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1,000 doctors sign bear bile pledge |
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Over 1,000 doctors have signed an Animals Asia pledge not to prescribe bear bile to their patients. The doctors were attending the 8th Shanghai International Forum of Infection Control in Shandong province in April. Animals Asia met with doctors at the event and provided information on the cruelty involved in the bear farming industry and the health risks of consuming bile. Read more.
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Chengdu bears get new kitchen
Our new China "bear kitchen" is officially open after our original food preparation area was destroyed by the earthquake that devastated Chengdu in May 2008. Donors from across Australia and New Zealand funded the kitchen in memory of Assisi, a gentle giant of a bear sponsored by the Auckland SPCA. Sadly, Assisi passed away in 2009, just 10 months after his rescue from a bear farm. The “Assisi Memorial Bear Kitchen” sees more than 2,000kg of fruit and vegetables prepared each week for the 147 resident bears (this increases to 6,000kg in winter!). Read more.
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Captive-animal experts brought to China
Animals Asia brought three international experts in captive-animal management to China to attend and speak at the China Association of Zoological Gardens zoo directors’ conference in Shanghai in June. Two of our China staff, Lisa and Xin, made sure everything ran smoothly, translating the presentations, providing oral interpretation for the three visitors and providing an essential link between Animals Asia, the international delegates and the CAZG. Thanks to Lisa and Xin’s professional approach we are now seeing increasing commitment from within the CAZG and some of its member zoos towards improving the welfare of captive animals in China.
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| 1st China cat symposium focuses on strays |
Trap, neuter, release programmes were the focus of our 1st China Cat Management Symposium, which saw 70 delegates from 30 welfare groups, across 23 Chinese cities coming together in Beijing. Our Dog and Cat Welfare team worked with Beijing welfare group Lucky Cats to organise the event. Read more.
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| Rescue comes too late for circus bear |
A young bear transferred into our care in May after being forced to work in a circus in Vietnam, has died from malnutrition, dehydration and neglect. Two-year-old “Girl” weighed just 16.6kg, when she came to our rescue centre at Tam Dao near Hanoi. Our female cubs of the same age weigh 80- 90kg. Despite responding positively to treatment, Girl’s condition was too severe and she died just four days after her rescue.
Read more.
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Free vaccinations for dogs in Pingyao
As part of our continuing education and public awareness programme, Animals Asia has donated 1,000 NOBIVAC rabies vaccinations and leaflets to support Swiss Animal Protection’s “Pink Necklace Plan” in Pingyao City, northwest China. Through the plan, dogs receive a pink necklace when they have had their free vaccination. At last count, more than 10 per cent of the city’s registered dogs had taken up the offer. Some of the dog owners were also persuaded to have their dogs neutered.
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| Beards for Bears |
Our first Beards for Bears was a great success thanks to 46 caring men around the globe who got “hairy for the bears” and raised much-needed cash from sponsorship. Our thanks also to the 150 people who signed up as Ambassadors, pledging to promote Beards for Bears and help raise sponsorship. If you know someone who may get a kick out of joining in next year, please let them know about this fun campaign. Let’s make next year bigger, better, and hairier!
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| Korean tourists targeted to stop China bile trade |
In June, Animals Asia and the Korean Animal Welfare Association launched a public awareness campaign aimed at ending the cross-border trade of bear bile from China to South Korea. It is estimated that 10 per cent of the 30,000 South Koreans who visit China each year buy bear bile and take it home illegally. Read more.
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| Separate owners surrender Vietnam bears |
In April, we rescued a female moon bear from a small, caged concrete enclosure in the loading yard of a Hanoi company. "Song Long" (pictured) had been kept as the company mascot for 13 years since she was a cub, but for safety reasons, the owners felt she had to find a new home. They resisted offers from bile farms to buy their bear, contacting our Tam Dao rescue centre instead because they wanted the best for Song Long. However, a company worker said Song Long had been subjected to bile extraction. Read more.
In May, we brought home a young male bear who had languished for years in the backyard of a private household. Now nicknamed "Trung Hau" (kind and gentle), this poor bear had been milked for his bile for 10 years. The owner decided to hand him over voluntarily due to his own increasing age and difficulty caring for the bear as well as recognising that it was no longer acceptable to keep wildlife.
Read more.
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| Help for Harbin’s dog lovers |
Animals Asia stepped in after receiving many calls from northeast China’s Harbin City about the harsh terms of the city’s new Dog Management Regulations released in April. Having worked with the Harbin officials before the regulations were formulated, we contacted them again to suggest a number of improvements to their new regulations, for instance, promoting responsible dog ownership instead of banning dogs because of their breed, and exempting families that already have more than one dog from the new one-dog rule.
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Karen’s celebrity shines on the bears
Karen Mok, our Asian patron, has joined other international celebrities, such as Kevin Spacey and Vivienne Tam, to be named a “celebrity fan” of Mandarin Oriental. And when the hotel chain offered to donate US$10,000 to Karen’s favourite charity, we were thrilled that she chose Animals Asia.
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Support for animal-protection groups
April was a busy month for our Cat and Dog Welfare team in China, with 11 animal-protection groups requesting our materials for events to promote love and respect for dogs and cats. We sent a total of 8,950 leaflets and 176 posters to groups in the cities of Shenzhen, Xuzhou, Changsha, Lanzhou, Shenyang, Sichuan, Harbin and Guiyang. In Guiyang, central China, over 2,000 people joined the event, which promoted responsible dog/cat ownership.
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| Zoo animals to benefit from China workshop |
In April, Animals Asia collaborated with the China Association of Zoological Gardens (CAZG) and The Shape of Enrichment (a non-profit devoted to improving environmental enrichment for captive animals, to hold a four-day enrichment workshop for 46 animal managers from 25 zoos and safari parks across China. The workshop was held at Zhengzhou Zoo and was the first of its kind in China.
Read more.
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Eye specialists help bears see again
Once again, the amazing veterinary ophthalmology team from the UK’s Animal Health Trust has visited our moon bear rescue centres in Vietnam and China. Thanks to their incredible kindness and generosity a number of bears are now seeing life in a whole new way, including one bear who can see again after years of total blindness. Read more.
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| Raising awareness through Moon Bear Week |
Animals Asia’s “Love Moon Bears Week” kicked off in Chengdu on World Earth Day (22 April), with activities also held in Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Dalian. This popular event sees thousands of people, many of them children, introduced to our campaign to end bear bile farming with a series of fun activities like bike-riding, drawing and drama.
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| Animals Asia’s website under attack |
Our IT team in Animals Asia’s Hong Kong headquarters worked around the clock in May to ward off computer hackers trying to shut down our website. A series of attacks were launched against our site when opposition to bear bile farming reached a peak in China following an attempt by a large bear bile manufacturer to list on the Shenzhen stock exchange. Those opposed to our campaign to end bear bile farming also hijacked popular blogs and internet forums to try to discredit our work.
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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.
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