We are NOT the official Animals Asia but we are the official Lancashire branch in the UK to help this charity, please click the banner below to visit the Animals Asia official site to see all the fantastic work they are doing.



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 larger pens, all of which cause terrible physical and mental suffering

Animals Asia have a huge undertaking: the rescue, rehabilitation and care of 700 bears in China and Vietnam for the rest of their years while steadily working towards ending bear farming.

To be successful we need the help of people like you to volunteer your time to help us spread the word about the plight of the bears and to raise the precious funds necessary for us to continue this vital work.

Please buy our 2010 calendar for your friends and family to help us raise money for Animals Asia to achieve their goal of freeing bears from a life of inceration and daily torture.

Visit www.calendarvets.co.uk







Not content with last year’s Three-Peaks mountain challenge or put off by the sleep deprivation, howling gales, torrential rain and zero visibility that came with it, the UK team is taking on another challenge.

Next weekend, the entire Animals Asia UK team plus family and friends - four and two-legged - will be hiking 30 miles along the Cornish Coastal path from Marazion to Pendeen Watch. We’ll be walking for up to seven hours a day across some of England’s most rugged, wild and challenging terrain to complete our hike in just two days.

The blisters, tired feet and sore calves will all be worth it, if you can help raise vital funds for the bears, dogs and cats by sponsoring us. Your contribution - no matter how small - will help make a difference to the animals we all care about.

As many of you know this will be my last team challenge as UK director, before I move over to become Animals Asia’s new animal welfare director, so please help us reach our fundraising target of £2000 and make this an event to remember.

Please sponsor the Animals Asia UK Team (Dave, Gill, Lara, Nicky, Fiona, Eileen and Sue) and friends/family (Sara, Jamie, Chris, Jess, Mark, Jim and James) plus Kandi and Missie, the dogs, by going to
http://www.justgiving.com/AAF-TEAM-CHALLENGE.

With very good wishes and grateful thanks,

Dave

Dave Neale
Animal Welfare Director
Animals Asia Foundation
Registered charity No. 1086903





FIRST BEAR RESCUE OF 2009 Thirteen more moon bears arrived yesterday, 6 February, at the rescue centre in Chengdu, confiscated and handed over to our care by the Sichuan Forestry Protection Department. Although in better health than the last group rescued, the bears are clearly unwell and distressed, and unfortunately it was already too late for one of them. See www.animalsasia.org for the breaking news story.






Freedom Moon: In celebration of our 10th Anniversary, we have put together an absolutely beautiful "coffee-table" book to celebrate our bears, titled "Freedom Moon ". With over 100 glossy "before and after" photographs, this hard-cover picture diary gives a true picture of the recouperative powers and forgiving nature of our lovely moon bears. This is a limited edition keepsake not to be missed.

Call 01579 347148

or

Post your order (cheques/PO for £40 payable to Animals Asia Foundation) to AAF UK, 3 Ashleigh Meadow, Tregondale Farm, Menheniot, Cornwall, PL14 3RG


***********************************************************

Farewell to Chris Sleep well little bear. You will be missed.


See Tributes or Jill Blog for Chris's story.

***********************************************************





A BIG BIG thank you to Gill (pictured above and below who provided us with many of the photographs on this site. Gill worked at the Chengdu sanctuary for 3 months in 2007 and is now part of the Lancashire Animals Asia support group fund raising team ... more to come soon.



If you have visited Chengdu and the Moon Bear sanctuary we would be delighted to received a copy of your photos to put on this site.



UK team - Dave Neale, Lara Simpson and Gill Maltby plus Mark Jones, Animals Asia’s new Director of Animal Welfare and James and Chris Vyvyan-Robinson are taking on the Three Peaks Challenge on 9 and 10 August 2008 to raise funds for Animals Asia. Nicky Vyvyan-Robinson and Fiona Osler will be providing all the essential back-up services; driving, cooking and application of plasters!

Three mountain peaks - Ben Nevis, Scarfell and Snowdon in 24 hours, starting on Saturday afternoon at the foot of Ben Nevis (4406ft) in Scotland, the team travel overnight to Scafell Pike (3206ft) in England and finish at the base of Snowdon (3560ft) 24 hours later.

"I am delighted to say that we completed the monumental challenge of walking up Ben Nevis, Scarfell and Snowdon all in just 23.5 hours, and we all have the aches and pains to prove it. Attached are a couple of pictures of the team at the top of each of the 3 mountains.

Thank you once again, we have now raised over £4,000 on the donation page with more to come in over the coming days."

David Neale
UK Director
www.justgiving.com/animalsasiauk


Vist the official Animals Asia website for all the very latest news on the 10th birthday celebrations




www.moonbears.co.uk - Helping to raise awareness and raise funds with our online shop in the UK for the Animals Asia Foundation China Bear Rescue Centre in Chengdu, Sichuan province, China and the new centre in Tam Dao, near Hanoi, Vietnam. Absolutely 100% of all monies raised go directly to Animals Asia a Registered UK Charity.

Following up a call from an elderly couple in November 2003, who had decided to close their small bear farm and give up their remaining bear, we found Ashley, a lonely caged bear in a dark little shed, behind their shop on a busy village street. After Gail anaesthetised him, an emergency health check was performed in the middle of the pavement, in front of 100’s of fascinated spectators. A sleeping Ashley was then brought back with us to begin his new life at the Moon Bear Rescue Centre.




The Moon Bear Rescue Centre in Chengdu has rescued over 219 bears from cruel bile farms, and is the first charity in the world to do this. These bears are rehabilitated and released into semi-natural enclosures and will live out the rest of their lives in peace and without fear.




On arrival from the farms - still confined in tiny wire cages - the bears are quickly, but gently, offloaded from the trucks and moved straight into the Quarantine Area, where they are immediately offered water, tasty and nutritious food and, depending on their wounds and injuries, are medicated and prioritised for emergency health checks.




The health checks can happen almost immediately - or several weeks after the bears arrive, once they have have been nourished and allowed to build up strength in preparation for the anaesthetic. The health checks are normally conducted within the space of an hour and allow the Veterinary team to make a full assessment of the bears' injuries and to priortise the bears for what will be several hours of surgery to repair their wounds. During the health check - where Gail will ultrasound the bear's abdomen and assess the problems related to the various methods of bile extraction - blood is taken, teeth are examined, ears are cleaned, claws are cut, and the bears are ear-tagged and finally sprayed to protect them against parasites.

The bears are then moved into roomy "recovery cages" and transported to the hospital to await surgery. The recovery cages are a temporary measure, they play an important role in giving our vet team the ability to observe the bears pre and post surgery at close quarters, and very importantly ensure that the bears take their life saving antibiotics. They also give the bears time to adjust to more space and become used to new surroundings. Sadly, farmed bears tend to be terrorized by too much space at once and the recovery cages allow a gentle and secure introduction to their new world of freedom, before final release into the dens and sanctuary. www.animalsasia.org




Andrew the first Moon Bear to arrive at the sancturary in Chengdu. Sadly Andrew has now passed away.




www.animalsasia.org Animals Asia Foundation is a Hong Kong-based government-registered animal welfare charity founded by Jill Robinson MBE in 1998. It also has charitable status in UK, USA, Germany and Australia with donations being tax-deductible in these countries. It has additional offices in China.

"The mission of the Animals Asia Foundation is to improve the lives of all animals in Asia, end cruelty and restore respect for animals Asia-wide."

www.animalsasia.org



Click here to view the Bear Breakfast video
Not to be missed! (wmv format)








www.animalsasia.org