End Bear Farming

Copied from: http://www.endbearfarming.org/en/alternatives.html

Just wanted to spread it out to tell the world...........

Right now, there are at least 12,000 bears suffering in Asia. They are held captive in tiny cages and shocking conditions. These bears are farmed needlessly for the bile contained in their gall bladders which is used to make Traditional Asian Medicine. Their reality is a lifetime of suffering and pain.
Your support can help us end bear farming in Asia. Protect bears - lend your support by signing the appeal today.

Bear farming is a cruel practice carried out to extract bile from bears which is then used in Traditional Asian Medicine.
Shocking and inhumane methods of bile extraction have been developed by the bear farming industry. All of them cause severe mental and physical trauma to the captive bears.
The practice usually involves taking bile from a live bear. The bears are kept in small cages preventing them from moving around, while cubs bred are often used to perform tricks for entertainment until they reach the age where they can be used for bile extraction.
International trade in bile and other bear parts including paws and gall bladders also occurs even though it is illegal. There are many effective herbal alternatives that can be used instead of bear bile.
Bear farming has increased the amount of bear bile available to consumers significantly, and it is actually feared that bear farming is causing a decline in wild populations in China and across Asia, as the bear farming industry stimulates increased demand for bear bile products.
WSPA is calling for an end to the illegal international trade in bear products, a lot of which come from bear farms in Asia.

Bear farms prevent any of the natural behaviour seen in wild bears. Bears are caged for many hours per day in tiny cages, and many have been witnessed to suffer permanent confinement in cages. The size of these cages vary by country but many bears suffer confinement in cages equivalent to the size of a telephone booth turned on its side. The bears can not stand or turn around in these conditions.
Farmed bears show extremely high levels of stereotypic (repetitive) behaviour such as bar biting, tongue flicking, weaving, rocking, rearing, rubbing and route tracing. They have also been witnessed to have sores, injuries, diseases and other health problems related to confinement.

Bears are farmed — needlessly — for the bile contained in their gall bladders to be used in Traditional Asian Medicine. Effective herbal and synthetic alternatives to bear bile exist and are gaining support from Traditional Asian Medicine practitioners. They say alternative s are more effective and bear bile is unnecessary.
"We definitely do not have to use bear bile as it can be replaced by herbs."
Dr. Sun Ji Xian - The Chinese Association of Preventative Medicine. Beijing, China