Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Hi there,
There is an issue with role permissions that is being worked on at the moment.
If you are having trouble with access or permissions on regional forums please post here to get access: https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058365403/you-do-not-have-permission-for-that#latest

Mother bear kills cub, then itself to save them from brutal life

  • 14-08-2011 12:35pm
    #1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 23,270 ✭✭✭✭J. Marston


    The Chinese media has reported on an extraordinary account of a mother bear saving her cub from a life of torture by strangling it and then killing itself.

    The bears were kept in a farm located in a remote area in the North-West of China. The bears on the farm had their gall bladders milked daily for 'bear bile,' which is used as a remedy in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

    It was reported that the bears are kept in tiny cages known as 'crush cages', as the bears have no room to manoeuvre and are literally crushed.

    The bile is harvested by making a permanent hole or fistula in the bears' abdomen and gall bladder.

    As the hole is never closed, the animals are suspect to various infections and diseases including tumours, cancers and death from peritonitis.

    The bears are fitted with an iron vest, as they often try to kill themselves by hitting their stomach as they are unable to bear the pain.

    A person who was on the farm in place of a friend witnessed the procedures and told Reminbao.com that they were inhumane.

    The witness also claimed that a mother bear broke out its cage when it heard its cub howl in fear before a worker punctured its stomach to milk the bile.

    The workers ran away in fear when they saw the mother bear rushing to its cub's side.

    Unable to free the cub from its restraints, the mother hugged the cub and eventually strangled it.

    It then dropped the cub and ran head-first into a wall, killing itself.

    Many TCM practitioners have denounced the use of bear bile in their treatment as there are cheaper herbs and synthetics that can be used in its place.

    Bear bile is traditionally used to remove 'heat' from the body as well as treat high fever, liver ailments and sore eyes.

    http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%...05-292947.html

    Fairly sick act of animal cruelty. But I wonder if the mother bear actually knew what it was doing or maybe its mind had just gone.

    Edit: added source.


«134

Comments

  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 140 ✭✭Marcus_Crassus


    That article sickens and saddens me. Wow.

    How do people do such barbarous things?

    I am disgusted, and disturbed.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,228 ✭✭✭robman60


    It just couldn't bear it any longer I guess...


  • Administrators, Computer Games Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 32,531 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Mickeroo


    In before someone says "that sounds unbearable".

    Seriously though, that's sickening.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,207 ✭✭✭The King of Moo


    That's just horrible, I can never understand how people can knowingly do something like that to an animal, and watch it suffer without caring.
    It really takes a strong element of psychopathy. People like that scare and sicken me.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,332 ✭✭✭Guill


    All humans are scum.


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,667 ✭✭✭Frynge


    robman60 wrote: »
    It just couldn't bear it any longer I guess...
    Mickeroo wrote: »
    In before someone says "that sounds unbearable".

    Seriously though, that's sickening.


    Too Soon!


  • Administrators, Computer Games Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 32,531 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Mickeroo


    Guill wrote: »
    All humans are scum.

    Yea because all humans go around milking bile from defenceless bears for no good reason. rabble rabble


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 334 ✭✭B_Fanatic


    robman60 wrote: »
    It just couldn't bear it any longer I guess...

    It's a little too late for a joke on how it was unbearable then, yeah?

    Seriously though, that is ****ing HORRIBLE. Can you imagine the pain? Jesus


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,822 ✭✭✭sunflower27


    That is absolutely brutal. We all know stuff like this goes on and yet it's not something we think about until we read something like this.

    That is absolutely horrific. What is being done to stop it? Surely there are groups that raise awareness to stop this brutality?


  • Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 60,110 Mod ✭✭✭✭Tar.Aldarion


    disgusting.


  • Advertisement
  • Closed Accounts Posts: 491 ✭✭doomed


    And the human race is supposed to be the most advanced species? Yeah right!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 296 ✭✭looky loo


    She did the right thing, sickened after reading that.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,019 ✭✭✭Badgermonkey


    Unable to free the cub from its restraints, the mother hugged the cub and eventually strangled it.

    It then dropped the cub and ran head-first into a wall, killing itself.

