Her eyes blink and her paws move as the operator jabs a four-inch needle into her abdomen time and time again, trying to locate her gall bladder. Once located, the mechanical pump is turned on and her bile runs into a jar while a crowd of Korean tourists look on smiling and hand over their money to buy a hangover cure.
This hideous practice is all the more unbelievable given that bear farming is illegal in Vietnam – and that legislation should have done its job and confiscated this bear and 78 others into our care.
Please, please help us release her from her pain – join our global letter-writing appeal and urge the Vietnamese government to do the right thing. It’s just a few minutes of your time – but for her, it’s the rest of her life….
Please click here now. Thank you. Together we can do this.
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Clucking quietly in the early morning, Assisi was clearly suspicious that “something” was going on. A lifetime of nasty surprises, pain and confinement on the bear farm before he arrived with us in February, ensured that he would still be somewhat cautious with all the new experiences at the sanctuary.
And, as the doors to his den opened out on to the grassy enclosure of House 10, he stood there, slightly frozen, before pulling himself together and braving the great outdoors.
The lower strands of the electric fencing had been turned off, because we knew Assisi had a heart problem and we didn’t want to risk a shock that might be his last. Long and lean, Assisi ambled out, his coat shimmering in the morning sun and we all smiled at his abnormally hairy paws – remembering that scientist Daniel Taylor Ides had written papers on his belief that the moon bear really is the original yeti.
Within a few seconds, Assisi’s natural “opportunist” nature took over and his big black nose was soon peeking out into the wide open space never before explored. Two more steps and he was straight into three piles of biscuits and tomatoes, which he polished off with loud appreciation and lip-smacking – still careful to stay on the concrete path.
This is almost the norm for many of the bears when they first go outside – as if they've seen some imaginary “keep off the grass” signs. Finally taking a step onto the grass – but keeping it to just one – Assisi then placed all four paws on the cement drain cover nearby, perhaps more secure on the hard surface he has only known on the farm.
A couple more sniffs of the breeze and becoming ever more brave, he finally began to venture out – and then there was no stopping him for the next hour or so. His kind sponsors, the Auckland SPCA would have been proud. Confidently striding along the enclosure, right to the very end, investigating the platforms, hanging tyres, log piles, a pool filled with only a few inches of water (no surprises on his first day), and all the while enjoying tasty treats the whole way round.
Vet Jen whispered “almost as if he's done this his entire life”, and she was right. Panting slightly with the exertion of a gentle stroll, but without an ounce of caution as he explored, our brave Assisi was calm and confident as he happily embraced his new kingdom of days.
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Our Moon Bear Rescue Centre in Chengdu had a wonderful lift just recently – with 36 visitors from across China staying with us on site for our Summer Camp.
With the theme, “Have fun with the moon bears”, we were joined by students, teachers, academics, and animal welfarists from nine cities across the country – caring people who are determined to make a difference, spread the word and join the call for ending bear farming and the consumption of dogs and cats in Asia.
Ms Li Jie has recently retired as an official from the Lanzhou Forestry Department, where she had been helping to educate the local community about the plight of bears and companion animals.
Since October 2008, she has organised 16 major activities, including presentations outside the bear enclosure at Lanzhou Zoo, in Gansu Province and primary school presentations where university students teach younger children the importance of respecting dogs and cats, rather than seeing them as food for the table.
It was wonderful to have her now representing “Lanzhou Green Volunteer Home” – and to proudly welcome her on site to finally see the bears she has so tirelessly helped.
Mr Zhang Lihui has been similarly active in welfare education. Mr Zhang is a teacher at Fushan Beitai Primary School, which is in Fushun city, Liaoning Province – one of the four major bear-farming provinces.
He is working hard to promote awareness of the suffering of farmed moon bears and our rescue project. Mr Zhang organises more than 200 students to take part in roadshows and donation drives, and to distribute their own beautifully hand-crafted leaflets to the community.
Kind Mr Zhangyao has been helping Animals Asia since 2004, and was one of the main organisers of the “I Love Moon Bears" ceremony at Datiankan School in Chengdu, which saw the passionate, creative, involvement of over 2,000 students. He also helped to organise our Professor Paws ambassadors to visit a damaged school in the Sichuan earthquake area, cheering up children who had lost family and friends in the disaster.
