Veterinarians and nurses from Animals Asia Foundation perform a health check on an Asian black bear at the Sichuan Longqiao Moon Bear Sanctuary in Chengdu, Sichuan province, in this April 27, 2010 file photo.[Zhang Yushu for China Daily]

Keeping bears in captivity to harvest their bile should be banned in China, according to more than 80 percent of people surveyed by the Beijing Loving Animals Foundation.

The organization, which is also known as the Ta Foundation, asked more than 1,800 people their thoughts toward bear bile extraction.

Upward of 97 percent thought the industry was "very cruel" and 83.9 percent supported banning it outright.

In addition, more than 70 percent of participants said they had never used or bought any products made of bear bile and vowed to not do so in future.

The survey, conducted by Beijing-based consultancy Horizonkey, was designed to gauge public opinion on the bear bile industry, according to Zhang Yue, the foundation's founder.

It comes in the wake of a public outcry against Fujian Guizhentang Pharmaceuticals Co Ltd, a Chinese pharmaceutical company that extracts bear bile to make traditional Chinese medicines, after it attempted to list publicly in 2012.

At the time, activists urged the China Securities Regulatory Commission to prevent the company from listing amid accusations that its bile extraction process constituted animal cruelty.

The company responded by announcing plans to open its bear farms for visits by experts, but critics hit back saying such events would be staged and not reveal the truth of the bears’ living conditions.