|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5.1) Most bears in farms were captured from the wild during 1984 to 1989 before China Wildlife Protection Law was issued. In that time less than 1,000 wild bears were sent to farms each year on average, which was only 1.6% of wild bear population of China. Even if this capture rate would be multiplied by 3 to compensate the mortality in capture, it would still be less than the hunting pressure on American black bear (Ursus americanus), which is 8% or 5.6% in North America. The capture pressure on wild bears in China was very low and would not significantly endanger the wild populations of bears of China.5.2) Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCM) has a long history and will develop further, and bear bile has been used as compatible with TCM for thousands of years. China has a large market demand for bear bile. If it were not satisfied with bile powder from bear farms, this demand would attract poachers to kill wild bears, which would really endanger the survival of bears in China, and even of bears in other countries. 5.3) The bile powder from bear farms provides the alternative resource to bear gall bladders from the wild for traditional medicines. Enough supply of bile powder from bear farms with low price and high quality reduces the poaching pressure on wild bears. These have supported to protect wild bears in China and will support wild bear conservation in the world when accepted by the international community. 5.4) The improvement of pen facilities and the use of new operation by opening fistula with self-tissue have avoided the mistreatment and torture of farmed bears. 5.5) Annual yield and consumption of bile powder in China are stable. There is a certain surplus of bile powder each year in China. The production of the bile from farms has not stimulated market demand in China yet. 5.6) Almost half of farmed bears are bred in captivity now, including F1, F2 and F3. The potential breeding bear stocks are great enough and the captive breeding has to be controlled because of the surplus of the bile powder in China and the international ban of the bile products of Asiatic black bear. Some large bear farms in China have qualified the CITES criteria for registration of operations breeding Appendix-I animal species for commercial purposes. |
||||
|
|
||
|
Back to Top | Return
to Terrestrial Index | |
||
|
|
||
|
