There’s no bears in Hawaii. But that hasn’t stopped House legislation from moving forward that would ban purchasing, selling or transporting bear gallbladders and bile.  

On Tuesday, lawmakers passed a bill in the judiciary committee. Earlier this month, lawmakers passed a similar bill in the Senate.  

The legislation is part of a national push by the group Born Free USA, which issued a press release on the progress in Hawaii. The group explains the problem: 

Because the Asiatic bear is endangered, poachers turn to the U.S. to supply market demand. Bear gallbladders and bear bile are used in Asia and Asian communities in the U.S. to create medicines and luxury cosmetic items and toiletries such as shampoos and even hemorrhoid creams. While American black bears are poached in the wild to supply the gallbladder trade, Asiatic black bears are kept in coffin-like cages, constantly “milked” for their bile. There are reportedly as many as 54 known herbal substitutes to the use of bear gallbladders and bile that still conform to traditional medicinal applications.