JUNE 2016 21 YEARS OF PROTECTING BEARS
FREE THE BEARS NEWSLETTER BEARS’
PRINTINSIDE THIS ISSUE: SPOTLIGHT ON Super Vets FOCUS ON Illegal Trade in Bears within Laos
FREE THE BEARS aims to protect, preserve and enrich the lives of bears throughout the world. MESSAGE FROM MARY Dear Members, Supporters and Friends,
What better way could there be of marking the 21st birthday of our supporters to take on these attributes when trying to raise Free the Bears than declaring a whole year of celebrations under funds and awareness for our cause. Already we’ve had fun cocktail the banner “Bears Alive!” Since registering Free the Bears Fund evenings, labradors playing “bear pong” and a rain-lashed walk- in 1995 we have played a vital role in the rescue and care of a-thon as part of our Bears Alive! celebrations and there is much 900 bears and today more than 500 bears saved from snares, more to come. syndicates and soup-bowls are able to enjoy life in world-class sanctuaries built with your donations. Today these bears are not To all of our supporters who have already organised an event only alive - they are thriving! Each one has its own personal horror for Bears Alive! a most heartfelt THANK YOU. If you haven’t story to tell of how it was taken from the wild, how it most probably got anything planned just yet please do give some thought to saw its mother killed and how it suffered at the hands of its captors organising an event - 2016 promises to be our most challenging before it was rescued. We’re often asked by people to relate these year so far with major new sanctuary developments about to begin stories and we do so with mixed feelings. We know that we need in Vietnam and Laos. We really do need all the help we can get to to share what we have learned so that more people sit up and take raise the funds required for these desperately needed sanctuaries action to protect bears, however we do so with a sense of guilt that - each will cost almost $1million to build, staff and supply over the somehow we have inflicted a burden on the listener. They can next few years. This sum may sound daunting but it is a small price now no longer simply watch our bears playing without wondering to pay in order to offer these precious bears a lifeline - drawing what happened to them before they came into our care. They them out of the darkness and towards a bright new day. can now no longer appreciate them being “Bears Alive!” without contemplating what might have happened if they had not been As we approach the end of another financial year I do hope that rescued. you will lend us your support once again - remember that all donations over $2 are fully tax deductible in Australia. It is only with Fortunately our rescued bears do their very best to not dwell on your help that we will be able to continue to offer a safe home for the past and embrace every moment of their new lives. One need bears in need across Asia and look towards the day when there are only spend ten minutes wandering around our sanctuaries to see no more horror stories to tell, just Bears Alive! in the forests where ample evidence of the bears’ ability to bounce back and grab they belong. each day with both paws. It is no coincidence that the character of Baloo in the Jungle Book films is portrayed as patient, fun-loving With much love and bear hugs, and strong - these are defining characteristics of all bears. Whilst Mary our work to protect the bears is deadly serious we also encourage
A year’s worth of Entertainment! The 2016/2017 Entertainment Books are on sale now, packed with thousands of dollars worth of discount vouchers. Best of all, 20% of the sale price is donated to Free the Bears! Books can be ordered for any state in Australia. Order yours today at https://www.entertainmentbook.com.au/orderbooks/8355p5 page 02 UPDATES Cambodia Rescue 192 meets 189 in the Cub Nursery FROM THE FIELD CAMBODIA The rainy season came late to Cambodia this year and the stifling heat of the dry season caused forest fires across the country, devastating large areas of natural habitat for many species. At the Cambodian Bear Sanctuary the prolonged dry season caused the main lake to run dry for the first time in recent history. Extra pumps were purchased to bring vital water supplies up to the sanctuary and staff and volunteers battled with fires sporadically threatening the protected forest.
