Bear Parts Still in Demand in Asia
10/26/99
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: Bear parts still in demand in Asia
Source: Associated Press
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: October 26, 1999
Although smuggling of bear gallbladders, paws and livers has
decreased, many South Koreans continue to travel to Southeast Asia to
obtain them, environmentalists said today.
Conservationists say endangered species of bears and tigers are
threatened with extinction because of poachers who cash in on the
demand for animal parts in South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and China
and their expatriate communities worldwide.
Tightened customs inspections have sharply decreased smuggling of
such items in South Korea, said Sohn Dong-kyun, an official at the
National Customs Administration.
Twelve cases of bear-part smuggling were reported last year, compared
with 24 in the previous year, he said in a report to an international
symposium in Seoul.
Animal rights groups noted that Thai restaurants still serve bear
parts for South Korean and Chinese tourists. They said South Koreans,
at home and abroad, were among the world's biggest consumers of bear
parts.
Smuggled North American, Russian and Chinese bear gall bladders are a
hot item in Asia - particularly Korea - where each can sell for
thousands of dollars. Koreans consider bear gallbladders a cure for
ailments, including toothache and epilepsy.
Koreans also go on organized tours to Thailand, China and the
Philippines to dine on bear, reputedly good for increasing strength
and vitality.