Extraction of bear bile 'painless, necessary'
By Zhao Huanxin (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-01-13 05:46

"The cruel farming practice has basically been abolished," Wang said.

But he said some organizations or individuals are still using old videos or photos or illegal farms to exaggerate the current situation.

"This distorts the facts and misleads donors into providing money," he said.

Other issues addressed by officials at the press conference:

Skinning animals: Cases of animals such as dogs and cats skinned alive is sporadic in some areas, Yu Fachang, a division director of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, said.

Shark fin: Yu said Chinese consumers are being advised to change their dietary habits and eat as few fins as possible.

Li Yanliang, an official with the Ministry of Agriculture, said China strictly adheres to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna, and has not violated the ban on fishing of whale shark, basking shark or great white shark listed in the convention.

Dog killing: Guo Weimin, chief of the news department of the State Council Information Office, refuted some recent foreign media reports of public dog-killing campaigns in Guangzhou of South China and some other cities.

Since illegally-raised or abandoned dogs were attacking at least two people a day in Guangzhou posing a rabies threat local authorities last year conducted a one-month campaign in September to protect people's lives, Guo said.

(China Daily 01/13/2006 page1)