An Asiatic black bear in a cage at a bile farm in China.

The action brought the number of former "bile bears" being cared for by the Foundation to 135, all of which currently live in one of two sanctuaries in China.

For thousands of years bears were hunted for the bile in their gall bladders, but the practice was discontinued in the early 1980s because bear populations had been so dramatically reduced.

The first bile bear farms were established shortly afterward. By the early 1990s, there were more than 10,000 bears being kept on approximately 480 of the farms in China.

In July 2000, the Foundation reached an agreement with the Chinese government calling for the rescue of 500 bears within 10 years and an eventual elimination of bile bear farms.

The Animals Asia Foundation took in 65 bears shortly after the agreement was signed, and rescued another 40 during the summer of 2001.

Animal News Center, Inc.