A conservationist acted as a moon bear to protest Guizhentang's listed in IPO questioned. Source: ChinaEconomy.cn.



China's biggest bear bile company is being boycotted by conservationists as it positions itself to IPO recently.

Guizhentang, also known as Greetown, a Fujian-based pharmaceutical company and one of the biggest bear bile producers in China, is hoping to raise money through a public listing to increase the number of bears it farms from 400 to 1,200 so as to increase production.

It is not the first time Guizhentang trys to position to IPO. The company did the first attempt in January 2011, and finally failed.




◆Bear bile company fails to quell criticism of abuse
A Fujian-based medicine company opened one of its live bear bile-extracting bases to the media Wednesday, in an attempt to quell criticism of its practices.

◆Vets push to close bear farms
Veterinarians and animal protection activists said Tuesday that there are no humane ways to extract bear bile, and that the farming of the substance must end.

◆China to open bile bear farm to media: medical association
China plans to open a farm that breeds bears for bile extraction to reporters, a medical association said Thursday.

◆Defense for bear bile gathering provokes uproar
Claws remain out over the cruelty of bear bile farming, despite a bid by an industry association connected with the practice to quell recent debate.

◆Bear bile rivals claw away
Amid the public outcry against the listing attempt of a Fujian-based company which produces medicine from bear bile, the China Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine (CATCM) argued Thursday that China uses a painless technique to extract bear bile, which does not affect the animals' health.(Source: Global Times)

◆Animal activists petition against IPO
An animal protection NGO, together with more than 70 celebrities including singers, writers and actors, signed a letter Tuesday addressed to the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), which expressed their opposition to the IPO candidacy of Guizhentang, a major bear bile extraction company.(Source: Global Times)

◆Conservationists announce bear bile boycott
China's biggest bear bile company is being boycotted by conservationists as it positions itself to IPO, according to Beijing Morning Post on February 7, 2012. (Source: Global Times)



◆Dispute: Cruelty of bear bile farming





◆Dispute: Can the efficacy of bear bile be replaced?



◆Dispute: The law for animal protection in China






@张泉灵(China Central Television (CCTV) news anchor): If the Fujian Guizhentang Pharmaceutical Corporation, which farms bears to extract the bear bile, is listed publicly, the number of tortured bears will increase from 400 to 1,200. The medical company said that the techniques they adopted to extract bear bile does not cause any pain to the bears. However, will these bears be happy being confined in such a small room everyday? Are they not tortured by the open wound they’ll suffer from the extraction process all their life? What's more, the active ingredient of bear bile can now be artificially synthesized or replaced by other traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), for example the rhubarb, a type of TCM. Why still hurt the bears?

@任志强 (Ren Zhiqiang, president of Beijing-based Huayuan Group): If no one buys shares of the company after its listing, it indicates that the Chinese people have elevated their environmental awareness.

@绪言睿论(A microblogger from Beijing): Capitalism always pursues profits! Just as Karl Marx has put it: If there is 100 percent profit, the capitalists will take a risk; if there is 200 percent, they might break the law; if there is 300, nothing can stop them. In a socialist society, enterprises should shoulder their moral responsibility. If not, let the watchdogs and the people help awaken their moral sense!

@China News Weekly (the official Sina microblog of the China News Weekly): The possible listing of the Fujian Guizhentang Pharmaceutical Corporation is to face resistance from a colossal number of net users. As one of the largest medical companies in China, which produces bear bile products, the company has raised 400 bears. Net users said that the means the medical company uses to extract the bile from the live bears is too cruel, the Beijing Morning Post reported.

@一杯海水(A microblogger from Shanghai): Our country has no a complete law for animal protection. And someone lose their moral code just for earning more money. It seems that we are hurt the animals now, but we will finally hurt ourselves.



Bear bile has been accepted as the most effective medicine for Hepatic and Biliary Disorders. So bear bile always sells well in the market, although the price is not low.

The people in Asia had hunted and killed wild moon bears for the small bile for thousand years. Just until 20 years ago, the people in Asia began to find some other ways to replace bear bile for medical use, in order to avoid the ruthless killing.

There are eight kinds of bears in the world. Except for panda, the quantities of other bears are reducing due to the bear bile trade. The Asian moon bears are influenced most.

Bear bile farming is a cruel industry that involves bears being milked for their bile through crude holes that are cut into the abdomen wall and into the gall bladder. These wounds are deliberately left open, leaving the bears subject to bacterial infection and disease.

The heavey and rusty tool that a bear must wear            ‖  everyday for the convenience of bile extraction.              ‖	A bear in illness is still locked in a narrow cage. (Source: Sohu Blog)

Animal		Time	Report
	Seal	Feb 1, 2012	Seal of disapproval for inhumane trade
		Jan 12, 2012	Animal activists hold anti- seal fur protest at trade fair
	Shark	Dec 23, 2011	NGOs seek end to shark’s fin dinners
		Jun 10, 2011	A shark reality
		Mar 9, 2011	Chinese billionaire lawmaker urges legislation against shark fin trading
	Dolphin	Aug 2, 2011	Dolphin swallows bottle, rescued