Sydney Morning Herald feature on Jill & her work

[Guest guest]

Of the many, many people the world over who have devoted their lives to

helping animals, there are a very few I respect as much as I do Jill

Robinson. Over the ten years I have known this remarkable woman, my

admiration for her has grown more each year.

 

Her sucess is due to her dedication and committment even though we are all

aware that AAF and Jill have many more years of difficult work to do to

see the end of the cruel bear bile trade.

 

The work with Andrew and the hundreds of other moon bears; Eddie and Dr.

Dog; relief work after the massive earthquake; her role in China's rising

awareness regarding animal issues - Jill's many initiatives are amazing.

 

More power to Jill and her dedicated group.

 

S. Chinny Krishna

 

 

>

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/sense-of-release-20090718-dp1r.ht\

ml

>

> Sense of release

>

> *A softly, softly approach has paid off for renowned animal activist Jill

> Robinson and China's moonbears, writes Rachel Browne.*

>

> As a child, Jill Robinson was always devoted to animals. While her friends

> would spend school holidays by the sea, Robinson volunteered her services

> to

> local vet practices.

>

> " I cleaned out cat poo in catteries just to be close to animals, " she says

> with a laugh.

>

> But it was a later experience, when her north London family's much-loved

> cat

> went missing, which set her on the path to become one of the world's

> leading

> animal welfare activists.

>

> " We were told by local animal welfare groups that there were

> vivisectionists

> stealing cats in the area at that time, " she says. " We could never tell

> our

> father because it would have broken his heart. We always let him think

> that

> the cat had been taken by foxes. "

>

> She realised then that the protection of all creatures, great and small,

> would be her life's calling.

>

> Sitting in a cafe in inner-Sydney Pyrmont, the 51-year-old offers up a

> potted history of her career as an animal advocate.

>

> She left Britain for Hong Kong in the mid-1980s to work as the Asia

> consultant for the International Fund for Animal Welfare, mainly focusing

> on

> the markets in China and South Korea, which sell dogs, cats and protected

> species for food.

>

> " I really had my eyes opened then, " she says.

>

> However, nothing could prepare her for her first trip to a bear bile farm

> in

> China in 1993. Posing as a tourist, Robinson discovered Asiatic black

> bears,

> commonly known as moon bears, shut in cramped, rusting cages with open

> wounds allowing their bile to drip out from their gall bladders.

>

> " It's shocking, absolutely shocking, " she says with a shudder.

>

> " You feel like you are in the middle of a horror film. I was caught by the

> farm staff in the basement with the bears. I just pretended to be a

> wide-eyed tourist. I gave them a big cheesy grin and got away with it. "

>

> Before being sprung, she managed to take a few photographs of the

> suffering

> bears and present them as evidence of the cruel practice to animal welfare

> groups and, later on, Chinese authorities.

>

> Back then, there were estimated to be more than 10,000 bears kept in these

> ghastly conditions in China. Unable to move and with open, festering

> wounds,

> the animals could spend up to 20 years or more being milked for their

> bile,

> which is used in traditional Chinese medicine.

>

> Chinese authorities justified the practice as a way of reducing bear

> poaching. Organisations such as the World Wildlife Fund estimate the

> number

> of moon bears in the wild in China at between 15,000 and 20,000, putting

> them in the category in need of highest protection under the Convention on

> International Trade in Endangered Species.

>

> However, Chinese officials estimate the number at more than 50,000,

> evidence, they claim, that controlled farming is protecting the bears.

>

> Although the " free drip " bile extraction method, in which a permanent hole

> is made in the animal's abdomen, leaves them open to infection, it is

> regarded as the most humane way to collect the bile.

>

> Used in Chinese medicine for almost 2000 years, bear bile is regarded as a

> curative for ailments ranging from gall stones to eye problems.

>

> Although there are synthetic products that are just as effective, many

> traditional medicine practitioners insist on using the bile which,

> according

> to Robinson, is available on the black market the world over, including

> Australia.

