Animal activists across the country have been rallying since Guizhentang Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. made a recent attempt to list publicly, following the company's listing attempt that was thwarted by rampant public criticism last year.

Over 70 Chinese celebrities said Guizhentang's listing attempt shows its ambition to expand the bear bile business. [File photo]

The Beijing Loving Animals Foundation on Tuesday delivered a letter to the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), asking the commission to prevent Guizhentang from listing.

Over 70 Chinese celebrities signed the letter, including famed writer Bi Shumin, popular singer Han Hong, billiards player Ding Junhui and Li Dongsheng, president of the Chinese consumer electronics giant TCL.

In the letter, the foundation said Guizhentang's listing attempt shows its ambition to expand the bear bile business, and it violates the country's industrial policy of constantly limiting the amount of wild animal organs used in medicines.

The letter also cited the company's uncertain future profitability and involvement in illegal activities as reasons for dismissing its listing application.

Since 2000, Fujian-based Guizhentang has been selling medicines made from bear bile periodically extracted from the gall bladders of living bears. Bear bile is a common ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine and is believed to be beneficial to the human liver.

The company's latest attempt to go public also sparked rampant online fury, with about 300,000 oppositional posts and responses, as well as calls to boycott the company's products, issued on Sina Weibo, China's most popular Twitter-like microblog service.

The letter received support from celebrities and the public, which reflects people's increasing awareness of animal protection, said Han Xia, a staff member with the Beijing Loving Animals Foundation.

We hope this move can raise concerns among the CSRC, and we call on the public to shoulder the social responsibility of protecting animals, Han said.

Public outcry against the bear bile listing also shows how animal protection concerns are emerging in China, where odd parts of animals, such as turtle shells or antlers, are frequently used in traditional medicines.

In 2011, 10 professors from China's top law schools jointly called for an animal protection law that would punish cruelty to animals and protect animal rights. China currently has no such regulations.

"Now, people not only show mercy to pets, but they have also started to pay close attention to commercial animal breeding," Han said.

However, Guizhentang still has some allies, including the China Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine, which strongly supports the company due to "the irreplaceable medical effects of bear bile."

"I don't think Guizhentang's act is illegal, as the law doesn't forbid cutting bears to extract bile," according to the verified Weibo account of Zou Xiaochun, a board member of Chinese appliance giant GOME..