Can there be anything good to say about farming bears for their bile? Last week a Chinese official speaking at the 4th International Symposium on Trade in Bear Parts in Nagano, Japan, managed it.
Huang Haikui, a government official responsible for enforcing the rules of the CITES conservation treaty, says farming is helping to increase the number of Asiatic black bears in the wild. The bears’ bile has been a staple in traditional Chinese medicine for more than 3000 years. Tightening the control of how it is harvested from the animals has had a beneficial effect on wild populations, Huang…