>

> " I think people would be shocked to learn how it is extracted, " she says.

> " I

> have even spoken to doctors in China that had no idea of the process. But

> there is a market for it and the people who buy it know what they are

> buying

> because it's such an expensive product. "

>

> Raw bear bile costs about $500 a kilogram and the average bear can produce

> up to two kilograms of bile each year. Consider that the average wage of a

> Chinese farmer is $1800 a year and bear bile farming is a lucrative

> business.

>

> Only a tiny amount of bear bile is used in Chinese medicine, with

> practitioners requiring about 500 kilograms a year to meet their needs.

> However, animal welfare groups say about 7000 kilograms is being produced,

> with the extra amount ending up in products such as wine and shampoo.

>

> Robinson spent years talking to traditional Chinese medicine practitioners

> and researching the use of bear bile before approaching the Chinese

> Government about the farms.

>

> " It would be very arrogant to crash in there and point the big finger and

> say, `You can't take bile from bears because it's cruel,' " she says.

>

> " The initial approach was trying to get a handle on the use of bears in

> Chinese medicine.

>

> " Many people are prepared to dismiss it as quack medicine but I found that

> it has a very potent effect. We shouldn't be so quick to accuse. We should

> recognise Chinese medicine as having a very profound place in the

> cornucopia

> in Asia. "

>

> Having done her homework, she then slowly and respectfully wore away at

> Chinese bureaucracy.

>

> " Nothing happened overnight - it never does in China, " she says.

>

> " Over the following years we built what they call in China `guanxi', it

> means a close connection. You have to develop a trusting relationship.

>

> " From the beginning being a woman was on my side, being softly spoken,

> living in Hong Kong and having a lot of Chinese friends. I knew that

> arrogance would not play a part in this.

>

> " They appreciated the fact that I had spoken to Chinese doctors and I knew

> how bear bile was used. I knew that no one would die from a lack of bear

> bile.

>

> " I very much felt that right was on our side. I felt I was able to impart

> the bear's story in a more persuasive way.

>

> " In the early years, there was always this attitude of what's in it for

> you?

> Why would you take the side of the bears? Ultimately when they realised

> that

> we had nothing to gain from this, things really started to move a lot

> better. "

>

> After almost seven years of lobbying, the China Wildlife Conservation

> Association and the Sichuan Forestry Department signed a landmark pledge

> to

> set 500 bears free. The 2000 agreement was the first accord between the

> Chinese Government and any outside animal welfare organisation.

>

> Spurred on by this victory, Robinson formed the Animals Asia Foundation

> and

> established the Moon Bear Rescue Centre in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan

> province.

>

> So far the Animals Asia Foundation has rescued 260 bears in China and has

> recently started a sanctuary in Vietnam, where bear bile farming is

> illegal

> but still practised.

>

> However, with 68 farms still operating in China according to official

> figures, there is still more to be done to eradicate the practice

> altogether.

>

> This may come, ironically, as a result of the danger bile farming poses to

> humans rather than bears.

>

> " It's not just about rescuing the bears, it's about the research, "

> Robinson

> says.

>

> " That is fundamentally what is going to end the practice.

>

> " It's a shame that it is not going to be the welfare of the bears which

> ends

> the farming. It will be the research into the dangers of using products

> containing bear bile. "

>

> Chinese and Vietnamese researchers are trying to establish a link between

> contaminants found in bear bile and liver cancer in humans who ingest it.

>

> " We're concentrating on proving that link at the moment, " Robinson says.

>

> " We're hoping that the issue will finally be taken seriously by the

> Chinese

> Government because of the contaminants in the bile. "

>

> Robinson smiles when recalling how markedly attitudes towards animals have

> improved over the past 25 years she has spent in Asia.

>

> " People say everyone in China hates animals but that is such a myth, " she

> says.

