You can help stop bear farming in South Korea.
For the very first time the South Korean Government is considering a phase out of bear farming. As a WSPA supporter, YOU can send a message to South Korea that the suffering of these bears must stop. Working with our local member society, Green Korea United (GKU), we are talking to the South Korean Government about a way forward to end this cruel industry. Please sign our petition asking them to phase out bear farming and stop further bears enduring a lifetime of suffering.
Right now over 1,400 bears suffer on bear farms in South Korea. Although it is illegal to extract bile from live bears this does not stop the suffering of these animals. Instead the bears are bred for slaughter, living in tiny cages until they are 10 years old when they are killed and their gall bladder removed for its bile. The farming of bears in South Korea must STOP.
Bear farming is cruel. The captive conditions greatly restrict the bears’ movement and have a terrible impact on their well-being. WSPA has witnessed bears rocking and pacing in their small cages, and seen the severe wounds, sores and stress the caged conditions cause them.
Bear farming is unnecessary. Academics, experts and traditional Asian medicine advocates in South Korea agree that there are many readily available herbal and synthetic alternatives to bear bile. Even bear farmers in South Korea acknowledge their farms are losing money and they are prepared to consider a phase out.
The current South Korean Government is willing to find a way to end this suffering and has been in discussions with WSPA and GKU about how to end bear farming. This September, a bill to phase out bear farming will be proposed to the South Korean Parliament for the Government to deliberate.
