Introduction to China Bear Rescue Centre, Chengdu

As many of you know a few months ago I decided to leave my job in Australia and make my way to China to start work for an amazing organisation 'Animals Asia'. Animals Asia has three main objectives, working out of Vietnam and China. The first is to end the bear bile farming industry - which is where my focus will be over the next few years. The second is to improve captive animal welfare, and finally to end the dog and cat meat industry and to generally improve dog and cat welfare. 

I'm also very lucky to live on site, which means I get to see the bears every day, even out my bedroom window!!! They are all beautiful with different personalities that I'm slowly learning and they are all very lucky bears to have been rescued from bile farms and now live somewhere with space, green grass and delicious (and nutritious) food. Majority of the bears on site are Asiatic Black Bears (Moon Bears) but we also have a few Brown Bears.

So what does my job entail? It is a busy work life here in Chengdu, as the vet we oversee the preventative health of all 120 bears on site, as well as treating sick bears and doing health checks under anaesthetic to check teeth, check blood enzyme levels and ensure these bears are getting the best medical treatment available. We also do a lot of paperwork to keep records and document the long term effects of bear bile farming on these bears.

Below I have included some photos from around the site and around my new home, which is North of Chengdu city. Stay tuned for more updates about life in China and the work we are doing for the Moon Bears. 

To learn more about Animals Asia check out their website.

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A Moon Bear gently rests her head after a big morning foraging around her enclosure.

The bears have large enclosures which they share with friends, with lots of fun things to climb and play with!

The tiny cages the bears are kept in their whole lives at bear bile farms, before being rescued.

The bear cemetery is a sad place, but also a place of hope because these bears lived pain free and happy for at least some time after their rescue.

The beautiful farm land surrounding the centre.