The sale of bear bile and gall bladder is widespread among traditional medicine shops in Malaysia despite a law prohibiting the trade of bear parts and products, an international anti-wildlife trafficking group said today.

Nearly half of the 365 traditional medicinal shops surveyed across Malaysia said they sold bear gall bladder and medicinal products containing bear bile, according to the study conducted by the group Traffic.

“Every state in Malaysia had bear products for sale, especially peninsular Malaysia, where bear bile pills were the most common item sold,” it said in a statement.

The Traffic study entitled, ‘Hard to Bear: An assessment of trade in bear bile and gall bladder in Malaysia’, said nearly 60 percent of 298 bear gall bladders observed for sale were claimed to be from wild sun bears killed locally.

“The fact that so many traders revealed that gall bladders were sourced locally for trade, points to a potentially significant impact on wild bear populations throughout Malaysia,” said Chris Shepherd, regional director for Traffic in South-East Asia.

Bear is a protected species in Malaysia and trade in bear parts and products are illegal.

Bear bile and gall bladder are believed to be effective in treating various health problems such as eye diseases, liver diseases and kidney malfunction.

- dpa