Save the Moon Bears!

Throughout Asia thousands of Asiatic Black Bears are imprisoned in bear farms. In China, there are more than 6,928 bears kept in cages in order to get bile from their gall bladders. Bile is a liquid that the bear's liver produces, it helps the bear to digest fat in the diet. The bile from the Moon Bears is sometimes used to mix medicines from very old Chinese recipes, but many times it is used in products with no medicinal value e.g. shampoos, skin cream and soda. It is known that there are herbs and synthetic extracts to replace the bear bile. Catheters are surgically implanted into the bear's gall bladder which is next to the bear's liver in his abdomen. Through these metal tubes, the bile is drained from the gall bladder up to twice a day. The procedure to put these tubes into the bear's body is very unhygienic and as a result the bears develop severe infections in the body and the skin which are very painful. Some of the bears die as a result. The bears surviving the surgery spend the rest of their lives suffering in the tiny cages. The bears are unable to move and stretch. They bite the bars of the cages because they are bored. This frequently breaks their teeth which gives them toothache. Some have head wounds form banging their heads against the bars. Moon bears on farms live in this terrible condition for up to 22 years in constant pain.