Fate of 1,000 bears in limbo

By Kim Se-jeong, Nam Hyun-woo

A bill calling for steps to protect nearly 1,000 Asiatic black bears caged on farms across the nation has been submitted to the National Assembly for approval, but the future of the animals remains uncertain.

Rep. Chang Ha-na of the main opposition Democratic United Party proposed the bill on March 6, calling for the Environment Ministry to purchase bears farmed throughout the country, place them under professional care and put an end to the use of bear products for human consumption.

According to government tallies, 53 farms were raising 998 bears across the nation as of 2012. The animals are held captive in small cages and “milked” for bile and sometimes slaughtered for body parts.

The government has allowed bear farmers to harvest gall bladders from bears older than 10 years. Gall bladder is a key ingredient in traditional Oriental medicines.

“Some bear farmers sell gall bladders and other body parts illegally as they cannot generate revenue until their bears get 10 years old,” Chang said. “To protect these bears, the government needs to purchase the bears and take other steps. That’s the purpose of the bill.”

Animal rights groups are calling for the government to take steps to protect the animals and are pinning their hopes on Chang’s bill.

Yoon Sang-hoon, an activist affiliated with Green Korea United, a non-governmental organization based in Seoul, said, “I believe the bill could offer the most comprehensive possible solution to the problem. The government must take the responsibility for the predicament facing the farmers and take actions to solve the problem.”

However, the Environment Ministry opposes the government buying the bears, citing a lack of funds to do so.

Speaking with The Korea Times, an official from the ministry said, “Not only can we not afford to buy them, we are not sure whether that is a sound solution. The ministry is conducting a thorough study on what to do with those bears this year. Any decision will follow the results of the study.”

Bear farming in Korea dates back to 1981 when the government allowed farmers to import bears.

Most bear farmers want to sell off their bears as the species is now classified as an endangered, meaning international trade is banned.

The problem seems to stem from inconsistency in policy planning.

In 1981, when bear imports were first allowed, then encouraged by the government, which viewed bear farming as a new business model for rural residents. Farmers imported infant bears and exported adults.

In 1985, the government banned both imports and exports in response to rising calls for the protection of endangered bears, an abrupt decision for farmers, and in 1993 signed the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna & Flora (CITES).

To help bear farmers, the government allowed the harvest of bile, which continues. Produced by the liver and stored in the gall bladder, the bile is in demand here as a stamina supplement.

The bile used to fetch high prices but demand is in sharp decline. The drop in revenue from bear farming resulted in culls, illegal trading of body parts and other types of animal abuse, according to animal rights groups.

Korea and China are the only countries where such bile harvests are legally practiced, which has drawn mounting criticisms.

At a conference held on Jeju in September of last year, the International Union for Conservation of Nature issued a recommendation for the South Korean government to make “efforts toward ending bear farming.”