>

> " The Chinese really feel empowered to help animals and that dramatic

> change

> absolutely thrills me. "

>

> *Source: The Sun-Herald <http://www.sunherald.com.au/>*

>

>

> --

> http://www.stopelephantpolo.com

> http://www.freewebs.com/azamsiddiqui

>

[Guest guest]

How well said Dr. Chinny,

Also the stand on animal rights advocacy that Jill and 'Animal Asia' has

always been taking worldwide on the many issues is just wonderful.

 

Besides being caught up in the many crisis of their regular work Jill and

her people are one of the most professional organsiations I have ever come

across. They never say 'NO' to anyone.

 

Jill & 'Animals Asia' team is not only made for animals they are made for

everyone in any crisis.

 

I am glad that I got the opportunity of being able to show Jill & 'Animal

Asia' being engaged in the rescue of a different kind during the China

Quake.

They had rescued many people and were

Once again this could not have been possible without the help of the techno

savvy staff of Jill who within minutes got us the footage they had shot from

Hong Kong to remote Guwahati city in Assam from where my correspondent could

air the story on NDTV news channels & website globally.

How blessed those women and children must be to have been attended and

rescued by an organisation called 'Animals Asia' that works for animals.

That was the first and exclusive report NDTV got out of China.

 

I conclude with Dr. Chinny's words

 

>More power to Jill and her dedicated group.<

 

 

Azam

 

 

On Sun, Jul 19, 2009 at 4:24 PM, <drkrishna wrote:

 

> Of the many, many people the world over who have devoted their lives to

> helping animals, there are a very few I respect as much as I do Jill

> Robinson. Over the ten years I have known this remarkable woman, my

> admiration for her has grown more each year.

>

> Her sucess is due to her dedication and committment even though we are all

> aware that AAF and Jill have many more years of difficult work to do to

> see the end of the cruel bear bile trade.

>

> The work with Andrew and the hundreds of other moon bears; Eddie and Dr.

> Dog; relief work after the massive earthquake; her role in China's rising

> awareness regarding animal issues - Jill's many initiatives are amazing.

>

> More power to Jill and her dedicated group.

>

> S. Chinny Krishna

>

>

> >

>

http://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/sense-of-release-20090718-dp1r.ht\

ml

> >

> > Sense of release

> >

> > *A softly, softly approach has paid off for renowned animal activist Jill

> > Robinson and China's moonbears, writes Rachel Browne.*

> >

> > As a child, Jill Robinson was always devoted to animals. While her

> friends

> > would spend school holidays by the sea, Robinson volunteered her services

> > to

> > local vet practices.

> >

> > " I cleaned out cat poo in catteries just to be close to animals, " she

> says

> > with a laugh.

> >

> > But it was a later experience, when her north London family's much-loved

> > cat

> > went missing, which set her on the path to become one of the world's

> > leading

> > animal welfare activists.

> >

> > " We were told by local animal welfare groups that there were

> > vivisectionists

> > stealing cats in the area at that time, " she says. " We could never tell

> > our

> > father because it would have broken his heart. We always let him think

> > that

> > the cat had been taken by foxes. "

> >

> > She realised then that the protection of all creatures, great and small,

> > would be her life's calling.

> >

> > Sitting in a cafe in inner-Sydney Pyrmont, the 51-year-old offers up a

> > potted history of her career as an animal advocate.

> >

> > She left Britain for Hong Kong in the mid-1980s to work as the Asia

> > consultant for the International Fund for Animal Welfare, mainly focusing

> > on

> > the markets in China and South Korea, which sell dogs, cats and protected

> > species for food.

> >

> > " I really had my eyes opened then, " she says.

> >

> > However, nothing could prepare her for her first trip to a bear bile farm

> > in

> > China in 1993. Posing as a tourist, Robinson discovered Asiatic black

> > bears,

> > commonly known as moon bears, shut in cramped, rusting cages with open

> > wounds allowing their bile to drip out from their gall bladders.

> >

> > " It's shocking, absolutely shocking, " she says with a shudder.

