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Bear parts, in particular gall bladders and paws, have been an ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries. Bear bile and gall bladder are used in traditional treatments for cancer, burns, asthma and pain. Unlike some folk remedies, bear bile does have medicinal value. Ursodeoxycholic acid contained in bear bile does have some medical benefit. But ursodeoxycholic acid can be synthesized and so critics argue that trade in bear gall bladders and bile is unnecessary.
In response to demand for bear ingredients, trade in bear parts has grown in China, South Korea, Japan and other countries. However, international treaties banning the traffic of bear parts have been aimed at halting the extinction of bear species in Asia and throughout the world. To meet the demand for bear bile, bear 'farming' in China has grown. Tubes are surgically implanted in captive bears' gall bladders and the bile generated is harvested and sold.
The conditions in some of the bear farms is deplorable. Bears are kept in small cages and in unsanitary conditions as the petition claims. Pressure by international wildlife and animal welfare groups has forced China to limit the production of bear bile and clean up bear farms. Unfortunately, international treaties have not limited the demands for bear products and have not prevented significant black market trade.
Will signing and forwarding the email petition help halt the decline of bear populations in Asia and eliminate bear farms? Probably not. Email petitions are a feeble expression of popular will. Politicians are unlikely to be impressed by an email petition that can be easily faked. Email petitions, as the 'Save PBS/NPR' email petitions illustrates, can continue to circulate long after they are relevant, rendering them even more suspect as expressions of popular will.
Want to help the bears? Write letters to governments, both national and foreign. Join and support an organization working to control the international traffic in bear parts.
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Urban Legend Zeitgeist: Bear Market