The only cure is kindness: 12,000 bears need rescuing from evil, cruel bile farms, Animals Asia says

^{A rescued bear at play Photo: AAF}

Over twelve thousand bears live miserable lives on evil, cruel Asian bile farms, according to Jill Robinson, founder of Animals Asia. They are mainly moon bears, but some are sun bears and brown bears. Many are caged so tightly they can’t move and have catheters inserted into the gall bladders, or surgically manipulated “holes” to cruelly syphon off the fluid.

But Jill reports progress. “Animals Asia has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Vietnamese Government to end bear farming by 2022. That means rescuing about 400 bears from Vietnamese farms, where the cruel trade is illegal.”

^{Jill Robinson MBE}

Animals Asia over the past 26 years has rescued 640 bears. The charity founded in Hong Kong by Jill and others now operates bear sanctuaries in Chengdu in China and Tam Dao, Vietnam. Jill says Animals Asia is desperately seeking funds and donations for a second sanctuary in Vietnam which will help escalate the closing the farms there and rescuing the bears.

The Animals Asia bear sanctuaries have vets who treat animals physically and psychologically harmed by cruel cage confinement and bile extraction once they arrive from the farms. The bears are cared for, given comfortable dens and a semi-natural environment in grassy enclosures. Animals Asia staff collect evidence of the extent of the harm done to the bears and promote public education programmes that show the herbal and synthetic alternatives to their bile.

^{The disgusting conditions bile bears are kept in Photo: AAF}

More good news from China: “The decision by authorities to remove dogs (and by default cats) from the national livestock list and make the sale of their meat illegal is the cherry on the cake of our founding goals. As our Cat and Dog Welfare Department now focuses on the all important enforcement side of the decision, we know that the way ahead will be tough — but we know too that the rule of law is firmly on our side.”

The lost year of 2020 has been tough financially on Animals Asia. “We set to work and made a promise to our sanctuary bears in China and Vietnam, to our rescued cats and dogs, to our elephants in Vietnam, and to our staff who care for them all, that they were priority and would be the last to be affected in whatever the virus would bring,” Jill said. However she had no choice. ” . . .We cut costs and furloughed staff, and prepared to buckle up for what we called ‘survival’ mode ahead.”

^{A very happy rescued bear Photo: AAF}

Animals Asia operates several programmes in Asia: rescuing bears, campaigning against cruel practices in zoos and safari parks while working on the ground with carers to improve animals held in these conditions too, sending teams with Dr Dog and Professor Paws into hospitals and schools “to share the love of animal therapy”, and caring for elephants who no longer provide tourist rides.

^{One of the AAF’s bear sanctuaries Photo: AAF}

Jill, often seen wearing a black AA T-shirt with the slogan “The Only Cure is Kindness”,  has been awarded the MBE for her sterling efforts. You can donate by visiting www.animalsasia.org and you will find a lot more information there. Some of it will bring tears to your eyes.