Changing Attitudes About Animal Cruelty

Animal welfare education continues to remain a serious part of the process used for ending all types of animal cruelty, in any country. The WSPA is working tirelessly to promote a greater awareness with programs designed to educate the general populous. A number of of these include helping the Kalandar tribesmen access funds and equipment to pursue other lucrative jobs than dancing bears. In order to acquire funds and training, they have to consent to relinquish their dancing bears. The WSPA funds an animal crimes hot line that one of their affiliate societies-Education For Nature runs. They are committed in giving monetary assistance to the Agra Bear Rescue Centre to help them maintain the care of the rescued bears in safety and ample consideration. Many other animal welfare organizations are working in the direction of these goals at the same time as well. They include but are not restricted to, Wildlife SOS, International Animal Rescue, and The Humane Society. Until we at the same time as individual beings, understand that all animals deserve to live humanely and not tormented or starved, we will behave cruelly toward others with the same heartbreaking disregard for all life.

The WSPA is fortunate to have attracted well-known help in educating other people on the continuing torment of captive bears on "bear farms" in Asia. Jackie Chan, a famous actor, has again shown his support by making a short, filmed public service broadcast in Cantonese, Vietnamese, Mandarin, as well as English. Collectively, Jackie Chan and the WSPA want to expose the horrible torment and appalling cruelty to about 12,000 bears living in misery on Asian bear farms. The 30 second PSA done by Mr. Chan is intense and heart-wrenching, but how can the bear's misery be forever stopped, if we don't know of it? These bears are part of our world right now, but how much more environmental and hunting pressure can a species take. Bear bile farming is one of the horrifying and inhumane acts that humans inflict on animals so unlucky to be snared. This kind of education is a distressing, slap in the face sort of wake up call for us, but apparently needed as this atrocity has been going on in Asia for decades.

The respective governments of these countries know what's going on in the farms. Various even sanction the occupation to some level by allowing them to exist and be regulated by their government. In China, bear farms are officially legal. Government officials are meant to make sure somebody makes the farmers adhere to the standards used for maintaining the strength and well-being of the bears. The negative publicity from many people due to the distribution of pictures screening bears that were catheterized was more ignited by having the awful occupation of extracting bile from the bear's gallbladder exposed. The Chinese government was shamed into regulating the way bile was extracted and now promotes the free-draining method as being much more humane for the bears. This statement is now known to be false. Using a catheter became illegal in vogue the 1990s, but the alternative is now the same , if not worse. Opening a permanent hole in the bear's belly from the gallbladder to the outside of its body creates a nice breeding ground for bacteria and will soon be infected. The free-draining method is accomplished by puncturing the gallbladder and creating a channel so that a tube can be inserted to suck away the bile. Preliminary medical examinations of newly-rescued bears generally exhibition infection of the area in and around the hole, with ulcerated skin all around the wound, due to irritation from caustic bile leak. Bears are routinely operated on to remove the gallbladder when they arrive at the rescue centre. The gallbladder is in such bad shape that even if it to was functional, soon complications would necessitate the removal of it anyway. Often nearby are gallstones, infection, clusters of polyps that may fill the gallbladder so the bile cannot move through it.

The wound (fistula) tries to heal itself and the farmer has to shove a catheter through the curative skin to open a hole again so he can suck away the bile. Sometimes a piece of hot metal is used to cauterize the wound to keep it open, ending in causing extreme pain for the bear. A number of bears are killed by getting peritonitis as the bile leaks back into the abdominal cavity causing extensive infection to other organs like the liver as well as the gallbladder. Various post mortem examinations found as much as several liters of pus in the abdominal cavity. This death can be caused by botched surgeries done by untutored workers or the farmers themselves. No ethical veterinarian would consent to do such a clearly cruel procedure on an animal.


How can the farmers and government officials downplay this torture of an animal? How can even slightly evolved, sane individuals downplay this cruelty? I challenge the propaganda saying that it doesn't hurt the bear to extract bile from its gallbladder every single day, sometimes more than once in a day! Bears have been observed to be moaning, bashing their heads on their cage bars, chewing on the bars, and even chewing their own paws while being "milked" for their bile. Can you really believe it doesn't cause the bears agony? I don't believe it doesn't hurt.