> >

> > " You feel like you are in the middle of a horror film. I was caught by

> the

> > farm staff in the basement with the bears. I just pretended to be a

> > wide-eyed tourist. I gave them a big cheesy grin and got away with it. "

> >

> > Before being sprung, she managed to take a few photographs of the

> > suffering

> > bears and present them as evidence of the cruel practice to animal

> welfare

> > groups and, later on, Chinese authorities.

> >

> > Back then, there were estimated to be more than 10,000 bears kept in

> these

> > ghastly conditions in China. Unable to move and with open, festering

> > wounds,

> > the animals could spend up to 20 years or more being milked for their

> > bile,

> > which is used in traditional Chinese medicine.

> >

> > Chinese authorities justified the practice as a way of reducing bear

> > poaching. Organisations such as the World Wildlife Fund estimate the

> > number

> > of moon bears in the wild in China at between 15,000 and 20,000, putting

> > them in the category in need of highest protection under the Convention

> on

> > International Trade in Endangered Species.

> >

> > However, Chinese officials estimate the number at more than 50,000,

> > evidence, they claim, that controlled farming is protecting the bears.

> >

> > Although the " free drip " bile extraction method, in which a permanent

> hole

> > is made in the animal's abdomen, leaves them open to infection, it is

> > regarded as the most humane way to collect the bile.

> >

> > Used in Chinese medicine for almost 2000 years, bear bile is regarded as

> a

> > curative for ailments ranging from gall stones to eye problems.

> >

> > Although there are synthetic products that are just as effective, many

> > traditional medicine practitioners insist on using the bile which,

> > according

> > to Robinson, is available on the black market the world over, including

> > Australia.

> >

> > " I think people would be shocked to learn how it is extracted, " she says.

> > " I

> > have even spoken to doctors in China that had no idea of the process. But

> > there is a market for it and the people who buy it know what they are

> > buying

> > because it's such an expensive product. "

> >

> > Raw bear bile costs about $500 a kilogram and the average bear can

> produce

> > up to two kilograms of bile each year. Consider that the average wage of

> a

> > Chinese farmer is $1800 a year and bear bile farming is a lucrative

> > business.

> >

> > Only a tiny amount of bear bile is used in Chinese medicine, with

> > practitioners requiring about 500 kilograms a year to meet their needs.

> > However, animal welfare groups say about 7000 kilograms is being

> produced,

> > with the extra amount ending up in products such as wine and shampoo.

> >

> > Robinson spent years talking to traditional Chinese medicine

> practitioners

> > and researching the use of bear bile before approaching the Chinese

> > Government about the farms.

> >

> > " It would be very arrogant to crash in there and point the big finger and

> > say, `You can't take bile from bears because it's cruel,' " she says.

> >

> > " The initial approach was trying to get a handle on the use of bears in

> > Chinese medicine.

> >

> > " Many people are prepared to dismiss it as quack medicine but I found

> that

> > it has a very potent effect. We shouldn't be so quick to accuse. We

> should

> > recognise Chinese medicine as having a very profound place in the

> > cornucopia

> > in Asia. "

> >

> > Having done her homework, she then slowly and respectfully wore away at

> > Chinese bureaucracy.

> >

> > " Nothing happened overnight - it never does in China, " she says.

> >

> > " Over the following years we built what they call in China `guanxi', it

> > means a close connection. You have to develop a trusting relationship.

> >

> > " From the beginning being a woman was on my side, being softly spoken,

> > living in Hong Kong and having a lot of Chinese friends. I knew that

> > arrogance would not play a part in this.

> >

> > " They appreciated the fact that I had spoken to Chinese doctors and I

> knew

> > how bear bile was used. I knew that no one would die from a lack of bear

> > bile.

> >

> > " I very much felt that right was on our side. I felt I was able to impart

> > the bear's story in a more persuasive way.

> >

> > " In the early years, there was always this attitude of what's in it for

> > you?