    Worrying amount of anthropomorphism on display in that entire article.

    Harvesting bile is undoubtedly reprehensible though.


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 4,210 ✭✭✭argosy2006




  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,901 ✭✭✭Gunslinger92


    I have always been against that stupid Chinese medicine ****, and this is a good example of why :( If I could line up those cnuts against a wall and shoot them I would do it in a heartbeat,


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,822 ✭✭✭sunflower27


    Online petition that can be signed here:

    http://www.petitiononline.com/bears/petition.html

    A more in-depth read about the story here:

    http://ingenira.hubpages.com/hub/A-Teary-Mother-Bear-Killed-Her-Baby-and-Committed-Suicide-A-Heart-Breaking-True-Story

    Bear with me while I cut and paste (no pun intended)


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,581 ✭✭✭uberwolf




  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,851 ✭✭✭Cill Dara Abu


    Online petition that can be signed here:

    http://www.petitiononline.com/bears/petition.html

    A more in-depth read about the story here:

    http://ingenira.hubpages.com/hub/A-Teary-Mother-Bear-Killed-Her-Baby-and-Committed-Suicide-A-Heart-Breaking-True-Story

    Bear with me while I cut and paste (no pun intended)
    Liar!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,332 ✭✭✭Guill


    Mickeroo wrote: »
    Yea because all humans go around milking bile from defenceless bears for no good reason. rabble rabble


    You especially.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 632 ✭✭✭Alopex


    why doesn't chinese medicine get attacked by atheists like they do to homeopathy?


  • Advertisement
  • Administrators, Computer Games Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 32,531 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Mickeroo


    Bear with me while I cut and paste (no pun intended)

    If you didn't intend the pun does that mean there's a Bear siting beside you?!?!? :eek:


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,672 ✭✭✭tonydude


    Very sad story , poor bears


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,822 ✭✭✭sunflower27


    A friend asked me for a favour. He needed my assistance to manage a bear farm for a few days. The location was remote and unknown by many.
    I reached there at night. It was just before dawn, but I was still not able to sleep. I could hear the wind blow, as if someone was weeping with pain and hopelessness. At that very moment, I heard the sound of the door moving and heavy breathing. I sat up, pulled to a stand and turned on the light. "Who is it?" There was no answer. The silence was terrifying.
    I reached out and grabbed a broom. Gently, I walked to the door and with a quick pull, opened it. Ha ! It’s a bear cub curling up her body looking sheepishly as me. I extended my hands and the cub waddled towards me. She rested her small palms on my hands. Then she licked my hand with her warm and soft tongue. It was so heart-warming.
    Suddenly, I heard commotion from far. The cub quickly went under my bed.
    Then, there was a knock on the door.
    I opened the door and asked, “What’s up?”
    A man said, “A bear cub just escaped from the bear farm. Has it come to disturb you?”
    “Oh, yes, there it is.” I pointed at the cub’s hiding place.
    The man squat down and grabbed the cub with one hand. With such roughness, he pulled the bear out and tied her four limbs to a long wooden stick. They lifted the stick and the cub was carried away from the room. As she left, she turned and gave me a begging and pitiful look.


