A mother bear has reportedly strangled her cub and then killed herself by running head first into a wall to save them both from a life of torture.

It has been reported that the mother and cub were being kept in tiny cages known as 'crush cages' which restricted their movement, on a farm in a remote part of North-West of China, according to website Asia One.

One witness told Reminbao.com that the mother bear broke out of its cage when it heard her cub in distress before a worker punctured its stomach to milk the bile.

The mother bear rushed to its cub and hugged it until it eventually strangled it before running head-first into a wall, killing itself.

According to Singapore Seen, the witness, who has not been named, said: 'When a worker wanted to open up her cub’s stomach, the mother bear broke open the cage and went after the cub. After failing to release the chained cub, she hugged the cub. Then, the mother bear killed the cub to save it from a life of hell.'

The bears were reportedly having their gall bladders milked daily for 'bear bile' which is used in traditional Chinese medicine to remove 'heat' from the body as well as to treat liver ailments and sore eyes.
The bile, a digestive juice, is harvested through a permanent hole in the abdomen and gall bladder of Asiatic black bears, which, as it is open permanently, is susceptible to infections and diseases which can cause the animals unbearable pain.


This often leads bears trying to kill themselves by punching themselves in the stomach.
To stop this they are fitted with iron vests.
Bears can be farmed for their bile for around 20 years, before they stop producing it and are killed.


Critics, including Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners, have opposed the use of bear bile in their treatments and increasing numbers are turning to herbal and synthetic alternatives.

• MailOnLine
• AnimalsAsiaFoundation