As always, our UK team of Dave, Nicky, Gill, Lara, Fiona, Sue and Eileen worked their socks off in the months and weeks before, organising venues, ticket sales, auction and raffle prizes, and making sure that everything was smooth and professional throughout.
Tuan, our Vietnam Director and I rolled into the UK, and on Tuesday 9th June, we joined Born Free and its founder – my heroine and patron of Animals Asia UK – Virginia McKenna, in the first presentation of the 10-day show. Virginia and I had not seen each other’s presentations beforehand, but we both showed the slide of us together when she came over to Chengdu to see our beautiful bears.
In the early days of struggling with the decision to start Animals Asia in 1998, I asked Ginny [Virginia] what she would do – to be told “just do it”. And so welcoming her on site to meet Jasper, Banjo, Delaney and, of course Ginny bear, was a profound and very proud time for me.
Virginia and I also both spoke in our presentations about the “individual” – about how people’s respect and help for these animals can inspire a unique connection with them, and ultimately with the species they represent. This took me back again to when I was six years old, seeing Virginia in “Born Free” with Elsa the lioness, and feeling a compelling connection with the animal world. This film would steer me to the decisions I’ve made and ultimately, my life with the bears.
That night’s event, like the rest of the shows, was filled with the most wonderful atmosphere. Every show saw friends engaged together, re-affirming our promise to the animals; of ending bear farming and the consumption of dogs and cats.
Later, on a glorious Sunday, we had our first official support group meeting, which brought people together who had been tirelessly raising awareness and funds, now sharing their experiences and discussing how we move ahead. These people are the lifeblood of our campaigns – like supporters everywhere across the world – who give us the wherewithal to go on.
Other special events included a wonderfully “highbrow” day at Dick White Referrals where veterinary surgeon Dick White, his wife Christine and daughter Jenny held an outdoor extravaganza of stalls and events, before an evening’s presentation and auction in a beautiful marquee.
Dick, his family and staff have been so generous to the bears over the years – coming out to help surgically at no cost to Animals Asia, and raising funds to name and sponsor their own bear – Dick – who is recovering today from his abuse on a bile farm.
Next, an evening at Twycross Zoo saw our presentation to their supporters and Board. This was organised by Chief Executive of the Zoo, Suzie Boardman, who operated on farmed bears in our care back in 1995.
A fun morning assembly – inspired by the passion of teacher Jenny Lavery – the next day at Hallgrove School saw a sea of wide-eyed faces excitedly promising to help bears thousands of miles away. We also took some tricky and hysterically funny questions that only a four-year-old could ask.
Finally to the Woburn event, inspired by our longtime friend Lord Robin Russell, who kindly took Tuan and I out to lunch before we prepared for the last show of the tour. That evening saw UK celebrity and another longtime friend, Martin Roberts of BBC’s “Homes under the Hammer”, gently cajoling our supporters to join him in bidding for some beautiful auction items so generously donated by kind contributors across the UK.
The time passed too quickly and Nicky wrote a wonderful update summarising each event and highlighting the generosity of our friends – our Animals Asia family – in the UK. These wonderful people offer the faith and funding we need to continue breaking open cage doors and giving animals in Asia their voice. Please click here to read Nicky’s roundup.
I can’t end this blog without saying a huge thanks to our very special UK supporter, Lee Gibbins. Here’s Lee receiving her much-deserved Outstanding Support Group Leader Award during the roadshow.
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There are no words to express our sense of loss as once again I have to tell you of the death of one of our beautiful bears. Especially a bear like Haribo, whose determination to survive captured the hearts of all who had the privilege to know him.
I fell in love with this bear from the second he arrived, and it grew as he so bravely tolerated wave after wave of health-checks and surgeries so necessary to correct the ravages of his life on the farm.
Squat and dumpy like Blanca and Woodley (hence his nickname “Poodley” on arrival), he never once bore a grudge for his past and just got on with the present. He loved every type of food, making those attention-seeking "raspberry" sounds whenever he wanted more – knowing full well that certain pockets were full of gummy bears.
Thankfully, he made it to the special-care area of Rupert, Franzi and Snoopy's house and just adored his time outdoors – snoring happily underneath the stars. No other bear outside of Rupert captured fussy Franzi’s heart either, and her interest in the fellow on the other side of the bars made us hope that she might one day end up with two toy boys, who would make her feel the special bear she is.
