Each year, more than 40,000 bears are killed in the United States, including hundreds in national parks. They are slaughtered to meet the little-known, illegal but lucrative market for their body parts. Bear gall bladders--worth 18 times their weight in gold on the black market--are sold to Pacific Rim manufacturers of traditional Chinese medicines. Their paws go to make soup that can cost $1,000 per bowl in Asia, and other body parts are used in the manufacture of shampoo and other personal care products. The $2 billion-a-year business may soon hit a snag, however. Researchers at London's World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) have developed a kit that will enable investigators to determine within minutes if products contain bear derivatives. The kits, which work on the same principle as home pregnancy tests, are "not going to eradicate the trade, but they will be a deterrent," a WSPA spokesperson predicts, by pointing law enforcement officers to companies using bear parts in their products.
COPYRIGHT 2005 Vegetarian Times, Inc. All rights reserved.
|
Search
