Page 4 - Animals Asia Review 2012

End Bear Bile Farming

China rises against bear bile farming

2012
saw an extraordinary rise in By year’s end, the
support for Animals Asia’sbear bile debate

campaign to end bear bile farming was one of the “10
in China, with unprecedented numbers of peoplehottest internet

voicing their outrage online and on the streets. topics” in China,

with millions
The outcry was sparked by two key issues:going online to

• Plans by Guizhentang Pharmaceutical Co – a bear call for an end
to the industry.
bile farm in Fujian Province – to list on the stock market
to fund an expansion from 470 to 1,200 bears; andToby Zhang,
our Director of

• A letter from the China Association of Traditional External Affairs
Chinese Medicine (an association of Chinese medicine said, “The plight

manufacturers, which has Guizhentang as a paying of the moon bears
member) attacking Animals Asia and appealing to the has captured the

press to back the bile trade.hearts and minds

of the Chinese
The letter caused an immediate backlash and a surge people to such an extent that people who feel exploited
of support for our work from the public, the media, and
or oppressed now use the expression ‘I feel like a moon
from many TCM practitioners. A subsequent comment bear’. The shift we saw last year is truly encouraging. This
from the head of the China Association of Traditional
issue is not going to go away.”
Chinese Medicine that “the process of extracting bear
bile is as easy, natural and painless as turning on a tap,” As leading experts on the industry, Animals Asia is

sparked further outcry.providing evidence of the cruelty of bear bile farming
and the health risks of consuming bile, enabling

Global celebrities like basketball legend Yao Ming, who Chinese animal welfare groups, the Chinese media, and
visited our China sanctuary in February, and actors Ali the Chinese public as a whole to make their opposition

MacGraw, Stephen Fry and Peter Egan added their voices to bear farming known, and put unprecedented
to the campaign.pressure on the industry.

Victory in Vietnam

that the rescue centre sanctuary elsewhere – followed
could stay and more aggressive urging by the Director of

bear enclosures could Tam Dao National Park, Mr Do Dinh
be built.Tien, who had plans for an “eco-

tourism park” and hotels on the
Our Stop the Eviction sanctuary site.

campaign began
in October 2012, Our Vietnam Director, Tuan

after the MinistryBendixsen, is now looking forward
of Defence issued to focusing his energies back onto

the order, claiming our campaign to end bear bile

the sanctuary wasfarming in Vietnam. “This really is
After months of intense lobbying, in an area of national defence a huge relief. Our sincere thanks to

our bear sanctuary in Vietnam’s signiicance. The order to move the tens of thousands of supporters
Tam Dao National Park is safe from out of the park – which would have from around the world who wrote

eviction. The good news cameseen 77 local sanctuary workers letters, sent emails and signed
in January 2013, when Prime unemployed and 104 bears back in petitions calling for the eviction to

Minister Nguyen Tan Dung ruledcages while we developed a newbe stopped.”

4Animals Asia Review 2012 | animalsasia.org