It's the world largest Bear Rescue ever!

The China Bear Rescue is the name of a campaign, organized by the Animals Asia Foundation (AAF). Jill Robinson founded the AAF. This organization wants to improve the lives of all animals in Asia. The "China Bear Rescue" is thelargest campaign they are working on, it involves the rescue of 500 farmed bears and began in October 2000. Jill Robinson was also the first animal welfarist to discover bears living on farms. Those bears live in cages and bile is taken from their bodies (from their gall bladders) through catheters. The bile is used to make medicine and other products. This procedure and the way they live is very painful for the bears. (Check "why do the moon bears need help?" to learn more about why bears are kept on farms.)

Jill Robinson first discovered bears living in this condition on farms in 1993. She made up her mind to help the bears. Soon after she arranged for pictures of those beautiful bears in the tiny wire cages to be shown around the world in newspapers and on television. Two years later the farm that Jill discovered was closed by the Chinese government. It took another year for the bears' rehabilitation. They needed veterinary care to take the catheter out of the body and to treat their wounds.

In October 2000, the rescue of 500 bears from farms began and they are now getting treatment and care to become well enough to be able to live together in a sanctuary.

 

It will take a long time for the bears' rehabilitation. They need veterinery care to take the catheter our of their bodies and to treat their wounds. Later the bears need to train their muscles with physiotherapy. After several months of rehabilitatiion, they are now being set free in a special place that is built for them, a sanctuary. After all those years in the cages Andrew, Crystal, Jasper, Frodo, Kalina and their friends now spend their days as they choose. They lie in the sun, look for food or swim in the pool.  You can follow the rescue by signing up for email updates on the AAF main site.

Campaign: organized, planned actions for a special purpose, to tell people what is happening
Bile: body liquid, produced by the liver and stored in the gall bladder
Gall bladder: organ where the bile is stored
Catheter: a tube to allow a liquid (bile) to pass
Sanctuary: place of refuge, area especially built for the bears
Veterinary care: getting treated by an animal doctor
Physiotherapy: a program to train muscles
Rehabilitation: the process to get well again