CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -China’s government has recommended treating severe and critical cases of COVID-19 with an injection containing bear bile powder.

Detailed explanation-2: -Bear bile has been a popular ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine for 3, 000 years. [1] It has been used to cure various ailments, such as fever, gall stones, liver problems, heart disease, and eye irritation.

Detailed explanation-3: -In China, bear bile farming is legal, and there is almost 100 large scale farms mass harvesting bears for their bile. The largest holds over 2, 000 bears. These large farms are typically owned by major pharmaceutical companies.

Detailed explanation-4: -Other more common bears in China include the Asiatic black bear and the brown bear which are found across much of the country. Sub-species of the brown bear include the Himalayan brown bear and the Tibetan blue bear in Tibet, and the Ussuri brown bear in Northeast China.

Detailed explanation-5: -Currently, it is illegal to extract bile from bears in South Korea while they are alive. However, it is legal to slaughter the animals for their whole gall bladder for use in Traditional Asian medicine when they are 10 years old.