To date, Animals Asia has rescued 265 bears in China and 30  bears in Vietnam.  The fight continues … with the invaluable help of the people of Congleton, known as Bear Town.

In countries across Asia, thousands of bears live a life of torture on bear farms, so that their bile can be extracted and used in traditional medicine to cure ailments ranging from headaches to haemorrhoids. Bears are confined in cages which vary from agonisingly tiny "crush" cages to slightly larger pens, all of which cause terrible physical and mental suffering.

AAF is a grass-roots Asia-based non-governmental organisation headquartered in Hong Kong, with offices in the UK, USA, Australia, Italy and Germany and Moon Bear Rescue Centres in China and Vietnam. Animals Asia has more than 230 staff worldwide. Visit their website.

The Moon Bear Rescue

Animals Asia's main project, the Moon Bear Rescue, involves the ongoing rescue of 500 suffering and endangered bears from cruel bile farms in China, bringing them to their sanctuary in Sichuan Province; similarly, in Vietnam, they are rescuing 200 farmed bears. In both countries, these rescues occur in co-operation with state forestry  departments. These are “ambassador bears” that will live out their lives at the sanctuaries while the charity continues negotiations with the governments of China and Vietnam to end bear bile farming.

	Blueball arriving at the sanctuary

Jill Robinson, MBE, founder and CEO of Animals Asia says:

“These poor animals have endured years of extreme suffering, trapped in barbaric, tiny cages, unable even to turn around. They don’t even have free access to water and are deliberately starved, because hungry bears produce more bile. Most of the bears that arrive at our sanctuaries have scars and wounds on their heads as a result of repetitive bar-rubbing during their years on the farm. In short, they are cage-crazy.”