Lee Yen Mun The Star 12 May 11;
PETALING JAYA: Many traditional medicine shops surveyed by a pro-animal movement are openly selling bear bile products.
All bear species are listed under the Wildlife Act as “totally protected” and may only be traded for non-commercial purposes and subjected to approval by the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry.
Traffic, an international wildlife trade monitoring network, found that 77% of traditional medicine shops it surveyed in the peninsula sold the products.
In Sabah and Sarawak, 23 shops were discovered to be selling bear gall bladder, pills, flakes and ointment containing the bile.
Traffic suggested that a majority of the gall bladders were wild-sourced.
Although three bear species were known to be sought for bile products, only the Malayan Sun Bear is native to Malaysia.
The other two South-East Asian species identified were the Asiatic black bear (also known as Moon Bear) and the Brown Bear.
“The high percentage of shops openly selling bear products indicates a market demand and little enforcement effort to discourage shops from providing the product.
“Malaysia's role as a producer may be changing in recent years from the small-scale provision of products to East Asian tourists, to a potentially commercialised production business,” Traffic said in its report released yesterday.
The group's research had focused on the bear bile trade in Asia between June 2010 and April 2011.
In Malaysia, a total of 212 traditional medicine shops were surveyed in Penang, Perak, Johor, Kelantan, Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Miri, Kuching and Sibu.
Traffic claimed that Malaysia played a dual role in the bear bile trade as a consumer as well as a producer.
“We recommend that the authorities investigate shops and manufacturers selling and producing both real and purported bear bile medicines and prosecute them accordingly,” it said.
Bear bile is a liquid secreted by the liver to aid digestion and stored in the gall bladder.
It is believed to be used to treat sore throats, sores, haemorrhoids, sprains, bruising, muscle ailments, epilepsy and to “clear” the liver.
Bear bile products come in various forms including whole gall bladders, raw bile, pills, powder, flakes and ointment.
