FW: More than half of China now bear-farm free after pledges from 18 provinces

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone,

Great news -- 19 Chinese provinces now bear-farm free! Attached and pasted

below our press release.

Cheers,

Angela

 

Angela Leary

Media Manager

Animals Asia Foundation

317-319 Des Voeux Road Central

10?F Kai Tak Building

Sheung Wan, Hong Kong

Tel: (852) 2791 2225

Fax: (852) 2791 2320

 

MEDIA RELEASE

22 December 2009

More than half of China now bear-farm free after pledges from 18 provinces

 

Eighteen of mainland China's 31 provinces and districts have committed to

remaining bear-farm free and rooting out any hidden bile farms. This means

that more than half of China is now free of the bile industry and committed

to saying that way.

 

Together with the district of Shanghai, which is also bear-farm free but

declined to take part in the pledge, these 18 areas represent 52 per cent of

China's population and 71 per cent of its land mass.

Animals Asia Founder and CEO Jill Robinson MBE said: " This is a very

significant step forward for the welfare and conservation of endangered

bears in China. In 2006, 15 provinces had bear farms - today, only 12 have

farms. " According to official figures, the number of bear farms in China has

dropped from 480 in the mid-1990s to 68 today, however Animals Asia and many

officials believe that the total number of bears continues to grow.

" Sadly because of breeding on the farms and continued illegal trapping in

the wild, the number of bears on farms in China has probably increased. But

the action of the progressive leaders of these 18 regions in standing up

publicly against this terrible industry is groundbreaking, " Ms Robinson

said.

" We cannot commend these provinces highly enough for their courage and

commitment - and we're grateful for the leadership role shown by the CWCA in

Beijing in saying a very powerful 'no' to the exploitation of one of China's

endangered flagship species.

" We have never been more hopeful of seeing the last bear farm close as this

vision spreads into other provinces of China - one by one - until bear bile

usage is a distant memory, and moon bears are accorded the same protection

and respect as their endangered cousins, the pandas. "

Animals Asia's China Director of External Affairs, Toby Zhang, said the

development had come at a crucial time in the campaign to end bear farming.

" Just a few days ago, the Anti-Poison Centre at Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi,

Vietnam revealed it had treated a number of people who had been rushed to

the centre with acute inflammation of the wall of the stomach after

consuming bear bile.

" We too have been warning about the obvious health risks of consuming a

product that is contaminated with filth - and that is extracted from bears

that are dying from liver cancer and pumped with antibiotics to keep them

alive, " Mr Zhang said. " Animals Asia's veterinary team has gathered shocking

evidence of contamination in bile during its treatment of chronically ill

bears rescued from farms.

" We have given this evidence - along with reports and warnings from

independent pathologists in China and Vietnam - to our government partners

in the Moon Bear Rescue, the CWCA. This information has been passed on to

the relevant departments, and together with the CWCA, we're waiting to hear

back, " he said.

Mr Zhang said the growing awareness of the health implications of consuming

bear bile was one of the reasons he was hopeful that more provinces would

soon sign on as bear-farm free.

" Recently, we co-sponsored a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) conference

in Beijing that was attended by 250 practitioners and specialists, all

committed to finding ways to end the use of endangered species in TCM. A

number of speakers warned about the health effects of consuming bear bile,

so the message is definitely getting out there, " he said.

The leaders of the 18 provinces are also keen to advance conservation,

research and public education programmes that will benefit wildlife in their

provinces. Animals Asia has pledged to support such initiatives and has

created a " Wildlife Welfare and Conservation Fund " to help protect and

foster respect for wild and endangered species, such as China's moon bears.

Leaders of 16 of the 18 provinces (or provincial-level autonomous regions or

municipalities directly under the Central Government) came together at a

gathering hosted by the CWCA and Animals Asia Foundation in Tianjin,

northern China last week.

The meeting was attended by Madam Yang Baijin, Secretary General of the

CWCA, her deputy, Li Qing Wen, and Cao Liang, head of the Industry

Department of the CWCA. Ms Yang praised Animals Asia as the only

international NGO working in China to have made a lasting commitment backed

by major capital expenditure. (Our moon bear sanctuary in Chengdu has taken

in 266 bile farm bears and employs more than 150 people.)

Bear farming is still legal in China, however it has been illegal to set up

a new farm since 2000, when Animals Asia signed an agreement with the CWCA

and Sichuan Forestry to rescue 500 bears from the worst farms and to work

towards ending the industry. To date, Animals Asia has rescued 266 bears

from farms in China and 31 bears in Vietnam. Those that survive, live out

their lives at our sanctuaries.

The 18 provinces or districts to commit to staying bear-farm free are:

Anhui, Beijing, Chongqing, Gansu, Guizhou, Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Inner

Mongolia, Jiangxi, Jiangsu, Ningxia, Qinghai, Shanxi, Tianjin, Tibet and

Xinjiang.