    4673332_f520.jpg
    Iron Vest


    After dawn, the worker on-duty, Zhang took me to see the bears. In a few thousand square meters wide and tall building, six cages were placed in an open space. In every cage, there laid a black and weary bear. What puzzled me was the shining metal around their bodies.
    Zhang told me, “This iron vest is used to extract bile from the bear body. Now, the price of this bile is 300 yuan per gram.” He took me to the first cage, gesturing to me, “Let’s start the bile extraction."
    I saw two sturdy workers tied up the bear’s body and pulled, through a pulley, a rope that was connected to the iron vest. They shouted, “Hi....!” and I saw the bear’s body contracted as they pulled. Suddenly, the bear gave out a hysterical roar, “Woo....!”. That was not really a roar. It has changed to a desolate and sorrowful cry. Her eyes showed endurance of excruciating pain. With restricted movement and space, she tried to struggle with her four limbs, kicking the ground with, “Ze la, Ze la” sound, which was such a pain to hear. At that very instant, I could hear the dripping sound of liquid coming out from a steel pipe under the bear’s stomach.
    The workers then slowly released the rope followed by another long hard pull, as they repeated the extraction procedure. Another hoarse cry was heard. I saw the tears drop from the bear’s eyes. Similar to how a human would response to pain; the bear clenched its teeth and bent its body. It was such a heart-breaking scene! I could not bear to watch any further. I turned and walked away.
    At that moment, I suddenly realised, the moaning cry before dawn came from these tragic bears.
    Zhang followed me to the door. With trembling voice, I asked him, “Have you lost your humanity? These are living things!”
    Zhang dismissed it, “Not that we have any choice. This is how we earn a living.”
    Calming down, I asked him with a heavy heart, “How often do you need to extract the bile?”
    He replied, “That depends. If the bear has good supply of bile, we will do it once or twice a day. The bear with less bile will be performed once in two days. Generally, a bear can produce 2000g of bile annually for 10 years.”
    I trembled. Twice a day for 10 years, these are monstrous numbers! The bear has to go through such deadly torture twice a day, living a life without hope, for 10 years; 7200 times of flesh piercing pain; enduring it day after day, year after year. Even if this happens to the strongest human, he will not be able to sustain it. My heart ached with pain.
    I wanted to leave. Zhang said, “In a short while, a surgery will be performed on the cubs. You cannot leave at this critical moment. You are representing Mr. Liu. If you leave and something goes wrong, who is going to bear the responsibility?”
    Reluctantly, I followed him back to the bear room. Under his instruction, four sturdy workers brought in a cub and tied it up with chain. The cub looked at everyone with horror. When she saw me, her eyes brightened up. The cub dropped to her knees and begged me. I felt tears in my eyes.
    Zhang waved his hands, instructing the workers to start the surgery.
    In great despair, the cub lifted her head and cried, “Wooo....” She burst into tears. It was the most sorrowful and soul-touching cry I have ever heard in my life. It was as if knowing the human language, the cub shouted out the word, “Mom....”. Even the workers were startled.
    At that very moment, an extra-ordinary shocking scene took place. A bear in a cage let out a loud cry. With her large hands and all her strength, she pushed open the thick iron bar and jumped out of the cage. The workers were terrified and fled away immediately.
    Startled, I didn’t move. It was as if my legs had grown lead and I was not able to move an inch. However, the bear ignored my presence. She rushed to the cub. With her large hands, in awkward movement, she frantically tried to release the cub from the chain. Despite her best effort, she failed to release the cub. So, she kissed the cub and nestled her in her arms with a heavy heart. She licked the cub’s tears lovingly, crying, “Hmm ..hmmm....” to soothe the cub. The cub cried out, “Hoooo....”, as if calling her mom, asking her for rescue.
    Suddenly, the bear let out a loud cry. With her large hands, she strangled the cub’s neck with all her might. She roared as she strangled until the cub’s body fell to the ground. Then, she released her hands. Looking at her dead child, she whimpered, as if saying, ”My child, I cannot save you, but you are not going to suffer any more. I’m so sorry.”
    She bit her own hair. Then, she grabbed the iron vest and pulled it off her body. Together with the vest, the metal pipe flew out of the gallbladder. The fur at her stomach was covered with red blood as it dripped out of her stomach. She let out another cry, as if she has gone hysterical, and went towards the wall. “Bang!”. The wall collapsed.
    I was in shock. I could not recall how I left this brutality.

    For a whole day, my mind was preoccupied with these tragic scenes. I asked myself, “Was the mother bear’s move an act of motherly love? I believe so. It was an act of helpless motherly love. At that moment and place, she did not have the ability to help her child to escape from the twenty years of hellish torture. Under such helpless and desperate situation, she can only destroy the beloved child she has created. She then took the same path to follow her child, hoping to accompany her. “


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 11,909 ✭✭✭✭Wertz


    Feckin' chinese, milking bears, castrating tigers, killing white rhino for horn and fishing seahorses almost to extinction and all for their traditional medicine bullsh*t. Never mind removing the top layer of the oceans predators so they can make soup...

    I wonder could we get them to come up with a remedy that uses Irish politicians tongues...

