Bear bile use at the intersection of maternal health in Cambodia

Abstract

Background: The consumption of bear gallbladders and bear bile in Southeast Asia is a persistent threat to bear populations. As part of a larger effort to understand the characteristics of bear part consumption in Cambodia, we uncovered a consumer base of women seeking treatment for post-partum and uterine ailments. Methods: To better understand this aspect of consumption, we interviewed 122 women in seven different provinces in Cambodia, probing into the motivations and influences for using bear bile, as well as what types of ailments Cambodian women use it for. Results: We found that it is generally used by young or expecting mothers, and for such issues as post-partum "fatigue" (toas in Khmer), which could encompass post-partum depression. A desire to be supported by kin networks seems to facilitate the continued use of bear gallbladder and bile for these purposes. Conclusions: We suggest that efforts to reduce consumption should focus on encouraging older kin to change their means of support to Western/biomedical and by extension non-wildlife alternatives.

Insights for reducing the consumption of wildlife: The use of bear bile and gallbladder in Cambodia

“…For a time frame of 12 months, the highest level of use was estimated at being about 25% of the sample (with significant variability) for unmatched count technique (UCT) in Koh Kong, and the lowest estimate at 0% in neighbouring Kampong Speu Province (although this result likely indicated that substantial deceit occurred in the sample; Figure 5a). We found that bear bile was used for fevers, and confirmed prior research that found the use of bear bile for pregnancy and postpartum ailments (Davis et al, 2020). For example, a 50-year-old Khmer woman in Preah Vihear said:…”

“…Vihear and Siem Reap, as supported by the GLM (Table 3) and Figure 5, while our finding that Stung Treng individuals are using bear bile at a higher rate than other areas in Cambodia ( Figure 5) corroborates both the GLM (Table 3) 6 months is about 5%. This reflects previous findings that use of bear bile in Cambodia, although common over time, is a relatively rare occurrence when considered even at the annual scale, since it is most often utilized in specific and traumatic incidents such as poor health following pregnancy (Davis et al, 2020), and/or to treat bruising and broken bones after a traffic accident (Davis, 2019). Therefore, the use of bear bile will more generally reflect the prevalence of traumatic incidents interacting with propensity to use.…”

“…Recent research has shown that bear bile is used in Cambodia for bruising, pregnancy and postpartum-related ailments (Davis, 2019;Davis et al, 2020), and the factors and motivations influencing the consumption of bear products can be variable and product-specific (Davis, 2019).…”

Using theory and evidence to design behaviour change interventions for reducing unsustainable wildlife consumption

“…This caused participants to depend heavily on self‐diagnosis and personal opinion when treating themselves and their family. This observation is supported by other research (Lim et al., 2005), and links to anthropological literature around female kin networks and how access to, and reliance on, these networks has impacts on women's health (Davis et al., 2020).…”

“…In addition, the effectiveness of a medicinal treatment can also be conceptually extended to include not only its physical effects but also the impacts it has on an individual's social placement (c.f. Davis et al., 2020), which may factor into their internal processing.…”