Bear Farms in China: Update of Progress
A few years ago one of our newsletters focussed on the horrendous cruelty involved in bear farming. As you probably remember, the article showed that
thousands of bears are kept in coffin-like cages in China and are "milked" for their bile, which is used in traditional Chinese medicine. In practice this means that the bears have tubes coming directly out of their gall bladders through open wounds in their abdomen. The bears are kept in cages so small that they cannot even turn round. They are in constant pain.
Here is the article again: http://www.think.cz/issue/38/16.html
The good news is that Friends of Animals Asia has been making enormous progress towards eliminating this evil. A number of magazine articles and television programmes in China have highlighted the problem and Chinese people are beginning to show their anger. Even more importantly, more and more of the bears are being helped to rebuild their lives. Here is part of the organisation's latest report:
"...Working steadily over 2 bitterly cold days, we offloaded a stream of traumatised and terrified bears. We watched, sick to our stomachs, as the lorries backed in - listening to heart-wrenching "hoots" as the bears cried out in panic and pain. The agony that these living "bile machines" had suffered was only too clear; some were painfully "de-clawed and de-toothed", some with only 3 legs after being viciously trapped in the wild; many with abdomens bulging due to massive hernias and infected wounds, as a direct
result of the crude surgical methods used to cruelly "milk" their bile.
Their cages resembled rusting metal coffins, which the bears had grown into - until they could grow no more. Tiny square holes where they had to force their faces through to feed, resulted in worn and scarred muzzles from years of rubbing relentlessly against iron bars. Little "Quantock" had even worn his nose right down - but showed no anger or accusation and gratefully guzzled his first meal in a roomy recovery cage, before lying on his back for the first time in decades and playing with a rubber toy with all four feet in the air. Moved into the Quarantine area, our new patients joined Ashley and little cub "Sunshine", who was found just in time......
We received a request for help from local Government officials who advised that a bear was being held illegally in a house. Bear Manager Tim and Vet Nurse Claire entered the tiny, rundown building and found a terrified cub cowering on the owner's bed - with an ugly, bloody snare wound around his abdomen. As they gently scooped him up in a blanket and brought him back to our Hospital, they realised that he had obviously been caught in the wild......and was destined for life on a bear farm.
Slowly and timidly, Sunshine is responding to our wonderful, gentle nurses, who are building up his little body and his confidence, in preparation for his new life in the Sanctuary with the big boys and girls.
Today, the serious work of healing the new arrivals, overseeing their health checks, long, long surgeries and administering masses of tender loving care has begun. Tragically, we have lost 5 very sick bears - now cremated and given names of our world, such as "Forest" which might one day take them to a place which they never found on this earth - and always inspiring us to free ever more bears and end a practice which should never have begun.
One of our inspirations today is the accelerating support from people in China: horrified journalists, pour into our Sanctuary, appalled by the sight of the new arrivals - then leave uplifted and inspired after seeing healthy bears playing in the rehabilitation area and bamboo forest. Huge publicity China-wide followed the recent bear arrival and resulted in over 15 newspaper and magazine articles and a 2 hour documentary on CCTV (State run television). In addition, Sina.com, a major mainland web portal, ran an
online survey in December 2003, posing the question: "Should China end bear farming?" 10,000 "hits" later the answer was clear, with a resounding "Yes" from 90% of the respondents!
As we are busily preparing our new Educational classroom for school visits, more and more Chinese supporters are contacting us by phone and email and
voicing their disgust that such a barbaric practice could be happening in the country of their birth.
Helping fuel this momentum are Government officials and Chinese doctors in Sichuan, who are now speaking out publicly and encouraging everybody to consider the animals and replace bear bile with herbs. Our presentations at Chinese Medicine Universities and local schools, rally students to join in calling for an end to bear farming. Even bear farmers themselves are contacting us - with one admitting that the industry is "going nowhere". The bears' story is clearly touching the hearts of everyone who hears it - and
makes us even more confident that our goal of ending bear farming in China will be achieved.
Today, the total number of bears rescued since October 2000 is 139 and we are preparing for dozens more caged victims this year. The China Bear Rescue
is going from strength to strength. Your kind gift, no matter how small, not only ensures that suffering bears are being helped as never before, but also
enables us to educate and inform the Chinese public. It is this growing momentum within China that will end bear farming forever!"
Have a look at Friends of Animals Asia's website for further details.
http://www.animalsasia.org
This project is one of the most worthwhile animal welfare projects going on anywhere. Please spread the message to your friends and do what you can to
help the group.
