Thousands of bears are being detained in minute cages for the entirety of their lives and forced to endure regular painful procedures so that their bile can be regularly harvested. At least 20,000 of the once majestic mammals are estimated to be trapped in bear bile facilities across Vietnam, Korea, China, Laos and Myanmar, according to Luke Nicholson, a regional project manager for World Animal Protection. 'They sit in metal cages that are elevated off the ground and they are denied basic animal welfare conditions,' Mr Nicholson, who has travelled to Vietnam at least five times in the last year to visit these facilities and negotiate with governments, told Daily Mail Australia.
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At least 20,000 bears are estimated to be trapped in bear bile facilities across Vietnam, Korea, China, Laos and Myanmar
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The bile is extracted through regular, painful procedures
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Meanwhile, the mammals spend their entire lives in cages no larger than a telephone booth, eating unnatural diets and sporting constant injury
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Bear bile is unnecessarily added to various pharmaceuticals such as haemorrhoid cream, however it is also added to beauty products and used for entertainment
A bear's paw sits in a jar of fluid at a @placeholder stall: Mr Nicholson urges anyone who wants to know how they can help, to avoid taking part in activities in which wildlife is exploited