WASHINGTON (Washington Insider Magazine) — Two senators submitted legislation on Tuesday aimed at reducing bear poaching and preserving grizzly populations throughout the world.
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., and Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., have introduced legislation that would prohibit the importation, exportation, and interstate trading of some internal organs poached from eight species of bears, including brown bears, black bears, and polar bears. Similar bills have been introduced in Congress in the past.
The bill claims that undercover operations by the federal and state governments have shown that “American bears have been poached for their viscera,” which includes body fluids like bile and internal parts like the gallbladder.
According to National Geographic, thousands of bears are locked in captivity on farms in China, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, and other countries to obtain their bile. According to the World Society for the Protection of Animals, extracted bear bile has been used in traditional Asian treatments to cure kidney ailments and stomach and digestive disorders. Bear bile has recently been introduced to products such as shampoo and wine, according to the organization.
“Poaching bears to harvest their organs is cruel, and it’s destroying bear populations,” Kennedy said in a statement, noting that the bill will make it more difficult for animal abusers to benefit from their crimes.
The bill, according to Duckworth, would “put a halt to this horrific practice in the United States and assist slow bear poaching and population loss.”
Violations could result in a punishment of up to $25,000 under the measure.
The legislation would not only prohibit the interstate and international trading of bear organs, but it would also support bilateral and multilateral efforts to end the trade. This would ensure that federal legislation focuses solely on domestic trade and products containing or labeled with bear viscera.
In 2018, wildlife officials in Canada busted a black bear gallbladder trafficking conspiracy that slaughtered over 100 bears over three years. On the illegal market, bear gallbladders can fetch thousands of dollars.
Even though grizzly bears are safeguarded in Montana and the lower 48 states under the Endangered Species Act, the US Fish and Wildlife Service and Montana officials were investigating the case of a grizzly bear as a poaching incident in September.
