Bear bile can be used for pharmaceutical purposes, mainly for the treatment of gallstones, fever, burns, stomachaches, sprains, liver and heart diseases, and occasionally for pain relief and health care purposes. Bear bile producers sought to obtain their provenance by capturing large Numbers of wild black bears in the early days of the industry. It led to a significant decline in wild black bear populations in China. China now has more than tens of  thousands of black bears for bile extraction, and this figure is growing fast year by year. Black bear farming continues to grow, even though the forestry authorities has stopped building new farms. Bear bile extraction is a typical case of cruelty to animals. Breeding bears suffer greatly as a result. In addition to being confined for life in a barren and monotonous cage, they endure up to 30 years of repeated extractions of their bile. And their limbs and skins will be sold after they die.

There are several companies making medicines by using natural bear bile in China, and Heibao pharmaceutical co. LTD is the largest one. As pharmaceutical company is an important part of the market for natural bear bile, So I call on Heibao pharmaceutical co. LTD to stop using natural bear bile. It should change its policies and adjust its Pharmaceutical method – using herbs or synthetic bear bile to replace natural bear bile when making medicines. There are solutions/actions as below:

1.        With the development of technology, company can develop synthetic bear bile, which has the similar effects. At the same time, company can use non-animal materials such as herbs to achieve almost the same effects.

2.       Doctors do not recommend medicines containing natural bear bile for their patients but use other medicines instead. Patients who are faced with multiple options such as going to the pharmacy to buy medicines, also have the right to choose drugs that do not contain natural bear bile but are just as effective.

3.       Hopefully, the government will legislate to ban the extraction of bile from bears.

4.       It is hoped that animal protection groups will put pressure both on companies for nonuse of natural bear bile and on government for introduction of relevant legislation in order to protect animals.

With the combined efforts of individuals, companies, the government and non-profit organizations, animal cruelty that extracts bile from bears would be brought under control in the near future.