South Korea to end breeding of bears and extraction of their bile

In this photo taken on Jan. 24, 2014, a bear looks out from a cage at a bear farm in Dangjin, South Korea. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, File)

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea said it will formally end its dwindling yet much-criticized bear bile farming industry this week, though about 200 bears are still kept in pens and raised for their gall bladders.

The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment announced Tuesday it will ban breeding and possession of bears and extraction of their bile beginning Jan. 1. The change is in line with a revised animal rights protection law that imposes up to two or five years of prison sentences to violators.

South Korea is one of the few countries that allow farming to extract bile from bears, mostly Asiatic black bears known as moon bears, for traditional medicine or food believed to promote vitality and stamina.

But the popularity of the practice has nosedived in the past two decades in response to questions about its medicinal effects, the introduction of cheaper medical alternatives and public awareness of animal cruelty.

The plan is part of a broader 2022 agreement among officials, farmers and animal rights campaigners to prohibit bear bile farming beginning in 2026. Animal rights groups are responsible for handling purchases of bears from farmers and the government establishing facilities to hold them.

A total of 21 bears has been purchased and relocated to a government-run sanctuary in the southern Jelloa province this year. But 199 bears are still raised in 11 farms across the country while disputes continue over the amount of money to be paid to farmers for giving up their bears, according to officials, activists and farmers.

The Environment Ministry said it will place a six-month grace period for farmers raising bears but punish them in line with the law if they extract bile from the animals. The ministry said it’ll provide a financial incentive to farmers who keep their animals until they are sold and moved.

“Our plan to end bear farming business is an implementation of our country’s resolve to improve welfare of wild animals and fulfill our related international responsibility,” Environment Minister Kim Sungwhan said in a statement. “We will strive to help bears protected until the last one.”

Kim KwangSoo, a farmer who raises 78 bears in the southern city of Dangjin, said other farmers sold their bears at extremely cheap prices because of economic difficulties, though he hasn’t sold any of his animals.

“This is a very bad policy,” Kim said. “I’ll still observe the law because I’d suffer some disadvantages if I don’t do so.”

Kim, who had about 270 bears in his Dangjin farm in 2014, said he has debts of several hundreds of thousands of dollars due to upkeep costs for bears.

Bear farming began in South Korea in the early 1980s, with farmers importing bears from Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries.

About 1,000 bears were raised in farms in South Korea in 2014. Kim KwangSoo said many farmers had since sterilized their bears in return for government compensations. He said some bears died naturally while others have been slaughtered for their bile or killed after being attacked by other bears held in the same cages due to a lack of proper management.

Animal rights groups praised South Korea’s government for pressing ahead with the 2022 agreement but urged it to establish bigger protection facilities to accept rescued bears.

The government says its Jeolla province sanctuary can carry up to 49 bears, but Kang Jae-won, an activist at the Korea Animal Welfare Association, said the number of bears should not exceed 30. A second government facility was to be established in April but the opening has been delayed until 2027 due to flooding.

Kang said that activists are discussing with foreign zoos to send some rescued bears there.

“It’s really good (for the government) to reflect on bear bile industry and push to end it but it’s regrettable that there aren’t sufficient measures to protect bears,” said Cheon JinKyung, head of Korea Animal Rights Advocates in Seoul. “There aren’t place where these bears can stay.”

Hyung-jin Kim, The Associated Press