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Our Vietnam bear sanctuary told to leave |
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Help us stop the eviction
Animals Asia’s Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre faces eviction from Tam Dao National Park, following an aggressive campaign by the park director, Do Dinh Tien – and we need your help to ask Vietnam’s Prime Minister to stop this injustice. The Ministry of Defence has issued an order to evict the rescue centre along with the 104 rescued bears currently living there and the 77 Vietnamese staff who would lose their jobs. This follows lobbying by Mr Tien to the ministry to declare the site an area of national defence significance. We believe Mr Tien wants us out so that a company that is part-owned by his daughter can build a tourist resort at the site. It would be heart-breaking to have to put these bears back into cages and abandon the sanctuary and the trust that we have worked so hard to build. To read more about the eviction, please see here.
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| Blind bear Grace goes outside for first time |
One of the bears facing eviction is Grace, a blind bear at our Vietnam sanctuary, who was given enclosure access for the first time in late September. As soon as the sliding door opened from her den, she bravely stepped outside and set about exploring the great outdoors. She loved it – sniffing and tasting the grass and small plants. She navigated her way around, carefully at first then with growing confidence. Within days, Grace had explored every inch of her 2,700sqm enclosure and she had no trouble finding her way back to the den. Next Grace will be integrated gradually with others bears until she eventually makes her home among a group of 17 bears with similar disabilities or limited mobility.
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| Rescue comes just in time for two cubs |
Also facing eviction are Lai Chau and Sin Ho, two moon bear cubs that joined our Vietnam family in September after being saved from traders in Lai Chau Province, which is close to the border with China. The cubs were almost certainly on their way to a Chinese bear farm when they were discovered by local police in a cane basket on the back of a motorbike. Two men in charge of the bike were arrested, and they told the police they had bought the cubs for US$1,500 and were going to resell them to an unknown buyer. Thanks to the prompt actions of the police officers, and assistance of the local Forest Protection Department, these boisterous little cubs will never know the horrors of the bile trade, but neither will they grow up with their mother who was almost certainly slaughtered in the wild. See more about the cubs’ rescue on Jill’s Blog and visit our Rescue Diary to see how they are settling in.
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| Healing without Harm talk and UK Supporter Awards |
Despite Animals Asia’s current fight against the threatened eviction from our sanctuary in Vietnam, the UK team enjoyed a moment of calm and inspiration with Jill Robinson at our Healing without Harm joint event with the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, on Thursday 18 October 2012. See more here.
During the event, which was held at the Royal Geographical Society, London, Jill was delighted to also present prizes to the winners of our 2012 UK Supporter Awards. See more here.
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| Moon Bear Paddlers do it again |
This year’s Dragon Boat Race saw our fantastic Moon Bear Paddlers – 16 strong-armed rowers, plus the crucial drummer – from across the UK paddling valiantly in the rain and wind for the animals they care so much about. Read more here.
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| Seminar for China’s top zoo vets |
Our vets shared their expertise with China’s senior zoo vets at a seminar at Beijing Zoo in September. The three-day seminar on advanced specialist techniques saw 30 of the best of China’s zoo vets coming together to improve their knowledge so they can then improve the welfare of animals under their care.
Read more here.
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| Undercover film ‘Moon Bear’ wins award |
“Moon Bear” the undercover documentary showing the brutality of the bear bile industry across China, won a top award at the Fifth China Ya’an International Panda, Animals and Nature Film Week this August. The documentary, which was filmed undercover by Elsa Xiong Jun Hui, Chen Yuan Zhong and Tu Qiao, was named “Best Educational Value” film. Click here to read more and to watch “Moon Bear”.
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| Going batty for the bears, cats and dogs |
Our first Creatures of the Night Safari was everything it promised to be and more. Eleven intrepid explorers plus two curious dogs – Missie and Cocoa – went in search of bats and other nocturnal wildlife on the evening of Sunday 16 September to help raise vital funds for bears, dogs and cats in Asia. Read about it here.
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| Snowdon Challenge 2012 |
The weather gods smiled kindly on our intrepid climbers on Saturday 1 September and Mount Snowdon was bathed in sunshine, making for a breathtakingly beautiful climb. See the full report here.
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| Guangzhou children learn responsible dog care |
Animals Asia teamed up with the Guangzhou Public Security Bureau (the city’s police) to hold a high-profile public event for children this June. The event, with the theme “Responsible Dog Ownership”, was the latest collaboration between our China team and Guangzhou PSB. Previously we have worked together on public events for the whole community; this was the first time we had delivered a joint promotion solely aimed at children. Four dogs from our Professor Paws programme were the stars of the show as we delivered the course. Guangzhou, China’s third largest city, is known for its dog and cat meat restaurants and the hideous meat markets that supply them. Find out more about the event here.
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| ‘Moon Bear’ illustrator Ed Young visits sanctuary |
Ed Young, the Caldecott Award-winning American illustrator behind children’s book “Moon Bear”, took a trip to China in August – visiting bears at our bear rescue centre in Chengdu and signing books at a Beijing event. “Moon Bear” was recently translated into Chinese and is now available to families in China. Young’s event in Beijing was a huge success, with the artist signing more than 400 books for Chinese fans. Read more about Ed Young’s visit in Jill’s Blog.
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| Christmas without Cruelty |
Animals Asia will have a stall at the Christmas Without Cruelty Festival on Sunday 2 December at Kensington Town Hall. Please pop in to see us, if you are in the area.
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| IUCN speaks out on bear bile farming |
The bear bile farming industry was put on notice in September when the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) passed a resolution calling for an end to the practice. The resolution was passed at the IUCN’s World Conservation Congress in Jeju, South Korea. The Congress is the world’s largest and most important conservation event, gathering leaders from government, the public sector, non-governmental organisations, business, UN agencies and social organisations. See here for more.
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| China summer camp for volunteers and guardians |
To thank our Dr Dog guardians and volunteers for their continued contributions to Animals Asia’s ever-growing Cat and Dog Welfare programmes in China, we recently held “Volunteer Summer Camps” for our volunteers in three Chinese cities. Forty-six of our volunteers and their family members joined the events in June, including animal welfare presentations, a visit to our China Bear Rescue Centre in Chengdu and a field trip to the Hong Kong SPCA. The camp was divided into two sessions – one for northwest China’s Chengdu city and the other for south China’s Guangzhou and Shenzhen cities. See here for more.
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| Last bear rescued from Cat Ba Island |
It was an extra-special occasion when our Vietnam team welcomed beautiful “Cat Ba” home to our Tam Dao sanctuary in July. Not only was this young female bear safe forever from the terrible bile industry, but her rescue signalled an end to bear bile farming on the island. Sixteen bears were once held captive on the island, which is a popular tourist destination in Ha Long Bay, but thanks to the efforts of one man, all have now been rescued. See here for more.
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| Don’t miss our great new gifts |
Please think of the bears when choosing your Christmas gifts for family and friends. This year, we have some very cool limited-edition T-shirts and other great new merchandise thanks to some fantastic artists who have donated their work for free. And of course we also have a great choice of “Gifts for the bears” where your donation makes an even bigger impact. When you give a “Gift for the Bears” – it could be a basket of fruit or a sturdy toy to help the bears rehabilitate – your donation sponsors an item that directly helps the recovering bears at our sanctuaries.
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| Paws for Thought |
Our lovely animal-therapy dogs and human volunteers have been as busy as ever, bringing unconditional comfort and love to those in need in three Mainland Chinese cities and Hong Kong. Go to our latest Paws for Thought for up-to-date news on our Dr Dog and Professor Paws programmes.
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