I'm so sorry I couldn't be in Chegdu last Friday with the team, who were, I know, weeping rivers for the loss of this brave little bear. Here is vet Jen’s update on events as, with sad, sad hearts, we all say farewell to another bear who teaches us the meaning of forgiveness:
Little Haribo, who stole everyone’s heart was sadly euthanised today after his hind legs failed him. Over the past two weeks, he had become progressively worse, from being quite stiff, to not being able to stand at all and not wanting to move for the special treats Caroline lovingly made for him daily.
Haribo had been a fighter getting through his early surgery and later episodes of bloating and vomiting despite all medical efforts. On post mortem, it was found that his oesophagus was dilated many times more than normal which despite our medical management could not have been fixed.
X-rays confirmed that his spine had multiple areas where the disc spaces were compressed, over time putting more and more pressure on his spinal cord slowly cutting off the nerve function to his hind legs. We all wanted to keep Haribo with us for a very long time, but we all knew that we needed to make sure that Haribo left this world still being able to enjoy that one last gummy bear!
PS: My favourite pic of Haribo – grinning – taken by Heather:
Happily, 10 of the bears that arrived with Haribo have made the difficult journey through their surgeries, recovery and integration with other bears. Please go to the Rescue Diary to read their individual stories and to see their "before and after" photos.
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With a heavy heart I'm afraid that the weekend has brought no positive news following the cruel slaughter of dogs in Shaanxi Province last week. Our good friend, Chinese animal welfarist Jianghong and her team have just returned from a traumatic trip to Hangzhong city and Yangxian. They saw no dogs alive in the streets of Yanxian - just the broken carcasses of innocent victims, and officials washing their hands of blood, and responsibility, for such a brutal knee jerk reaction to rabies.
The authorities have blindly continued in their cull, despite receiving solid advice from experts in China and across the world who stress that such action will not address the core problem of rabies outbreaks in China. Our letter passed over by Jianghong was virtually ignored by officials seemingly unmoved and uncaring, with their action so damaging
to the image of the country.
We must hold on to hope - because brave citizens like Jianghong are rising higher and higher in defence of the voiceless, and need our help more than ever.
Before leaving, she and her group sadly held a mourning ceremony in Hangzhong city together with over 200 residents in memory of the dogs so savagely slaughtered. Their SOS of candles apparently failed to turn the cold, cold hearts of the authorities, but continued uniting animal lovers everywhere now publicly demonstrating against a regime of heartless brutality towards animals so deserving of our respect.
Read the full update on Jianghong's visit here.
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Longtime supporters Kathy and Larry Schiller from Los Angeles have been superbly generous to the bears – and have surpassed themselves in their latest philanthropic gesture by selling one of their finest Chinese works of art to benefit our work. The auction at Christies in Hong Kong on Saturday 29th May saw the finest example from Zeng Fanzhi’s notorious “Mask” series going under the hammer for a princely sum, and Animals Asia receiving a phenomenal US$100,000 from the proceeds of the sale as a result.
Kathy had heard about the plight of the bears several years ago during a trip to China and made contact asking how she and her husband Larry could help. One thing led to another and, before long, Alice, our US Director, Morgan our US PR and Communications Manager, and I were joining Kathy and Larry at their beautiful house in LA at a fundraising dinner towards the end of last year. Soon after, they generously offered to sell some of their art to benefit the bears. In Larry's words:
“In everyone’s life, there comes a time when one must give back to society to protect the environment but for all the peoples of our earth. Animals Asia, one of the leading non-profit organisations in Asia, is working to educate and advocate kind treatment and respect towards all species of animals. In protecting moon bears, dogs and cats from cruelty, Animals Asia is protecting our civilisation and environment in the 21st century.
Since 2002, my wife Kathy observed the work Jill Robinson’s Animals Asia has been doing in building sanctuaries to give a home to the hundreds of moon bears that cannot be returned to the wild. Last year during a visit to Hong Kong, we decided to auction some of the art we have collected over the years for the sole purpose of giving financial support to her work. This year’s contribution of US$100,000 is the first of several donations we will make in support of the work being done by Animals Asia.”