    As for the topic: could the bear come to that somewhat logical conclussion? I believe so...smart animal and capable of showing rudimentary emotion and forward planning...suicide among animals it rare but it happens, dolphins in captivity are known for it. Killing the young first is a step up though but I don't see why not, if they can come to the conclussion that life is hopeless (which it very much was in those conditions)...


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 34,694 ✭✭✭✭NIMAN


    Does anyone genuinely believe that a bear would have the intelligence to put its child out of its misery before commiting suicide?

    Come on people ....


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,325 ✭✭✭ItsAWindUp


    Horrible, I guess Morrissey was right when he described the Chinese as a sub-species in terms of their treatment of animals.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,901 ✭✭✭Gunslinger92


    NIMAN wrote: »
    Does anyone genuinely believe that a bear would have the intelligence to put its child out of its misery before commiting suicide?

    Come on people ....

    Bears are one of the most intelligent animals there is...

    Just because they aren't as "smart" as humans, doesn't mean that they have no degree of intelligence.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,285 ✭✭✭bonzodog2


    That is so sad. H. Sapiens are not very impressive sometimes.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 14,762 ✭✭✭✭stupidusername


    This is too upsetting for me to read.surprised more people hadn't heard of this already.needs much more awareness


  • Advertisement
  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,538 ✭✭✭flutterflye


    Worrying amount of anthropomorphism on display in that entire article.

    Harvesting bile is undoubtedly reprehensible though.

    I do agree that people do tend to empathise with animals as if they were human a bit too much.
    But no living thing should be treated in such a way if it can be helped.
    I do wonder about animals sometimes- when they appear to act in human-like ways, maybe there is more to them than we give them credit for.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,332 ✭✭✭Guill


    argosy2006 wrote: »


    Bearly any room to move!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 14,670 ✭✭✭✭Wolfe Tone


    If its in a tiny cage how could it run into a wall killing itself? Cant see how that would actually kill the bear tbh


    Anyway, sick stuff


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,338 ✭✭✭yesno1234


    NIMAN wrote: »
    Does anyone genuinely believe that a bear would have the intelligence to put its child out of its misery before commiting suicide?

    Come on people ....

    Bears are incredibly intelligent animals so it's not too far fetched to believe the reasoning behind the mother doing this.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,207 ✭✭✭The King of Moo


    Wertz wrote: »
    Feckin' chinese, milking bears, castrating tigers, killing white rhino for horn and fishing seahorses almost to extinction and all for their traditional medicine bullsh*t. Never mind removing the top layer of the oceans predators so they can make soup...

    I wonder could we get them to come up with a remedy that uses Irish politicians tongues...

    As for the topic: could the bear come to that somewhat logical conclussion? I believe so...smart animal and capable of showing rudimentary emotion and forward planning...suicide among animals it rare but it happens, dolphins in captivity are known for it. Killing the young first is a step up though but I don't see why not, if they can come to the conclussion that life is hopeless (which it very much was in those conditions)...

    There's quite a bit of debate in the scientific community over whether animals can plan things in advance, even to a small degree, and there seems to be more scientists saying they believe more animals are capable of it.
    Personally I think it's not hard to believe that the mother might've killed the cub to end its suffering.
    There wouldn't too much thinking to it: first an instinctive emotional reaction to hearing its cub suffer, and she would probably have known that killing it would've ended its suffering.
    I don't know if it would definitely have been able to have thought like that, but it seems somewhat plausible.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,822 ✭✭✭sunflower27


    This is too upsetting for me to read.surprised more people hadn't heard of this already.needs much more awareness

    And I suppose that is the problem. It is absolutely horrific and yet people don't want to talk or read about it and so it goes on and on.

    I am not giving out - it sickened me to read but at the same time these things do need to be out there to hopefully get enough people to react.

    How anyone could do that as a job day in day out to a living creature is beyond me.


  • Advertisement
  • Closed Accounts Posts: 11,909 ✭✭✭✭Wertz


    ItsAWindUp wrote: »
    Horrible, I guess Morrissey was right when he described the Chinese as a sub-species in terms of their treatment of animals.

