousand kilograms of bile are being milked annually from bears in its farms intended for the harvesting of bile acid. Bear Bile has been listed in the first official drug handbook or manual in China around 659 A.D., as a medicine. The Asiatic Black Bear and the Brown Bear are especially patronized and recommended in Chinese medicinal sources. East Asia, being the place where bear bile is widely demanded, is the world’s ‘red-light district’ for mass bear slaughters. Thus, East Asia’s bears are in danger of extinction from the commercial demand of their bile, hunting, and the destruction of their habitats.

References:

http://allaboutnews.net/bear-gallbladder-uses/2228/

http://timesofindia.hotklix.com/link/News/World/Black-Bear-Gall-Bladder-Uses

December 19, 2010 - Posted by christine miller | Animals & Pets, Business, Health, Legal, New, News, Ready, Society | Asiatic Black Bear, Bear Bile Prices, Bear Gallbladder Uses, Bear Gallbladders, Bears, Brown Bear, CITES, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, Illegal Trafficking of Bear Gallbladders, Tauro Ursodeoxycholic Acid, UDCA, Urso-deoxycholic Acid