Animals Asia Foundation (AAF) is a
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
-based charity that seeks to end
cruelty to animals
Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse, animal neglect or animal cruelty, is the infliction by omission (neglect) or by commission by humans of suffering or harm upon non-human animals. More narrowly, it can be the causing of harm or suf ...
in Asia.
Founding
The AAF was founded in 1998 by
Jill Robinson, who felt compelled to create the organisation after learning of the plight of the
Asiatic black bear
The Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), also known as the Asiatic black bear, moon bear and white-chested bear, is a medium-sized bear species native to Asia that is largely adapted to an arboreal lifestyle. It lives in the Himalayas, sou ...
known as the "moon bear" because of the yellow crescent on its chest. Moon bears are farmed throughout Asia for their bile, which is used in traditional medicine. The organization raises awareness of the inhumane methods used in
bear bile
Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...
farming, which involve bears living up to 25 years in small cages, with metal catheters inserted into their abdomens for bile extraction, or even open wounds through which the bile drips.
The organization also works "to reduce the demand for bile in Asia by promoting affordable, effective and cruelty free alternatives."
Locations
The Foundation's headquarters is in Hong Kong with additional offices in mainland
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. It also has moon bear sanctuaries in
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
and China.
Selected history
In 2012, the organization expressed its concern when
Guizhentang Pharmaceutical Company, which keeps 470 bears to extract bile for traditional Chinese medicine, made a bid to go public on the
Shenzhen Stock Exchange
The Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE; ) is a stock exchange based in the city of Shenzhen, in the People's Republic of China. It is one of three stock exchanges operating independently in Mainland China, the others being the Beijing Stock Excha ...
.
In 2010, the organization released a report complaining about the treatment of wild animals in zoos in China. In response, the Chinese Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development urged zoos and wildlife parks to stop serving wild animal products and holding wildlife performances, and planned to conduct inspections to determine whether the zoos were complying with animal welfare standards.
In February 2009, Animals Asia rescued a dozen malnourished, diseased
Asiatic black bears
The Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), also known as the Asiatic black bear, moon bear and white-chested bear, is a medium-sized bear species native to Asia that is largely adapted to an arboreal lifestyle. It lives in the Himalayas, sout ...
from
bile-harvesting farms in southwest China. The bears were given to Animals Asia under an agreement made in 2000 with the government to save sick bears from state and illegal farms. The animals went to the foundation's Moon Bear Rescue Center outside
Chengdu
Chengdu (, ; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively Romanization of Chi ...
, which has handled hundreds of bears since the agreement was signed.
In April 2014, Animals Asia announced plans to convert a bear bile farm with over 130 Asiatic black bears in
Nanning
Nanning (; ; za, Namzningz) is the capital and largest city by population of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in Southern China. It is known as the "Green City" because of its abundance of lush subtropical foliage. Located in the South of ...
, China, into an animal sanctuary. The farm was part of Flower World, a state-owned horticulture and landscaping company.
In 2016, Animals Asia shed light on the extremely poor conditions of the
Grandview Mall Aquarium
The Grandview Mall Aquarium, also known as "The Ocean World," is on the sixth floor of Grandview Shopping Mall ( Zhengjia Square) in the city of Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China. The aquarium is considered one of the longest in a shopping m ...
in
Guangzhou
Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...
, China.
In 2017, Animals Asia reported it had secured an agreement with the
Government of Vietnam
The Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (), also known as the Vietnamese Government or the Government of Vietnam (), is the executive branch and body of the State administration of Vietnam. The members of the Government are appoi ...
to end all bear bile farming in the country by 2020. An
MOU outlined the agreement between Animals Asia and the state-run Vietnam Administration of Forestry to work together to rescue bears still caged on farms across Vietnam – believed to be around 1,000.
See also
*
Bile bear
Bile bears, sometimes called battery bears, are bears kept in captivity to harvest their bile, a digestive fluid produced by the liver and stored in the gallbladder, which is used by some traditional Asian medicine practitioners. It is estimated t ...
*
Jill Robinson
*
Free the Bears Fund
The Free the Bears Fund (FBF) is an Australian charitable wildlife-protection organization. It was started by Mary Hutton after she watched a documentary in 1993 on bears kept in small cages for bile farming. The fund was registered as a not-fo ...
*
Animal welfare and rights in China Animal welfare and rights in the People's Republic of China is a topic of growing interest. China has had limited animal protections by international standards, and animal-rights activists have condemned the treatment of animals in the country. Move ...
References
External links
*
Guide to the Animals Asia Foundation Records 1998-2003
{{Portal bar, China, Hong Kong, Animals
Animal welfare organisations based in Hong Kong
Animal welfare and rights in China