Bear farming

Today I visited a bear farm for the first time, even though I have been working for over a year on a project about the conservation implications of bear farming. The picture is of bile extraction. The bear comes in from his outside enclosure to eat in this raised cage. When he starts eating they can extract the bile from a small tube that has been inserted into the gallbladder. The process takes less than a minute and the bear didn’t seem to even notice it happening, mainly because he was distracted by a huge piece of melon. 


I wasn't sure what to expect and I came way with mixed feelings. On a positive note, I had seen the bear farm pictures that are shared by animal welfare groups and I was prepared for horrific conditions, but I was actually surprised by how large the enclosures were and how varied the bears' diets were. On the negative side, the farm owner was very wealthy with expensive rosewood furniture and ivory carvings in his house, and the bear enclosures were bare concrete with iron bars - if he had been a poor farmer then fair enough but I couldn't help but feel that he could maybe take a cut in his obviously huge profits to give the bears some grass or trees.  Saying that though, this farm gives the bears an outside area and almost twice the amount of space than is required by law. I think I should try to visit a different farm at some point. 


I also think it's important when you think about bear farming in China to compare it to farming in the West- a lot of the intensive dairy and chicken farms will have conditions that are comparable to this farm and I am sure if I visited one of those I would come away with criticisms too.  Overall it is not my place to pass judgement though  - it is my job to remain neutral on the issue of bear farming, until we know whether they are the only reason wild bears are not being hunted to extinction for their gallbladders.