Page 10 - Animals Asia Review 2015
P. 10
End Bear Bile Farming
A tale of two cities
It was an especially challenging year for our China bear team,
caring for over 240 bears in two separate locations – our
sanctuary in Chengdu and a former bile farm 1,200 kilometres
away in Nanning.
As our already stretched staff shuttled between the two sites,
the long wait for permission to transport the bears from Nanning
to Chengdu continued. We’re doing all we can to secure the
permits needed to get the bears on the road, and meanwhile
we’re making the bears as comfortable as possible. Our staff
are even planting banana trees on site to provide them with big
leaves to play with.
Still conined to concrete dens, the Nanning bears need
constant stimulation, so enrichment items to keep them
busy are an important part of their daily care. By the end
of 2015, all the Nanning bears had metal pools to bathe in,
bamboo feeders, logs, rubber kongs and balls.
Maintaining the safety and functionality of the buildings that
house the bears was another important aspect of the team's
work last year. Multiple times we needed to ix and re-ix broken Enrichment toys like bear-sized boomer balls are helping to
lights and fans, as well as upgrading dilapidated metalwork and keep the Nanning bears active and alert.
installing pumps to increase water capacity.
Meanwhile in Chengdu the team was kept busy caring for the
increasing number of elderly bears on site. As well as requiring In 2015,
50
extra veterinary care due to age-related conditions such as
cataracts, arthritis and reduced mobility, these bears need
special outdoor furniture that caters to their needs, such as low more bears at the former
hammocks and climbing frames.
bile farm in Nanning
were health-checked
The sanctuary itself also required remedial care in 2015, with under anaesthesia.
older buildings getting some much-needed attention and our
resident macaques getting a brand new enclosure.
‘Until we can move these bears from
Nanning to our Chengdu sanctuary,
we'll do the best we possibly can for
Nanning in a nutshell
them. It's far from perfect, but it's a big In April 2014, Animals Asia took custody of 132 bears on
’a bile farm in Nanning, southern China. We plan to take
improvement on their lives before.
the bears to our sanctuary in Chengdu – as soon as we
receive the necessary permits.
Nicola field BSc, mSc
Bear and Vet Team Director, China
Bear bile contains
ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA),
which does have medicinal
properties, but it can be
replaced
with herbs and synthetics.
‘I really enjoy my work as a translator,
especially when passing on messages
about the cute bears. But it's also
important we share the bears' sad
’
stories with the world too.
Ronnie aka John relaxes in his pool at Nanning. We hope to bring
Tina Tian
him and the other bears home to our Chengdu sanctuary soon.
Translation Team Supervisor, China
10 Animals Asia Review 2015
