Help stop the barbaric medical torture of harvesting bear bile

Peoples Republic of China: Stop bear farming and the barbaric medical torture of harvesting bear bil

Greetings,

I just signed the following petition addressed to: His Excellency, Hu Jintao President of the People's Republic of China, The Chinese Embassy Chancery, National Tourism Administration of the Peoples Republic of China, Overseas Offices of China National Tourism Administraion, Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the Standing Committee

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Peoples Republic of China: Stop bear farming and the barbaric medical torture of harvesting bear bile

Wild moon bears, commonly known as Asiatic black bears are caught, put in very small cages known as 'crush cages' which restricted their movement, in fact most bears live the rest of their lives on their backs. Then surgically tubes are permanent implanted into their abdomens, which is susceptible to infections and diseases to draw out, or "milk" their bile twice daily. This process is so incredibly painful to the bears that they are now gnawing off their paws and killing themselves by punching themselves in the stomach to stop the pain. Bear farmers are now fitting them with iron vests to circumvent this. It was recently reported by the Chinese press, of a mother bear who broke free from her captors, strangled her cub, then killed herself, by running head first into a concrete wall! The 'bear bile' is used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat liver ailments and sore eyes. Out of the thousands of bear bile products seized by authorities last year, approximately 98 percent come from China. There are herbal and synthetic alternatives that are just as effective, and are much cheaper to buy and produce.
Bear farmers argue that by supplying the demand for bear bile their industry protects wild bears. Well, it couldn't be further from the truth. In fact wild bear bile is considered more potent, and killing wild bears is at an all time high.
Bears can be farmed for their bile for as long as 20 years, although 5 to 10 years is more the average, before they stop producing bile and are then killed/harvested. Bears are literary treated as a crop in China.The International Union for the Conservation of Nature estimates that approximately 14,000 Asiatic, Brown and Sun bears suffer this type of treatment, accounting for approximately half of the species.

We, the undersigned, respectfully call upon Hu Jintao President of the People's Republic of China, The Chinese Embassy Chancery, National Tourism Administration of the Peoples Republic of China, Overseas Offices of China National Tourism Administraion, Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the Standing Committee to PLEASE put an end to this grotesque, atrocious, despicable, revolting industry, NOW. Rest assured, the citizens of the world are watching and will not rest until you do!



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Sincerely,

[Your name]