These two amazing people have a history rich in the arts. Kathy has been a highly acclaimed Hollywood studio photographer for over 30 years, working with the likes of Steven Spielberg, John Lennon and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Larry is an Emmy-winning motion picture and television producer and director who has worked with Richard Nixon, Marilyn Monroe, Muhammad Ali and the famed forensic scientist Dr Henry Lee.
They both came in close contact with the Chinese art world during their trips to China with Dr Lee and began to build a collection to suit their home, focusing on what they perceived as the major cross-currents underpinning the nascent movement. The highlight of their collection is, of course, Zeng Fanzhi’s “Mask” painted in 2000.
Just before the auction at Christie’s, we were joined by Harriet Tung who came to admire the painting. In fact, just the evening before, Harriet and her husband CC had kindly invited the Schillers, Alice and I to dinner, where she kindly made a donation to Animals Asia and “her” bear, Dong Fong Hai Wai. So now, in return at the Christie's event, Harriet joined me in accepting Kathy and Larry’s very generous cheque to Animals Asia.
The event at Christie's was amazing – I barely took a breath as the price for their work of art climbed higher and higher – heads around the room nodding or shaking as the bidding grew tense. The hammer came down, Larry and Kathy seemed pleased, and if the bears could smile I think they would have at that point.
Promoting the whole event outside of our own Juanita and Hong Kong Marketing team was Drew, Bruce and all at Grayling who so kindly helped with the media and PR – entirely pro bono so that every cent went to the bears. They were spectacular throughout and saw stories in Bloomberg and the South China Morning Post, among others. Thank you all so much for your professionalism and generosity – and Drew it was a pleasure to see you on site with the bears at last!
The final surprise was that Kathy also accepted our invitation to visit the bears in Chengdu, to see for herself how the proceeds of the art sale would be spent. In addition to her other skills, Kathy is a practicing Buddhist and for the third time in as many weeks, our bears were the recipients of soothing chants which would wrap them in light and positive energy in their lives ahead.
In fact, we had a surprise up our sleeve for Kathy too as she stood watching the surgery to remove the gall bladder from newly rescued bear Monkey – and Monkey became her and Larry’s bear. Her face was a picture as she stroked a sleeping Monkey’s paws and admired her bear’s truly spectacular ears.
Kathy, the whole team absolutely loved having you on site – please come back soon – and to you both, our dear, dear friends and champions of the bears, a huge and heartfelt thank you for the peace and happiness, and future without fear, Monkey and friends have now….
Other friends on site at this time were Drew (mentioned above), Barry Yeoman award-winning journalist from the USA, and Julie Kay from Marin County who had flown over with Alice to see firsthand what she had learned during last year’s US Roadshow. Friends with our veterinarian, Monica Bando, Julie came to hear about the long road to recovery our bears faced after surgery and to see those who made it, now enjoying their days in the sun. A busy week, but a very happy one – and some very lucky bears now have more lifelong champions to help them and the bears they left behind on the farms.
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The sight of those wretched dogs trying to crawl away from the people bludgeoning them over the head was beyond words. More heartbreaking still was the scene where a dog was surrounded by men with poles and began to wag his tail in welcome - before screaming in agony as the poles and rods came down upon his body. Howling in terror, he tried to raise himself on already broken limbs as the blows came thick and fast and sent him crashing once more to the ground. Blood gathered in pools around his head before he was picked up by one of his back legs and dragged away. The pile of dead dogs grew - and people in the video laughed – satisfied with a job which had so cruelly stilled the beating hearts of our best friends.
I watched the film in disbelief – thinking surely we were of a different species to those dreadful people so utterly disconnected to the agony of animals who feel pain and terror and a host of emotions so similar to ours. That life can be so dismissively snuffed out as if it held no importance in this world reflects so appallingly on a country and people I have grown to love.
Culling in China is back - in all its bloody glory - and we need your help to make a stronger push than ever before to drive it into the dark ages where it belongs. Local animal welfare groups in China are also appalled –and we are working closely with them in appeals to the authorities – united in our call that dogs deserve better.
Animals Asia is trying to raise funds to support these groups in their efforts to stop the cull and provide the Hanzhong city authorities with an alternative solution to dog population and disease control.
Please click here to read our response to this latest cull in Hanzhong and please send any amount you can afford so that dogs who wag their tails at people in the future are met with kind smiles and perhaps an affectionate pat, rather than a hateful bloody end to their lives.
To donate to the dog cull appeal, please click here.
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