> > Why would you take the side of the bears? Ultimately when they realised

> > that

> > we had nothing to gain from this, things really started to move a lot

> > better. "

> >

> > After almost seven years of lobbying, the China Wildlife Conservation

> > Association and the Sichuan Forestry Department signed a landmark pledge

> > to

> > set 500 bears free. The 2000 agreement was the first accord between the

> > Chinese Government and any outside animal welfare organisation.

> >

> > Spurred on by this victory, Robinson formed the Animals Asia Foundation

> > and

> > established the Moon Bear Rescue Centre in Chengdu, the capital of

> Sichuan

> > province.

> >

> > So far the Animals Asia Foundation has rescued 260 bears in China and has

> > recently started a sanctuary in Vietnam, where bear bile farming is

> > illegal

> > but still practised.

> >

> > However, with 68 farms still operating in China according to official

> > figures, there is still more to be done to eradicate the practice

> > altogether.

> >

> > This may come, ironically, as a result of the danger bile farming poses

> to

> > humans rather than bears.

> >

> > " It's not just about rescuing the bears, it's about the research, "

> > Robinson

> > says.

> >

> > " That is fundamentally what is going to end the practice.

> >

> > " It's a shame that it is not going to be the welfare of the bears which

> > ends

> > the farming. It will be the research into the dangers of using products

> > containing bear bile. "

> >

> > Chinese and Vietnamese researchers are trying to establish a link between

> > contaminants found in bear bile and liver cancer in humans who ingest it.

> >

> > " We're concentrating on proving that link at the moment, " Robinson says.

> >

> > " We're hoping that the issue will finally be taken seriously by the

> > Chinese

> > Government because of the contaminants in the bile. "

> >

> > Robinson smiles when recalling how markedly attitudes towards animals

> have

> > improved over the past 25 years she has spent in Asia.

> >

> > " People say everyone in China hates animals but that is such a myth, " she

> > says.

> >

> > " The Chinese really feel empowered to help animals and that dramatic

> > change

> > absolutely thrills me. "

> >

> > *Source: The Sun-Herald <http://www.sunherald.com.au/>*

> >

> >

> > --

> > http://www.stopelephantpolo.com

> > http://www.freewebs.com/azamsiddiqui

[Guest guest]

Here is a example of Jill's help to other NGO's

 

Around 4 years ago, I had put up a request on AAPN, that I

need an advanced digital camera for my rescue work here in Mumbai & in

need of sponsor. Within a day Jill's office staff Nicole Hess e-mailed me that

they have mailed the Camera. The camera reached to me

safely with in the period on 7 days & on behalf of PAWS, I always

thank her for the same.

 

This is just an example but many times she lend her supportive hand

for those who in need. Jill keep up the good work & you are one of my

mentors.

 

 

Regards,

Nilesh

PAWS

 

 

azam24x7

Sunday, July 19, 2009 5:02 PM

AAPN List

Re: Sydney Morning Herald feature on Jill & her work

 

 

How well said Dr. Chinny,

Also the stand on animal rights advocacy that Jill and 'Animal Asia' has

always been taking worldwide on the many issues is just wonderful.

 

Besides being caught up in the many crisis of their regular work Jill

and

her people are one of the most professional organsiations I have ever

come

across. They never say 'NO' to anyone.

 

Jill & 'Animals Asia' team is not only made for animals they are made

for

everyone in any crisis.

 

I am glad that I got the opportunity of being able to show Jill &

'Animal

Asia' being engaged in the rescue of a different kind during the China

Quake.

They had rescued many people and were

Once again this could not have been possible without the help of the

techno

savvy staff of Jill who within minutes got us the footage they had shot

from

Hong Kong to remote Guwahati city in Assam from where my correspondent

could

air the story on NDTV news channels & website globally.

How blessed those women and children must be to have been attended and

rescued by an organisation called 'Animals Asia' that works for animals.

That was the first and exclusive report NDTV got out of China.

 

I conclude with Dr. Chinny's words

 

>More power to Jill and her dedicated group.<

 

Azam