The reason 1,140 captive bears are trapped in narrow cages and the history of bile extraction

In 66 farms across the country, 1,140 captive bears are living trapped in narrow cages. According to statistics from the end of 2009, more than a thousand captive bears are trapped in cages at farms, and most of them are Asiatic black bears with distinct white V-shaped patterns on their chests. They fight over food and territory in cramped spaces and exhibit abnormal symptoms, such as stereotypic behavior, where they lose their wild nature and show repetitive actions.

Survival threats and abnormal behaviors of captive bears in narrow cages

The farms where captive bears stay have a structure where dozens of small cages are connected by narrow doors. In cramped spaces where as many as seven bears are entangled in a single 3.3-square-meter partition, fights over food territory occur frequently. The video reported that one can easily find bears that have only one front or hind paw left, having been bitten by another bear after sticking a paw toward the adjacent cage when they were cubs. This occurs because they compete for food territory within the narrow cages.

This environment causes severe stress to the bears. "Stereotypic behavior," an abnormal behavior that appears when wild animals are confined to cages, is frequently observed. According to the video, this stereotypic behavior appears more frequently and severely in captive bears who are born and spend their entire lives inside cages, compared to those in relatively better habitats that mimic natural terrain like zoos.

The background created by demand for bear bile and government policies encouraging breeding

The background of the mass import and breeding of captive bears was the demand for bear bile. Since ancient times, bear bile has been known as a special remedy for jaundice or recovery, so the demand has never ceased. In 1981, the government permitted imports for the purpose of raising bears and re-exporting them. At that time, the price of a single bear was as high as the price of an apartment, but imports were carried out for business purposes to sell bear bile.

The government's policy stance in the past manifested in a direction that treated bears as livestock. The farming manual published by the Rural Development Administration in 1990 contains content encouraging the breeding of bears by stating that the "Rural Development Administration classifies bears, which are wild animals, as special livestock." This shows that bears were considered livestock to obtain bile, blood, and skin, rather than mere wild animals.

On the other hand, the international trend was different. The UN CITES convention, which came into effect in 1975, began to regulate the trade of endangered species of animals and plants. According to this convention, the Asiatic black bear was already listed and managed in the highest category of danger of extinction in 1979.