Mother Bear kills her cub and then herself

The_Banker

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Someone sent me the story below and it shocked me. I have seen a few Chinese "medicine" shops spring up around the country. I hope they dont sell animal by products if this is the way its harvasted.

A mother bear has reportedly strangled her cub and then killed herself by running head first into a wall to save them both from a life of torture.
The bears were reportedly having their gall bladders milked daily for 'bear bile' which is used in traditional Chinese medicine to remove 'heat' from the body as well as to treat liver ailments and sore eyes.
The bile, a digestive juice, is harvested through a permanent hole in the abdomen and gall bladder of Asiatic black bears, which, as it is open permanently, is susceptible to infections and diseases which can cause the animals unbearable pain.
It has been reported that the mother and cub were being kept in tiny cages known as 'crush cages' which restricted their movement, on a farm in a remote part of North-West of China, according to website Asia One.

One witness told Reminbao.com that the mother bear broke out of its cage when it heard her cub in distress before a worker punctured its stomach to milk the bile.
The mother bear rushed to its cub and hugged it until it eventually strangled it before running head-first into a wall, killing itself.
According to Singapore Seen, the witness, who has not been named, said: 'When a worker wanted to open up her cub’s stomach, the mother bear broke open the cage and went after the cub.

'After failing to release the chained cub, she hugged the cub.

'Then, the mother bear killed the cub to save it from a life of hell.'

Bears can be farmed for their bile for around 20 years, before they stop producing it and are killed.

Critics, including Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners, have opposed the use of bear bile in their treatments and increasing numbers are turning to herbal and synthetic alternatives.


LINK: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2025388/China-Tortured-mother-bear-kills-cub-herself.html#ixzz1V2YdfPVu
 
It's heart breaking to read that. And shame on people for doing that to bears. Disgusting.
 
Disgusting practice and animal cruelty is horrific but I would take that particular story with a pinch of salt.
 
I went to see "Project Nim" last night. A chimp taught sign language and raised in a human family. It's a sad (and sometimes funny) story about how Nim was treated, and how we use animals. Worth seeing, but not for the faint-hearted. Currently showing in the IFI.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxQap9AAPOs
 
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