Animals Asia NYC's First Event - October 26, 2009

Our first event was a huge success, thanks to our supporters as well as Animals Asia's US Director, Alice Ng, who gave a top notch presentation with a fantastic Q&A. We were also honored to have the presence of one of our bears' sponsors, the gracious Mr. and Mrs. Matus, who sponsored Bottom. 

Alice was a star. Everyone loved her and she's a great speaker. The 15-minute China Bear Rescue film was short and sweet, and gave some of our new supporters a glance into what Animals Asia is about. And that's where Animals Asia's magic is. They always deal with these tragic, grave issues with such grace. While the sadness is there, an existing fact, a cruel reminder, seeing the happy bears brings a smile to everybody's wet-eyed face. It gives us hope. It gives us courage. And for those of us who can't be there everyday to help the bears, we know there are people like Animals Asia out there and knowing that brings us peace of mind. 

I'd like to thank my friends Deb, Joette, Emily and Murod for coming to the event to support me. But most importantly, I'd like to thank Bluestockings for letting us use the space for free. Without their generosity, this event wouldn't have happened. Their managers Brooke and Claire and their wonderful staff have been more than helpful all the way. They are a group of wonderful young people who work hard everyday to help make a difference in society. My deepest gratitude from the bottom of my heart.

Blind No More - Snoopy's New Lease On Life

Not so long ago on a bear bile farm,

many moon bears lived in torture and harm;

Incarcerated and mistreated day after day,

caused Snoopy the moon bear to lose her sight.

No longer could she see what was around,

not that she had the luxury of playing in the sun;

Years of poor care and abuse took a toll,

added more fear and took away more hope.

Dr. David and Claudia came to the rescue,

so Snoopy can live in bliss and peace too;

Searching for goodies and swimming in the pool,

the once blind bear is now a happy big girl.

Thousands of bears remain in their torture chambers,

crying for help but nobody can hear;

How do we sleep in peace at night

when nature's noblest creatures suffer from our crime?

Truth must be told and tragedies unveiled,

so justice can be served on behalf of the bears;

One by one they will come out of darkness,

smell the grass and feel the sunshine on their faces.

Let the honey guide their senses,

finding the treasure hidden in the trunks;

Let the wind gently kiss them and caress them,

as all the suffering fade into distant memories.

The day must come when there's no more bear farms,

so every bear can roam free with dignity and pride;

Humanity must be restored to stop this torment,

for life is God's most precious gift to mankind.

If Only

If only I can take away

the frantic fear on your face;

If only I can stop your pain,

setting you free to roll on the grass.

If only I can understand myself,

the senseless cruelty they forced upon you;

If only I can make you see

that there are people for you they weep.

If only I can display my heart

so you know how much I ache;

If only I can hug you tight

to let you know it'll be all right.

If only I can tell more people

of your endless suffering and grief;

If only I can make my tears

turn into hope that saves your soul.

If only I can put my hand

gently and lovingly on your hand;

I will tell you with all my heart

that I will keep you away from harm.

China culls again

Chifeng city dog slaughter

17 August 2009 

Animals Asia has received information from contacts in Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia that the Hongshan district police office has instigated a policy of indiscriminate dog slaughter. The authorities in Chifeng City issued dog-management regulations to the people of the city back in 2003.  The authorities claim that in recent years, the behaviour of dogs and their guardians has become out of control. Therefore in August 2009, the police issued an official announcement forbidding dogs and dog guardians from:  1. Raising large dogs and dangerous dogs in the downtown area of Chifeng City.  2. Entering markets, shops, restaurants, parks, public greenbelt, schools, hospitals, movie theaters, gymnasiums, pleasure grounds, bus stations, airports, streets, resident communities, and other public areas.  3. Walking dogs on the street and footpath.  4. Entering public vehicles and elevators. If anyone gets out of line, the police will kill all such dogs….  Evidence of this slaughter has been confirmed by the online news agency sina.com at http://bbs.news.sina.com.cn/thread-9-0/tree-842212-3930.html [Please be warned this link contains disturbing images]  Animals Asia is saddened and appalled by these actions being carried out by the Chifeng authorities and the development of archaic rules to regulate dog-guardianship in the city and control street-dog populations.  Animals Asia, in partnership with Chinese animal-welfare groups as part of the “Friends of Animals Asia Alliance” has written to the Chifeng authorities calling for an immediate end to this mass slaughter, and asking the authorities to consider a “grandfather” approach allowing people to keep the dogs they have and, once they have died naturally, instructing owners not to replace them with other dogs. This will at least allow owners to keep their beloved family members. Our coalition letter is below.  To read a report on dog-population management in China and how Animals Asia strives to prevent more culls, please click here.  What you can do  You can help support our efforts to battle this atrocity. Please write a polite letter to the Chinese Ambassador and send it to the main embassy address in your country. Embassy addresses can be found here:  www.travelchinaguide.com/embassy/embassy_list.htm  Explain, politely but firmly, that the policy is cruel, heartless and ineffective, and paints the people and government of Chifeng in a very poor light.  Urge the Chinese authorities to persuade the Chifeng City government to abandon this carnage in favour of a humane trap-neuter-release and vaccination programme, as recommended by the WHO, and animal-welfare organisations worldwide. Please urge the authorities in Beijing to allow dog owners to keep the dogs they already have and allow them to live out their natural lives.  The above press release is courtesy of Animals Asia Foundation.

