Bear bile farming is a cruel practice where bears — mostly moon bears (Asiatic black bears) — are kept in coffin-sized cages and exploited, with bile repeatedly extracted from their gall bladder.

The bile is used in some traditional medicine products.

The practice occurs across several Asian countries, including Vietnam and Laos, where Free the Bears operates sanctuaries and rescue programmes.

Most of the bears found in bile farms in Vietnam and Laos were taken from the wild as cubs, devastating wild bear populations.

The bears trapped in bile farms suffer terribly.

Many are severely underweight, stressed and traumatised after years trapped in cages so small they can barely move. They develop wasted muscles and horrific injuries from standing on metal bars and repeatedly banging against cage doors.

Many bears arrive with:

  • Cracked or broken teeth and paws
  • Blindness
  • Severe infections
  • Untreated wounds
  • Cancer and gall bladder disease
  • Long-term psychological trauma

Many die young from the maltreatment, after enduring years of pain, starvation, stress and neglect.

What is bear bile?

Almost every traditional medicine made from wild animals (tiger bone, pangolin scales, rhino horns etc) has NO scientifically proven benefit.

In contrast, bear bile (a digestive fluid produced in the gall bladder) contains an active compound called ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), which has been scientifically proven to help treat some medical conditions.

However, UDCA can now be safely and cheaply produced in laboratories, and herbal alternatives are also available.

There is absolutely no need to keep bears in captivity or extract bile from living animals.

Despite this, bile farming continues because of ongoing consumer demand and the illegal wildlife trade.

Many products falsely claim bear bile can cure bruising, improve eyesight, or cure hangovers (all unproven!)

PROGRESS IS BEING MADE

It can sometimes feel like the fight to end bear bile farming is never-ending. But real progress is happening.

In Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, laws have now been enacted prohibiting the extraction of bile from bears and the capture of wild bears.

Thankfully, Cambodia never developed a significant bile farming industry. In Laos, an estimated 100 bears still remain trapped in bile farms, largely near the Chinese border.

Recent directives by the Laos government to strengthen wildlife protection and law enforcement, combined with increasing rescue efforts, provide hope that the industry will not expand further.

Free the Bears is expanding sanctuary capacity in Laos, in preparation for future bile farm closures and rescues, with more than 170 bears rescued in Laos so far.

The situation in Vietnam

Vietnam once had one of the largest bear bile farming industries in the world.

In 2005, the Vietnamese government made it illegal to capture wild bears or extract bile from captive bears. However, farmers were permitted to keep bears already held in farms, as there were no rescue centres at the time, and the bears could not be released into the wild.

A nationwide audit identified around 4,300 bears confined in bile farms across the country at that time, almost all believed to have been poached from the wild.

Although bile extraction became illegal, the practice continued for years due to ongoing demand and the difficulty of enforcement. But thanks to stronger laws, consumer education campaigns and changing public attitudes, demand for bear bile has steadily declined. The price has crashed and many farms have closed. A concerted push from conservation organisations like Free the Bears, is encouraging some farmers to give up the bears to live their final years in the safety and comfort of a sanctuary.

While this progress is encouraging, the reality is devastating.

Of the 4,300 bears documented in Vietnam’s bile farms in 2005, more than 3,700 are believed to have died inside the farms over the past two decades — many after lives spent in pain, stress and confinement.

Only around 400 bears were able to be rescued to sanctuaries, and many owners still refuse to surrender their bears, instead keeping them confined in tiny cages.

Some attempt to monetise the bears by selling them, or their body parts, into the illegal wildlife trade. Others consider their bears to be pets.

Free the Bears will never pay for bears, as paying for bears creates a financial incentive for wildlife trafficking and further exploitation of a protected species.

Instead, we work closely with governments, law enforcement agencies and owners to secure voluntary surrenders and permanent solutions.

SAVING BEARS IN THE ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE

Free the Bears continues to work alongside governments, law enforcement agencies and local communities to rescue bears, strengthen wildlife protection and reduce demand for bear bile and other wildlife products.

We are expanding our sanctuaries in preparation for future rescues and bile farm closures, while also supporting long-term solutions that help protect bears in the wild.

Real progress is possible. We have already seen industries shrink, attitudes change and bears rescued from lives of unimaginable suffering.

But there are still bears waiting for help.

With continued support, we can keep rescuing bears from bile farms, and work towards ending bear bile farming for good.

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