How Will the End of Bear Bile Farming in Vietnam Affect Wildlife Conservation?
For decades, thousands of bears across Asia have been confined to cages on bile farms, where their bile is extracted for use in traditional medicine.
Vietnam has made major progress in addressing this issue, with the government committing to phase out bear bile farming and close remaining facilities. But ending the practice raises an important question: if farmed bear bile becomes unavailable, will consumers seek bile from wild bears instead?
This research suggests that closing bear farms in Vietnam is unlikely to cause a major increase in demand for wild bear bile. Reported recent use of wild bear bile was low, and many respondents showed little interest in continuing to use bear bile. When asked to choose between possible treatments, respondents often preferred synthetic bear bile or other alternatives over bile from wild or farmed bears.
Closing farms is a major milestone, but it also creates new responsibilities. Hundreds of bears still remain in captivity and require safe long-term care in sanctuaries with a high standard of animal welfare.
The study highlights the need for strong law enforcement, continued public education and carefully planned solutions for the bears currently held on farms.
Bears rescued from bile farms often arrive severely traumatised after years or decades confined to small cages. Many cannot be returned to the wild and require specialist lifelong care.
This is where organisations like Free the Bears are essential. Since 1995, the organisation has helped rescue more than 1,000 bears from bile farms, the illegal wildlife trade and other forms of exploitation. Today, more than 300 rescued bears live in Free the Bears sanctuaries across Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, where they can climb, forage and explore forested habitats for the first time in years.
As countries move toward ending bear bile farming, we must ensure that the bears already trapped in the system have somewhere safe to go.
Sanctuaries provide that future, offering rescued bears the chance to recover and live out their lives in environments designed for their needs.
Publication authors: Davis, Elizabeth O., Veríssimo, Diogo; Crudge, Brian; Sam, Son H., Cao, Dung T; Ho, Po V., Dang, Nhung T.H., Nguyen, Tu D.; Nguyen, Hien N.; Cao, Trung T.; Glikman, Jenny A.