BY: THE PLAID ZEBRA

In Vietnam, bear-bile is in high demand. Mixed into vodka as a status symbol, or ingested to reap a number of falsely-believed ‘medicinal benefits’, bear-bile serves a completely useless industry of ignorance and severe animal cruelty.

Many bears are subject to up to 30 years of slapdash surgeries where catheters are forced into their gall bladders before being dragged back to cages barely suitable for even a small dog. Others die from dehydration, starvation, disease or malignant tumours. The result of this torture is a $2 (U.S.) bottle of bile.

Established in 1998, Animals Asia has been fighting for the liberation of moon-bears, spreading awareness, and rescuing over 500 bears from Vietnam and China. An Animals Asia sanctuary in Vietnam is currently residence to 111 rescued bears, about a quarter of which came in with missing limbs due to mistreatment or bear traps.

Journalist Adrian Baschuk recently investigated Vietnam’s illegal bear-bile industry, in a short exposé for Seeker Films. The shocking footage can be viewed below:

Sources: wordpress.com, antoniobolfo.com, mesilill.eu, img.caixin.com