Most of the bears — known as moon bears for the crescent of yellowish fur across their chests — were trapped in the wild and are destined to spend dramatically shortened lives in captivity. They die of illness, starvation, tumours or infections of their open wounds.

On the initiative of five British MEPs, Labour and Conservative, the European Parliament this week demanded an immediate ban on this “cruel and uncivilised practice”.

But China rejected that demand yesterday. It argued that without a viable substitute, the bile remained an essential ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine and that a campaign launched last year had ended many of the inhumane practices cited by environmentalists.

Wang Wei, deputy director-general of the Department of Wildlife Conservation, said: “We have introduced painless practices for extracting bear bile. Until we can find a good substitute we cannot accept the EU resolution that urges the elimination of bear farming.”

Mr Wang said China had closed most of its 480 bear farms and now keeps about 7,000 animals in 68 farms that meet new standards.

The Government encouraged bear farming in the 1990s to stop the endangered animals being hunted — fewer than 19,000 survive in the wild. The process is profitable, with bile fetching up to £350 a kilogram. China is believed to produce as much as 7,000kg (15,430lb) a year.

Traditional Chinese doctors use the bitter, green bile to treat eye, liver and other ailments. Yang Liang, of the Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said: “It’s definitely painful for the bears, but the synthetic substitute is too different from natural bile.

“Traditional Chinese medicine attaches importance to every material as a whole and not just one ingredient. Laboratory-made bile is just bile acid, but real bear bile has many amino acids and trace elements.”

Jill Robinson, the British founder of the Hong Kong-based Animals Asia Foundation, which runs a sanctuary in southwest Sichuan province, disagreed. “It’s nonsense. Bear bile can easily and cheaply be replaced by herbal or synthetic materials.”

She urged Beijing to investigate hidden malpractices on the farms, which range from family businesses with a couple of bears to “superfarms” in the northeast with as many as 2,000 animals.

Not all practitioners of Chinese medicine consider bear bile essential. Liu Zhengcai, a professor who has worked as a doctor for more than 40 years and never used the ingredient, said bile first appeared as a folk remedy in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and was said to be effective in treating eye diseases.

“Traditionally, people believe bear bile can relieve internal heat or fever,” he said. “Actually it functions as an anti-inflammatory and many other Chinese medicines — such as chrysanthemums — or Western medicines are more effective. Bear bile is not a magic cure.”

It could even do harm. Ms Robinson said that her sanctuary had received 198 bears and every one had to have its damaged gallbladder removed. “In 100 per cent of cases, we have found pus in the bile,” she said. “We wonder, what is that pus doing to the end consumer? So, far from healing people, it could be harming them.”

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