At our oasis in the heat, the Bear Quarantine and Nursery welcomed three new arrivals. In February, a young female Sun bear, Cambodia Rescue 191, was rescued from Ratanakiri province in the far northeast of the country. Bizarrely, the cub had Finally, a tiny Sun bear cub – again from the northeast of been imprisoned in an actual jail used for the detention of human Cambodia – was rescued in May. Weighing only 1.8kg, she was prisoners. She had been a gift to the head of the police unit thin and emaciated when rescued from hunters attempting to sell about six months prior and with nowhere to keep her she was her. The Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team travelled overnight driving incarcerated. She had coped relatively well despite being taken slowly and making sure that she had enough rest on the arduous from her mother at such a young age and was soon flourishing journey to the sanctuary. You can read more on her story by in the Cub Nursery with all the new enrichment toys and healthy visiting our website and following the links to the News section food. from our home page. A young Moon bear cub from the west of the country joined While our Cub Care Crew was once again inundated, work didn’t Rescue 191 at the Cub Nursery not long after; another tiny victim ease up in other parts of the sanctuary either. A visit by our of the illegal trade in wildlife. Cambodia Rescue 192 was rescued Veterinary Advisor Kirsty Officer and Trustee Dr. Jon Cracknell from traders who were selling her most likely for the bile trade. kept the vet team on their toes as a new round of health checks Once again a member of the public chose to purchase and then were initiated and plans drawn up for health screening protocols donate the cub to the sanctuary; a worrying trend that we have to ensure the long term safety of this important population of noticed is on the rise. As well meaning as this gesture is, it does bears. Jon has long been a supporter of Free the Bears, and drive the demand for more cubs to be taken from their forest his skills in this area of our work are vital to the success of our home. veterinary health programme.
Our Bear Care Crew benefitted from a weeklong workshop on operant conditioning, enrichment and animal welfare thanks to a training grant given by the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Matt O’Leary, Specialist Keeper from ZSL Whipsnade Zoo in the UK, reviewed our existing programmes whilst providing a mix of theory and practical instruction to 15 staff from the bear team as well as other animal sections of Phnom Tamao.
The education team was busy too with renovations being made to the Home of the Wild Things play area, an interactive section of the sanctuary where children (and young adults!) can learn all about important native species in a play-based manner. We were delighted to host Celine and Anthony, two eco-volunteers who are traveling the globe in a converted 4WD investing their time and energy in projects that will make a difference. Their project Around the Rock has taken them on a journey of a lifetime and we were pleased that they were able to apply their unique skills to improving this part of the sanctuary.
Cambodia Rescue 193 on arrival at our sanctuary
page 03 UPDATES FROM THE FIELD LAOS The year 2015 was a record-breaker for our programme in Laos with eight bears rescued and higher numbers of visitors passing through our sanctuary at Tat Kuang Si than ever before. Sadly 2016 has shows no signs of slowing down, with record numbers of bear cubs being traded and reported to our team by the growing number of people who recognise the insidious threat that the illegal wildlife trade poses to these animals. We follow-up on every single report and share the details as quickly as possible with our government partners - however it is inevitable that not every case has The only way is up for our bears in Laos - with more bears coming into a happy ending and often the cubs our care and no room for expansion at Tat Kuang Si we’re having to disappear before the relevant authorities investigate all options for the bears! are able to act. regularly consulting with our government With both cubs safely loaded onto the Fortunately for three lucky Moon bear colleagues to see if bears could be B.E.A.R-mobile our team made a quick cubs action came quick enough - in rescued. We knew of one cub being kept diversion back to the office to collect an fact for two of the trio it came before in a small cage behind a garage on the extra transport cage and then headed we were even aware of their plight! We outskirts of Luang Prabang and so when out to the garage to rescue the little had been tracking a number of cases the local Forestry office chief called our male cub. The owner had refused to over the first few months of the year and team to grab a transport cage and come hand this cub over voluntarily and so join a rescue we were thrilled to think he was seized by officers from the local that this little bear would soon be out of Provincial Agriculture and Forestry Office. danger. The convoy of vehicles set off All three cubs have now been introduced from the Forestry offices and started (or re-introduced) to one another and making its way through Luang Prabang - are undergoing quarantine before we mix but not in the direction we were them with the existing nursery group of expecting! Suddenly the cars pulled to a six cubs rescued in 2015. halt outside a guesthouse and our team spotted two tiny cubs (almost certainly After an extensive search we have sisters) being kept in a small cage in the located the perfect site for our second car park. They immediately set about sanctuary in Laos and a master-plan trying to coax the cubs into the transport has been drawn up for developing this cage whilst wondering a) where these site into a world-class sanctuary for cubs had come from, and b) what would bears and other animals rescued from happen to the little cub behind the the illegal wildlife trade. The site is garage? Suddenly the Luang Prabang close enough to our existing sanctuary Provincial Governor, Mr Khamkhan at Tat Kuang Si to avoid duplication of Chanthavisouk, appeared with a local resources, however it is expected to cost film crew and it became clear that whilst close to a million dollars to develop this investigating the cub behind the garage sanctuary for around 50 bears over the the Forestry office had heard that he next three years. See the special appeal arrived with two other cubs (most likely with this newsletter and please help us The cubs rescued last year in Laos are growing his siblings) and these were being in whatever way you can to turn this rapidly - we need to ensure our programme grows voluntarily handed over thanks to the long-held dream into a reality for bears just as quickly to keep up with them Governors assistance. in Laos!