Give a gift in exchange for a bear's smile

Today I received my first plush moon bear. I couldn't wait to add him to the "cute" corner of my desk. Somehow, this little black bear, with that yellow crescent on his chest, seems to be smiling at me from where he's sitting, and magically, he becomes the source of my inspiration.

People sometimes shy away when they hear about a cause, not that they don't care, but perhaps afraid of a commitment they do not know if they can continue to contribute to. Especially at times like these, most of us can't even be sure if we will still have our jobs tomorrow. Most people have families to care for, bills to pay, or simply feel that now, more than ever, they need to save for emergencies and every penny saved brings a little more security for the future.

But it is also times like these, because of our insecurity, we feel the need to bond, to feel human, to know what it feels like to be compassionate, to rescue another soul who is less fortunate.

It has been debated in every culture and every religion throughout history. Is human nature good or evil? I, do not have the wisdom nor the insight to answer this question. But today, when I look at my plush moon bear and think about the 10,000 that are still suffering, and then, I think about the 286 that have been rescued by Animals Asia, I tell myself, I really, really want to believe and I desperately need to believe that human nature is good and there is still hope.

For as little as $5, you too, can make a bear a very happy bear. Don't we all love that honey in the bear shaped bottles sold in supermarkets across America? At Animals Asia, we make it very easy for supporters to give a gift to their beloved bears. Here are some other gift ideas to make the bears' new lives a little sweeter:

Pot of Honey: US$5.00

Giant Tub of Raisins: US$5.00

Bear Toys: US$10.00

Hanging Baskets: US$40.00

Bear Fun Frames: US$50.00

Bear Meals: US$50.00

Swimming Pool: US$60.00

Bear Vet Care: US$100.00

Moon Bear Hamper: US$225.00

Building a Moon Bear's Dream: US$500.00

While we are trying very hard to save the 10,000 that are still living in hell, we have these 286 precious moon bears in our care, and our team is dedicated to make them put their past behind and live out the rest of their lives the way they deserve to live. Make a promise in your heart, put away a little everyday, a quarter, a dollar, and when you think of it, buy that bear a pot of honey or a tub of raisins to sweeten his day, a little toy to make her afternoon less boring, a hanging basket so he can lay out in the sun, a fun frame to brush up on her climbing skills, delicious and healthy meals to enjoy with his companions, a swimming pool for her to spend the hot summer days in, vet care so they can all live healthy, or all of the above gifts to make a bear's day....For us, it comes from those sodas or Starbucks coffees we didn't have to drink, those movies we knew would be bad but still went to see anyway, the extra food we ordered at the restaurants but never finished and wasted, or all those impulse buys that ended up sitting in the closet or storage....

Be an angel to the bears and let us make up for what the other humans did to them. Give a gift in exchange for a bear's smile.

Friends....or Food? 摯友....或佳餚？

The first time I was shocked by the idea of someone eating an unusual animal was when watching one episode of "Bizarre Foods" where the host was in one of the South American countries eating guinea pigs. We had just had our two guinea pigs, Maya and Marjorine, for a few months, and we spoiled them with anything and everything a guinea pig could want in the world. So when I saw how he went to this village in the mountains and the owner of the eatery showed him to the back where they kept the guinea pigs, the same furry, cute faces mine had, making the same "wheek wheek wheek" sounds, except when mine made them, fresh hay, veggie or fruit were immediately served to them whereas these poor pigs in the show were just getting close to being picked out and served as meals.

To many people living in other parts of the world, certain animals are just, animals. To eat or not to eat an animal depends on the culinary culture of that country. To these people, the idea of a "pet" is unfathomable. From their point of view, seeing for instance, the Americans, keeping their dogs and cats inside their houses, some even sleeping with them, putting clothes on them, taking them on vacations...is like a joke. To these people, WE are the crazy ones. "Why treat the dogs that well? It's such a waste of money," they say. "Foreigners have too much free time on their hands," the others might say. What is their problem, you might ask? Lack of education? Ignorance? Or, they simply didn't know better?

