Every so often, something in the animal world is brought to our attention here at The Great Projects that takes everyone in the office aback. Today, the horrible practise that we have learnt about recently is bear paw soup.
This “delicacy” is in popular in Asian countries such as China, Vietnam, and Laos despite it being illegal.
A portion of bear paw soup can go for around $1000 a bowl, and this high price is the reason as to why the horrific practise continues. People are making a large profit off of illegally torturing and then killing innocent bears.
Bear paw soup supposedly gives the consumer the power and virility of a bear, but the manner in which the paws are harvested shows a stronger element of cowardice than power.
Most of these bears begin their lives in captivity in bear farms, and they remain in cages up until they meet their grizzly end.
The method used to remove the paws from the bears is truly barbaric. Each paw is hacked off of the bear, one by one, whilst the poor animal is still alive. This is often done in front of the diner who has just paid for the meal as it supposedly adds an element of showmanship to the whole event.
The front paws are the most expensive as they are seen to be the most tender, and the front left in particular is prized as this is the one that the bear normally licks. This is thought to further increase the tenderness and flavour of the meat.
Even though the defenceless animal has had all four of its paws removed, this is only the beginning.
Once the bear has been de-pawed, they are then brutally beaten until near death. The bears are almost killed via a battering with steel poles. This supposedly ensures that the rest of the bear meat is tender due to the adrenaline realised from the panicked and fearful animal.
The bears are then raised above some boiling water or scalding coals, lowered in feet first, and cooked alive. Only after suffering the most horrific and painful death imaginable will the bears struggles finally be over.
This practise has gone on for thousands of years, since the time of the Chinese Emperors, but we cannot let it continue any longer. Help us protect the bears and stop bear paw soup from ever being eaten again.
I've just visited Chester Zoo and it is documented there.
It is horrific and barbaric and has to be stopped!