BREAKING NEWS: Laos Rescue 43 has just been taken into custody by our team in Laos - sadly another cub being held at the same restaurant passed away within the past week. We’ll bring you more details in the next newsletter but this highlights how important it is for us to begin construction of the new sanctuary as soon as possible!
page 04 has made full recovery from her surgery, horrifying physical scars that stand UPDATES her wounds have healed properly and testament to the abuse they suffered she is now able to walk confidently. We at the hands of their human captors. FROM THE FIELD are planning on introducing her to a free Invisible but deadly, there is one more range enclosure where she can roam remnant of their past that serves as a freely and help her tap into her natural reminder of their time prior to rescue – a instincts by encouraging her to engage in nearly impossible to detect tuberculosis activities such as foraging and climbing bacteria that haunts their bloodstream. trees. The sad reality is that our veterinarians INDIA fear that nearly all our bears carry the Having been hand-raised by the staff human strain of the tuberculosis bacteria, In our last newsletter we told you the story at ABRF, another cub Elvis has recently either in its latent or active form. This of Rose, a three-month old Sloth bear cub turned one and is a beautiful sight now- unfortunate reality is made worse by the who was found limping through a village his shaggy coat covering a healthy body fact that an infected bear, whose immune in Madhya Pradesh, with no mother in and a happy heart. He was poached from system is naturally ill-equipped to deal sight. The vulnerable cub had lost her the wild as a cub aged barely two-months with the disease, only starts showing left forelimb to a poaching trap, and was old and probably still carries the trauma characteristic symptoms once the illness pitifully thin and in considerable agony of witnessing his mother’s slaughter. has reached the final stages, at which when we rescued her and brought her Following this he was tied up and taken point it is nearly impossible to treat. to the Van Vihar Bear Rescue Facility to be sold across the Indo-Nepal border. in Bhopal. After months of treating her After months of unconditional love and Thanks to the efforts of our vets the mangled paw, a decision was made by the care by our staff, the transformation we number of cases of fatalities as a result veterinary team at Wildlife SOS to transfer have seen in him has been tremendous. of tuberculosis has decreased in the her to the Agra Bear Rescue Facility, Elvis is now eating solid food, and enjoys last year, but it doesn’t make it any less where they could carry out the required a big bowl of porridge and treats like heartbreakingly painful for us to lose orthopedic surgery on her leg to trim off mangoes, watermelons and his favourite bears to this disease - the cruelty inflicted the exposed bone and suture the skin honey. Elvis and Rose are still too young on them by human beings. We suffered over it to avoid any cases of infection in to be introduced to any of the adult bears an unexpected loss in the form of our the future. In early March, we welcomed but we think we can introduce them to amiable young Sloth bear Lenzolita, a Rose at the Agra Bear Rescue Facility. each other first in order that they can both little over 5 years of age, who lost her fight She has come a long way from being a continue their rehabilitation together as against severe pulmonary tuberculosis. timid and scared cub to becoming strong happy, healthy bear cubs. Lovingly called “Lino” by the keepers, and independent under the watchful Lenzolita had managed to conquer our eyes of our team of dedicated vets and Although their painful years as ‘dancing’ hearts during her time with us and will be staff. Two months post-surgery, we are bears are long behind them, the rescued sadly missed by all. delighted to see that our brave baby Rose Sloth bears at our centers still carry
Rose is recovering from her surgery and ready to embark on the next stage of her rehabilitation