Dogs are eaten in large numbers in China, Vietnam and Korea. The cruelty is often deliberate and slaughter methods are designed to intensify and prolong the suffering in the misguided belief that torture equals taste. While some places in Asia such as Hong Kong, the Philippines and Taiwan have banned the practice of dog eating, evidence shows that in China, the biggest dog eating country in the world, it continues to thrive. It is estimated that up to 10 million dogs are slaughtered every year in China, many deliberately slowly and cruelly, while all suffer the stress and pain of being farmed in concentrated numbers before being killed in a variety of ways which rarely ensure a quick and humane death.

To end this, the only way is through education. And this is where Animals Asia comes in. Positive programs like "Doctor Dog" and brand new initiatives like the China distribution of over 100,000 VCDs of our innovative inhouse film "Dr. Eddie: Friends or Food?" are key to inspire and compel a reconsideration of attitudes at a grassroots level.

When I look at my two-year-old chihuahua, Mr. Biggles, I can not in a million years imagine how there could be 10 millions of him being slaughtered for food every year. The idea of relying on "education" to save these poor dogs and cats is somewhat a discouraging one because even here in America, where dog eating has never existed and thank God never will, there are still individuals who torture and abuse animals. Just last week the ruling of the Bronx teenager who murdered her ex-roommate's two-month-old kitten by putting him in the 500-degree oven was one that had the whole nation screaming the one-year jail sentence was hardly punitive enough for the crime committed. In Taiwan, even though it had also never been a dog eating country, animal cruelty does occur often enough to appear in newspaper headlines. However, if we simply sit back and don't do a thing about it, it will only get worse. At least, through educating the public to respect all living things, we have a chance to set these animals free, and the animals have a chance to live the lives they deserve - if not being pampered like a princess living in a Park Avenue pad, at least to have a loving home with access to healthy meals, clean water, good care and tons of love everyday for the rest of his life.

Make a pledge. Volunteer. Or simply spread the words. Let us take the fear and sadness out of these animals' eyes.

All images and some texts are courtesy of Animals Asia Foundation. All Rights Reserved.

Moon Bears 月熊

Moon bear. Such a beautiful name for a beautiful creature. The bright yellow crescent on the front of the chest. The gorgeous pitch black coat. But most of all, the most gentle, forgiving animal the world has ever seen, even after many years of abuse, when they were finally rescued and set free and offered a piece of fruit by a human - not too different in looks from the same human that had brutally abused them for years - they still reached out their palms and accepted the offer gracefully and graciously. To quote the founder of Animals Asia Foundation, Jill Robinson MBE, "If we were in their place, I don't think we would be so forgiving."

I decided to choose Laetizia as my profile picture because of her smile. Her story, as well as those of many other bears who are now living in Animals Asia's sanctuaries in China and Vietnam, was an inspiring one. Laetizia was one of the bears that was rescued in Spring 2008. She arrived at the rescue center undernourished, fearful and with badly shattered teeth and cracked and dry footpads indicating she had not stepped on ground for many years. After months of expert medical care, lots of nutrition and the attention of our bear carers, Laetizia moved to her new spacious den in preparation for release into the outdoor enclosures. One year later, finally outdoors, Laetizia has proved a cheeky and charming lady. She likes to entertain onlookers by sitting up, often baring her belly to the world, and has become adept at helping herself to the nourishing tid-bits hidden around the enclosure.

However, because of the torture she endured over the years on the bear bile farm, she will never be able to live in the wild on her own. Most of these bears - if they were lucky enough to be rescued in time - have failing organs, body parts or even cancer. They can no longer care for themselves for the rest of their lives. 

We human beings living in the modern world have always loved teddy bears. They're the first gifts most kids receive from their loved ones. They're given to those we love on days like Valentine's Day, birthdays and Christmas because they're a symbol of love and affection. Then, how did we end up locking them up in filthy cages the size no more than their bodies, sticking a rusting metal catheter into their bellies, and for not only days or months but years, retrieving the bile from their gall bladders, because we want to profit from it and because there are still people in the world who believe bear bile can cure some illnesses that many other herbs have been proven to have the same efficacy?

To date, after over 10 years, Animals Asia has saved 260 bears. But there are still an estimated 10,000 bears on bear farms across China and Vietnam. 

As our children and grandchildren continue to receive their first teddy bears and hug them to sleep every night, can we honestly sleep in peace when there are so many real bears out there, going out of their minds, groaning in pain, and suffering from the unimaginable physical and mental abuse? What did they ever do to deserve this? 

I formed this support group in the hopes of raising awareness as well as funds for Animals Asia to continue their rescue mission. To me, the day I decided to take up this responsibility was the most beautiful day of my life. In a way, the bears are my salvation, for my life finally has a worthy purpose. I hope more and more people here in NY and around the world join our cause and help free these beautiful, gentle bears, before it's too late. 

So, next time you see a teddy bear, whether it's in the window of a gift shop or being held by a cute toddler in a pink dress, remember the moon bears, and do something about it.

All images and some texts are courtesy of Animals Asia Foundation. All Rights Reserved.