NPC Member’s Call to End Bear Farming

Statement by AAF Founder and CEO Jill Robinson on NPC Member’s Call to End Bear Farming

SYDNEY, March 9/Medianet International-AsiaNet/--

The Animals Asia Foundation welcomes the recent statements on ending bear farming by National People’s Congress member Madam Zhou Ping. Zhou Ping, a representative from Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province has proposed new legislation to protect bears, specifically to halt the cruel extraction of bear bile for use in traditional Chinese medicine from 7,000 endangered Asiatic black bears (Moon Bears).

Following her suggestion of an animal welfare law at the National People's Congress meeting of 2006, Zhou Ping then visited the Animals Asia Moon Bear Rescue Centre in Chengdu on two occasions last year together with 20 other members of the NPC. Today we are delighted thatshe has now raised an additional suggestion at this week's 2007 NPC meeting in Beijing calling for an end to bear farming.

Animals Asia has worked for many years to end this brutal industry in China and Vietnam. Since October 2000, when we first signed an Agreement with the Chinese Government to work towards ending the practice, our campaign has seen 219 bears rescued from the barbaric farms and brought to live in peace at our sanctuary.

The evidence gathered from these bears on our surgery table shows that there is a despicable deceit on the part of the farmers, who invent new methods of bile extraction. The new so-called “humane” free-drip method is anything but cruelty-free, and causes chronic suffering and an agonising death for the victims of this unnecessary trade. The process is now considered unnecessary by many traditional medicine practitioners who confirm that bear bile can easily be replaced by cheap and abundant herbs and synthetics.

Animals Asia now offers Madam Zhou Ping our expertise and resources to work with her and the relevant Chinese government departments in an endeavour to help bears and people alike within the bear farming industry. Together, we can bring this cruel and unnecessary trade to an end once and for all.

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