    Morrisey's been right on a few things lately...


  • Posts: 0 CMod ✭✭✭✭ Diana Grumpy Guillotine


    That is absolutely brutal. We all know stuff like this goes on and yet it's not something we think about until we read something like this.

    That is absolutely horrific. What is being done to stop it? Surely there are groups that raise awareness to stop this brutality?

    I had no idea it existed.
    Jesus christ.
    :(:(:(:(:(:(:(


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 6,919 ✭✭✭Grindylow


    :( Damn Chinese and their herbal remedies.

    Stick to making my fried rice, ktnx.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 14,762 ✭✭✭✭stupidusername


    And I suppose that is the problem. It is absolutely horrific and yet people don't want to talk or read about it and so it goes on and on.

    I am not giving out - it sickened me to read but at the same time these things do need to be out there to hopefully get enough people to react.

    How anyone could do that as a job day in day out to a living creature is beyond me.
    I've read about it already so I know what goes on,without reading it I already feel disgusted at what the chinese do for their bollix medicine.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,298 ✭✭✭cosmicfart




    video puts it all on context really


  • Advertisement
  • Closed Accounts Posts: 14,670 ✭✭✭✭Wolfe Tone


    And I suppose that is the problem. It is absolutely horrific and yet people don't want to talk or read about it and so it goes on and on.

    I am not giving out - it sickened me to read but at the same time these things do need to be out there to hopefully get enough people to react.

    How anyone could do that as a job day in day out to a living creature is beyond me.
    When it comes to china there are bigger fish to fry tbh


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,822 ✭✭✭sunflower27




  • Posts: 0 CMod ✭✭✭✭ Diana Grumpy Guillotine




  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,019 ✭✭✭Badgermonkey


    I do agree that people do tend to empathise with animals as if they were human a bit too much.
    But no living thing should be treated in such a way if it can be helped.
    I do wonder about animals sometimes- when they appear to act in human-like ways, maybe there is more to them than we give them credit for.

    No, anthropomorphism is attributing human characteristics to animals.

    Of course folks should empathise with any creature whose existence as a vessel for sham medicine renders its life an utter misery.
    saving her cub from a life of torture by strangling it
    they often try to kill themselves by hitting their stomach
    the mother hugged the cub and eventually strangled it

    And the title of this thread itself
    Mother bear kills cub, then itself to save them from brutal life


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,565 ✭✭✭losthorizon


    Sickening. It reminds me of the TV show Stephen Fry did with Mark Cawardine (sp?) about endangered animals .Loads of creatures in Asia are becoming extinct or very rare because of Chinese medicene. Disgusting


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 28,789 ✭✭✭✭ScumLord


    I really dislike a hole lot of things about China. I try to boycott anything that comes out of that country as much as possible. They don't treat people all that much better.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 11,299 ✭✭✭✭later12


    doomed wrote: »
    And the human race is supposed to be the most advanced species? Yeah right!
    It doesn't mean we're the most ethical species, I don't think that poor human ethics can be argued. But yes, in terms of dominance humans are the most advanced species, the fact that it was the humans who were locking the bears in cages, and not the other way around, is illustrative of that.

    Although it would be great in the case of these bears and these farm workers if it could simply be the other way around.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 25,070 ✭✭✭✭My name is URL


    I wouldn't care so much about the (medicine) practice itself.. the West has some fairly questionable practices of its own when it comes to animal testing etc.. The shear cruelty shown towards the animals in China is just inexcusable though.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 8,018 ✭✭✭Mike 1972


    ScumLord wrote: »
    I really dislike a hole lot of things about China. I try to boycott anything that comes out of that country as much as possible. They don't treat people all that much better.

    I hear what youre saying but right now Im picturing you sitting naked on the floorboards of a bare empty room :eek:


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,538 ✭✭✭flutterflye


    No, anthropomorphism is attributing human characteristics to animals.

    Of course folks should empathise with any creature whose existence as a vessel for sham medicine renders its life an utter misery.

    And the title of this thread itself

    I'm not disagreeing with your point.
    But I am not seeing the difference between what you said and what I said though. :confused:


  • Advertisement
Advertisement