CHINESE GOVERNMENT ATTENDS OFFICIAL OPENING OF ANIMALS ASIA'S MOON BEAR RESCUE
CENTRE
On Monday 16th December 2002, the Chinese Government Departments of Beijing and Sichuan joined with non-government
Hong Kong based
organisation Animals Asia Foundation in opening the largest Moon Bear
Sanctuary in the world.
Prior to the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, the
parties hosted a press briefing of national and international media,
where officials emphasised that it was the intention of the Chinese
Central Government to end the cruel practice of bear farming country
wide.
Mr. Chen Run Shen, Secretary General of the Beijing based China Wildlife
Conservation Association (CWCA), a Government Department of the State
Forestry Administration, publicly announced several crucial statements
from the Central Government:
"1. Currently the number of bear farms in China has greatly reduced and
the number of bears on farms has not increased. The international
reports of the 9000 figure is pure speculation and has no grounding at
all.
2. The CWCA confirms that the China Central Government has no plans or intentions to commercialise the usage of bear bile on
the international
market.
3. The CWCA, on behalf of the Chinese Central Government, fully supports and recognises the efforts of the Animals Asia
Foundation (AAF) in the rescue of Moon bears in China. We will continue to support the work of the AAF and together with
the AAF we will achieve our final objective of terminating bear farming in China."
Mr. Chen added: "We humans have only one planet - however the planet
does not belong to us, it belongs to the animals as well. We should
treat animals better."
Mr. Chen and other government officials were later filmed assisting the
Animals Asia Veterinary team in cutting open a cage and freeing a
previously farmed Moon Bear.
Mr. Peng Huang Shi, Deputy Head of the Sichuan Forestry Department,
formally stated that the number of farms and bears in Sichuan Province
had also decreased and paid tribute to the tripartite cooperation of the
relevant Government Departments and Animals Asia in rescuing bears from farms in that Province.
During the briefing, officials and media were updated on the progress of
the China Bear Rescue by Jill Robinson MBE, Founder & CEO of Animals
Asia, who advised that, since the rescue began in October 2000, 35 farms
had closed and 97 bears had been confiscated into the care of the
Animals Asia's Moon Bear Sanctuary in Chengdu. The farms licenses were confiscated, farmers were compensated to enable
them to enter new employment outside of bear farming, and the government was issuing no new licenses countrywide. She
emphasised that all bear farming in Asia was an unnecessary and inhumane practice.
Professor Liu Zhen Cai, a Chinese Traditional Medicine Practitioner,
gave a formal statement on behalf of his medical colleagues: "I have
been a practitioner of Chinese medicine for over 40 years and have never
used bear bile." he said. "Today we have over 50 herbal alternatives
and synthetic medicines which have the same efficacy as bear bile - and
there is no need for bears to suffer any longer."
Whilst Robinson paid tribute to the help of the Government in the
rescue, she also emphasised the need for addressing the issue of
breeding on the current farms and called on the relevant Government
departments to issue a country wide breeding ban in order to address one of the root problems in the industry.
Mr. David Bleyle, US Consul General in Sichuan also joined the press
briefing and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and pledged his support for the
rescue and for ending bear farming in China: "Today marks an important
step in the Government's commitment to working with Animals Asia to end a cruel and unnecessary trade in China" he said. "We
encourage the ongoing closure of the farms and urgent attention towards the end of bear farming once and for all."
As the first phase of the enclosed bamboo forest sanctuary was formally
opened, the first group of farmed bears rescued in October 2000 took
hesitant steps into the forest watched by local and international media
and over twenty Central and local government officials. As the den
doors opened, bears Jasper and Aussie cautiously raised their noses to
the air and breathed in the smell of a natural environment which was far
removed from their lives on a farm.
As the bears slowly disappeared into the forest, Robinson said she was
cautiously optimistic that the announcements by the Government in China
were a sincere endeavour to end the trade in bile extraction and bear
farming and hoped this could happen by the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. "We can never forget that thousands of bears are still
suffering on farms for a practice which is outdated and cruel. However, today, the
China Bear Rescue is now becoming a symbol for animal protection and
conservation and we have reason to believe that there is progress - and
hope - for farmed bears in China."