Dear Kizzi,
Starting October 18th, I’ll be wearing 15 pounds of steel chain (an adult’s bowling ball weighs between 14 and 16 lb.) for five nights and days, to aid the work of the Animals Asia Foundation.
The two metre length of chain will be padlocked to my wrists and ankles, demonstrating of a small fraction of the discomfort some of Asia’s animals are subjected to.
The chain is of industrial strength and designed for pulling tractors. The chain will prevent me from lifting my arms, and also put a great deal of strain on my shoulders. And I’ll need to take my clothes on and off with safety pins down the sides!
I’m doing this because an estimated 10,000 Asian black bears (or “moon bears”) are still being kept in coffin sized cages, so small that their fur protrudes, across China and Vietnam. The purpose of this is Chinese herbal medicine. The bears have their gallbladders punctured twice daily and their bile extracted.
Over the course of as much as 30 years spent in a single cage, the treatment brings about an absolute litany of excruciating disease and mutilation upon these bears, rendering their bile arguably highly toxic. And yet the cruelty continues.
Herbal remedies with proven efficacy were developed in 1993, but there is still need for impetus towards change in policy. These bears are eventually left to die of dehydration in many cases, when their illnesses eventually overtake their capacity to produce bile.
It is not surprising that there are many cases of these bears killing themselves, either through starvation or collisions with walls if given the chance. Please help spread awareness of this travesty. I’d urge you to watch this 4 minute video put together by Animals Asia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PENl5091uAM which explains more. Please donate and spread awareness of this appalling industry. Thank you so much
My Givey link is: https://www.givey.com/SHACKLESFORBILEBEARS
Katie Warren
