For twenty years, I have been advocating for more to be done to stop the horrific trade in bear parts—gallbladders ripped from slaughtered American black bears; bile extracted from caged Asiatic black bears in China. [teaserbreak]
Stop the trade and save the bears. Close the loopholes in American law, currently regulated differently from state to state. Urge China to close their bear bile “farms.” Support organizations such as the Animals Asia Foundation working hard to rescue incarcerated bears.
Now, more evidence to fuel the fight…
A recent undercover investigation spearheaded by the California Department of Fish and Game led to the smuggling conviction of a local businessman who had purchased roughly 164 bear gallbladders. Year after year, I see similarly disturbing stories of poachers and smugglers caught with frozen bear paws, and hikers who have come across bear carcasses with their stomachs cut open and their gallbladders removed. Absolutely heart-wrenching.
Now, TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring organization that has historically resisted supporting our calls for trade restrictions to protect bears, has released Brought to Bear: An Analysis of Seizures across Asia (2000-2011). Vietnam was ranked among the top three worst Asian countries regarding the trafficking of bears, while Russia and China together account for 69% of the volume traded. The collection and analysis of seizure data revealed that no fewer than 2,800 individual bears were traded during the study period! And, this seizure data presumably accounts for only a small percentage of what is actually passed across borders.
So, is all of this bad news for bears… or good? Enforcement crackdowns in America might ultimately deter bear poaching and smuggling of their parts. This must happen nationwide with complete vigor. And, Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) should consider whether it’s finally time for additional, stricter domestic measures in Vietnam, China, and other Asian countries where the trade is most prolific.
Many bear species will not be able to withstand the trade in perpetuity. The time to act is now.
Keep Wildlife in the Wild,
Adam