We also had students from Chengdu Traditional Chinese Medicine University, Shanghai University and Southwest Science & Technology University during three days of presentations, where Rainbow, Sailing, Suki, Jacky and Irene organised events and lectures to fill the day with fun and learning.
Tears were shed as the group was invited into the surgery when we said a sad goodbye to Syntegra who was gently euthanised on the table after it was found that she had inoperable liver cancer. Li Jie couldn’t help herself – crying in sympathy for bears “still suffering in such horrible conditions on the farms”.
Smiles soon returned when our visitors were invited to clean and enrich the bear enclosures and to make novel toys for the grateful four-legged residents.
Presentations were interspersed between the practical work – with Rainbow talking about animal-welfare in general, Suki giving a “Friends....or Food?” presentation (which also saw several of our Chengdu Dr Dogs coming on site to say hello and Jacky lecturing on how to coordinate a successful education activity.
Discussions within the group also led to a new idea: “Love Moon Bear Week”, planned for April next year, to coincide with Earth Day. This will compel many people across the country to become involved in a day celebrating this endangered and charismatic species.
As Sailing proudly said at the end of the visit, “Summer camps are particularly important in helping to train organisers in different cities and schools across China. They can then carry out promotional work and encourage a shift in attitude among those they reach. This summer camp really impressed them a lot!”
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Just recently, we received a message that an online forum in China had been inundated with hits after someone posted a piece about his family being absolutely horrified to hear that toothpaste containing bear bile was being advertised and sold.
Over 200,000 people had visited the site, leaving outraged comments decrying bear farming after learning that bile came from such diseased and dying victims. More and more pictures of caged and suffering bears (including many of our images) are being posted, with the storm of protest growing each day.
Our heartfelt thanks to everyone who is willing to speak out - loud and proud - against the bear farming industry, giving hope to over 7,000 bears lying in agony on the farms.
We say again to anyone reading this - bear bile is unnecessary and unconscionably cruel, and we all have the power of change in our hands to end the suffering of animals who have spent decades being caged and tortured. Please use the internet to make your voices heard. Make a difference today.
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Our sanctuaries are always buzzing with activity, with the serious day-to-day management and care of the bears (dogs and cats) and often with important research being simultaneously carried out. This work can strengthen our arguments against the vile bile industries of China and Vietnam.
Sometimes, however, we take the opportunity, simply, to have fun! And fun was what it was all about recently when my sister Anne, her husband Steve, and their daughter Nicole came out to see us in Chengdu and meet the team.
With a sleeping Banjo on the surgery table for a dental, our vet team dug out a little scrub top and surgical gloves for 11-year-old Nicole to wear and invited her to help them with a health-check.
Carefully following instructions from vet nurse Hayley, Nicole injected Banjo with antibiotics and painkillers.
She also took his temperature – never once blinking an eye as she quickly realised that the thermometer wasn’t actually to be placed in his mouth!
High on the priority list was taking Banjo’s paw-prints with non-toxic paint – these prints help us raise much-needed funds during roadshows and other events.
Usually, lemon paint and black card are used (ie, the colours of the black bears and their yellow crescent moons), but Hayley remembered that Nicole loved pink, and so red and white paint was mixed together to make a lovely shade of baby pink!
Here's a lovely pic of Nicole and Anne and one of Nicole getting to know cheeky Jasper:
It was lucky that Banjo’s friends weren’t around to see his paw painted with such a girlie colour, but the final result was gorgeous. Health-check and paw painting complete, Banjo was duly woken up in his recovery cage to be spoiled rotten over the next couple of days after three broken canines were removed.
Just before moving his cage into the hospital ward, someone shouted, “Snake!” and we all jumped in surprise as a decent-sized snake slithered along the corridor floor.
Luckily Bear Team Supervisor Rocky was on hand to scoop it up and release it safely into the forest.
The night before all this excitement had been our party on site to celebrate Animals Asia’s 11th Anniversary on August 8th. Ever-creative, Rainbow took the opportunity of taking a pic with the whole team standing in the courtyard and forming the number “11”.
The fun and games continued Chengdu-style well into the evening, with some "Olympian" efforts from the team!
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