With best wishes,
Dr Paul Kail
Director
Animal Consciousness Foundation
http://www.animals.org
A few years ago one of our newsletters focussed on the horrendous cruelty involved in bear farming. As you probably remember, the article showed that
thousands of bears are kept in coffin-like cages in China and are "milked" for their bile, which is used in traditional Chinese medicine. In practice this means that the bears have tubes coming directly out of their gall bladders through open wounds in their abdomen. The bears are kept in cages so small that they cannot even turn round. They are in constant pain.
Here is the article again: http://www.think.cz/issue/38/16.html
The good news is that Friends of Animals Asia has been making enormous progress towards eliminating this evil. A number of magazine articles and television programmes in China have highlighted the problem and Chinese people are beginning to show their anger. Even more importantly, more and more of the bears are being helped to rebuild their lives. Here is part of the organisation's latest report:
"...Working steadily over 2 bitterly cold days, we offloaded a stream of traumatised and terrified bears. We watched, sick to our stomachs, as the lorries backed in - listening to heart-wrenching "hoots" as the bears cried out in panic and pain. The agony that these living "bile machines" had suffered was only too clear; some were painfully "de-clawed and de-toothed", some with only 3 legs after being viciously trapped in the wild; many with abdomens bulging due to massive hernias and infected wounds, as a direct
result of the crude surgical methods used to cruelly "milk" their bile.
Their cages resembled rusting metal coffins, which the bears had grown into - until they could grow no more. Tiny square holes where they had to force their faces through to feed, resulted in worn and scarred muzzles from years of rubbing relentlessly against iron bars. Little "Quantock" had even worn his nose right down - but showed no anger or accusation and gratefully guzzled his first meal in a roomy recovery cage, before lying on his back for the first time in decades and playing with a rubber toy with all four feet in the air. Moved into the Quarantine area, our new patients joined Ashley and little cub "Sunshine", who was found just in time......
We received a request for help from local Government officials who advised that a bear was being held illegally in a house. Bear Manager Tim and Vet Nurse Claire entered the tiny, rundown building and found a terrified cub cowering on the owner's bed - with an ugly, bloody snare wound around his abdomen. As they gently scooped him up in a blanket and brought him back to our Hospital, they realised that he had obviously been caught in the wild......and was destined for life on a bear farm.
Slowly and timidly, Sunshine is responding to our wonderful, gentle nurses, who are building up his little body and his confidence, in preparation for his new life in the Sanctuary with the big boys and girls.
Today, the serious work of healing the new arrivals, overseeing their health checks, long, long surgeries and administering masses of tender loving care has begun. Tragically, we have lost 5 very sick bears - now cremated and given names of our world, such as "Forest" which might one day take them to a place which they never found on this earth - and always inspiring us to free ever more bears and end a practice which should never have begun.
One of our inspirations today is the accelerating support from people in China: horrified journalists, pour into our Sanctuary, appalled by the sight of the new arrivals - then leave uplifted and inspired after seeing healthy bears playing in the rehabilitation area and bamboo forest. Huge publicity China-wide followed the recent bear arrival and resulted in over 15 newspaper and magazine articles and a 2 hour documentary on CCTV (State run television). In addition, Sina.com, a major mainland web portal, ran an
online survey in December 2003, posing the question: "Should China end bear farming?" 10,000 "hits" later the answer was clear, with a resounding "Yes" from 90% of the respondents!
As we are busily preparing our new Educational classroom for school visits, more and more Chinese supporters are contacting us by phone and email and
voicing their disgust that such a barbaric practice could be happening in the country of their birth.
Helping fuel this momentum are Government officials and Chinese doctors in Sichuan, who are now speaking out publicly and encouraging everybody to consider the animals and replace bear bile with herbs. Our presentations at Chinese Medicine Universities and local schools, rally students to join in calling for an end to bear farming. Even bear farmers themselves are contacting us - with one admitting that the industry is "going nowhere". The bears' story is clearly touching the hearts of everyone who hears it - and
makes us even more confident that our goal of ending bear farming in China will be achieved.
Today, the total number of bears rescued since October 2000 is 139 and we are preparing for dozens more caged victims this year. The China Bear Rescue
is going from strength to strength. Your kind gift, no matter how small, not only ensures that suffering bears are being helped as never before, but also
enables us to educate and inform the Chinese public. It is this growing momentum within China that will end bear farming forever!"
Have a look at Friends of Animals Asia's website for further details.
http://www.animalsasia.org
This project is one of the most worthwhile animal welfare projects going on anywhere. Please spread the message to your friends and do what you can to
help the group.
With best wishes,
Dr Paul Kail
Director
Animal Consciousness Foundation
http://www.animals.org