Abstract 107 – Ending Bear Bile Farming in Vietnam by 2026 as a conservation measure to protect Asiatic black bears

Tuan Bendixsen, Heidi Quine, Jill Robinson

Bear farming in Vietnam, fueled by the demand for bear bile for use in traditional medicine, has
threatened bear conservation and raised significant concerns for the welfare of farmed bears.
To end bear farming, strategies that address law enforcement, demand for bile, and provide
lifelong care for rescued bears in sanctuaries are needed. This presentation describes Animals
Asia’s holistic approach in partnering with the Vietnamese government to close down bear
farms and eliminate bear bile demand through public education and the promotion of herbal
alternatives. Collaborative actions with the government in law enforcement and rescuing bears
from bile farms have resulted in a gradual reduction of farmed bear numbers from 4349 in
2006, to 3000 in 2010, to 1284 in 2014, to 916 in 2000, and to less than 250 in 2024. Education
regarding the cruelty of bear farming, the illegality of bile extraction and trading, and the
community’s uptake of herbal alternatives to bear bile has caused a collapse of the bear bile
market, where the price of one milliliter of bile dropped from $20 US in 2007 to less than $5 US
in 2024. The partnership with the Vietnam Traditional Medicine Association has produced a
herbal balm composed of extracts of herbal plants that are used in traditional medicine to
replace bear bile. Public attitude surveys of this herbal balm in the most concentrated bear
farming communities in Hanoi showed that 80% of the community was satisfied with the herbal
alternative to bear bile, and 92% indicated that they would use the herbal balm again. Providing
consumers of bear bile with a valid alternative is a long-term solution to end bear bile demand
and eradicate the suffering and abuse of bears on farms. In summary, a combination of
perseverance and sustained holistic approaches by Animals Asia has resulted in the government
enacting a Directive that bear bile farming in Vietnam will end by the end of 2026.