China company opens bear bile farm to media

A traditional Chinese medicine company at the heart of an angry Internet campaign accusing it of violating animal welfare opened one of its controversial bear bile farms to journalists on Wednesday. Bear bile has long been used in China to treat various health problems, despite skepticism over its effectiveness and outrage over the bile extraction process, which animal rights group say is excruciatingly painful for bears. The Guizhentang pharmaceutical company in the southeastern province of Fujian last year announced plans to raise millions of dollars through a stock exchange listing in order to increase production of the bile. But the announcement sparked a noisy Internet campaign against the listing that brought into question the medical effectiveness of the bile and the cruel manner in which it is extracted from living bears. According to a Guizhentang spokeswoman surnamed Wang, Chinese journalists began visiting one of the company's bear farms on Wednesday as part of attempts to address the controversy. She said they were promised full "transparency" to inspect the premise, but the state-run Beijing News reported that journalists would not be allowed to ask questions during the visit. "Guizhentang made public a list of journalists without prior consultations. They could be putting on a show," the paper quoted Zhang Xingsheng of the Nature Conservancy's North Asia office as saying. The company refused to allow AFP journalists to take part in the tour, saying the event was not open to foreign reporters. According to Guizhentang's website, the company farmed 470 bears last year and hoped to increase the number to 1,200 following the listing in order to step up annual production of bear bile to 4,000 tonnes. Bear bile is used in China and other Asian countries to treat fevers, liver disease, eye problems and other health problems. To extract the bile, bears are often placed in cages so small they cannot move, while tubes are inserted in their gall bladders to extract the bile for extended periods of time, animal rights groups have said. According to the non-governmental group Animals Asia, official figures state that around 7,000 bears still languish in bile farms across China, but many more could be used in illegal establishments.