45 Years of Bear Farming Ends in South Korea: Are We Treating Them as Living Beings?

South Korea is on the verge of ending a 45-year-old practice of bear farming, with a government-mandated ban set to take full effect after a 30-day grace period. The law, passed in 2023, prohibits the ownership, farming, and breeding of bears, as well as the harvesting and sale of their gallbladders. This marks a significant shift from a time when bear farming was encouraged for economic gain.

Bear farmers, who have dedicated decades to this industry, now find their livelihood declared illegal. One farmer in Wonju, who started raising bears in 1993, expressed frustration, stating, "When the government encouraged us to raise them... why are they making farmers criminals?" He noted that the law changed, not the farmers' practices. The government had initially offered a six-month grace period for bear farmers to transfer their remaining bears to protection facilities, but this period is now concluding.

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The outlook was very good. One large bear was worth 80 million won, 100 million won. Back then, people who raised bears could make a living and brag about it.

Currently, 219 bears remain on nine farms across the country, with 189 raised for gallbladders and 30 for exhibition. These bears, many of them elderly with some over 20 years old, face an uncertain future as relocation efforts continue. The "Bear Rehabilitation Project," a conservation group, is involved in negotiations with farmers to find suitable sanctuaries for the animals. The number of farmed bears significantly exceeds the estimated 100 Asiatic black bears reintroduced into Jirisan National Park since 2004.

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When the government encouraged us to raise them... why are they making farmers criminals? They changed the law to make bear farming illegal, not us.

The history of bear farming in South Korea dates back to 1981, when the government promoted it as a way to increase farm income and reduce imports of bear products like gallbladders and hides. Government-produced newsreels in the 1980s advertised bears as easy to raise and profitable. By 1997, bear farming had expanded to over 110 farms with approximately 1,600 bears. During this period, wild bears in Korea became virtually extinct.

Despite international agreements like CITES in 1993, which prohibited the commercial import and export of bears, domestic farming continued. Laws were amended over time, even legalizing gallbladder harvesting in 1997 and allowing the slaughter of bears over 24 years old in 1999. However, growing public awareness of the bears' poor conditions and the practices involved led to increased pressure from environmental groups. The "Wildlife Protection and Management Act" replaced the "Wildlife Protection Act" in 2004, but critics argue that these changes were largely superficial, failing to address the fundamental issues of animal suffering and the "health food" industry's demand for bear products.

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These institutional changes were essentially just changes in language and form. While 'wild animals' became 'animals,' the fundamental problems of animal suffering and the health food industry were not improved.