page 05 With over 500 bears reliant on our care in sanctuaries today each month we welcome new arrivals with open NEW LOVES arms whilst shedding a tear for those who leave us. Here are just a few of our newest arrivals and some AND SAD LOSSES sad losses from the past few months;
Cambodia Rescue 192 was saved from being illegally trafficked or sold into a bile Laos Rescue 42 has been given his lifelong name of “Bamboo” by one of our farm in March 2016 - now enjoying life in our dedicated Cub Nursery dedicated supporters who ran a half marathon to raise the funds for his care
R.I.P. Oscar - one of the stars of our Cambodian sanctuary and much-loved by Cambodia Rescue 190 joined our family in February 2016 but we don’t yet have a all who knew him since he came into our care as a tiny cub in June 2011. Sadly Bear Naming sponsor for this cheeky girl - what would you call her? Oscar passed away in April 2016 - another young victim of TB
Laos Rescue 40 arrived with her sister in April and is undergoing quarantine R.I.P. Lenzolita - recently passed away after a short battle with TB at our before being introduced to the resident nursery gang Agra sanctuary
Leaving a Legacy for Our Bears: At the very core of Free the Bears is the belief that the actions of individuals can make a difference and help ensure the survival of bears in danger of extinction. What better way to demonstrate this than by leaving a legacy to help us provide a safe future filled with love for all the bears in our care as well as the ones who will need us in years to come?
With each new arrival we accept responsibility for providing life-long care if needed - potentially for >40years. Over the past 21 years many kind-hearted individuals have helped ensure that we are able to continue to provide world-class sanctuaries and the very best care to bears in need. We thank each one of these wonderful people from the bottom of our hearts.
If you are considering leaving a legacy to Free the Bears, please contact us for more information at [email protected] or call the Perth office on (08) 9244 096
page 06 SPOTLIGHT ON SOME SUPER VETS
Dr Romain Pizzi drilling the access hole for ChamPa’s shunt
Dr. Romain Pizzi from our partners at visit three years ago. be addressed through comprehensive the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland treatment plans and future surgeries once recently returned to Southeast Asia to Moving onto Vietnam Romain joined the new veterinary clinic is built at the new lend a hand with our bears - his sixth visit an international team that had been sanctuary. to our sanctuaries since 2010. On his assembled to carry out preliminary health way to Vietnam Romain stopped off in checks on 30+ bears at the sanctuary in Free the Bears Veterinary Care Programme Laos to check up on ChamPa, our most order to create veterinary treatment plans is focused on building long-term special little Moon bear who underwent and determine which bears should be sustainability for our sanctuaries through neurosurgery back in 2013 to relieve moved first to the new sanctuary once it developing the skills of local veterinarians her of her hydrocephalic condition (also is built. Led by Free the Bears Veterinary to diagnose, treat and prevent a multitude known as “water on the brain”). When Advisor Kirsty Officer our dedicated team of conditions that may affect our bears both Romain carried out this world-first surgery included Romain, Cambodian veterinarian at the time of their rescue and during their he inserted a ventricular shunt designed Srey Yoeurn, Vietnamese vet Nguyen The lives in our care. Veterinary Advisor Kirsty for children suffering from hydrocephalus. Viet and vet nurse Alicia Mattner from says “We are incredibly lucky to have the These shunts allow the excess fluid to our friends at Noah’s Crossing Veterinary support of a number of globally-recognised drain away from the brain, however over Clinic in South Australia. Over nine days veterinary specialists assisting us in time they sometimes block causing the the team conducted full health checks on specific fields such as zoological medicine, condition to return. Romain was happy 31 bears with each animal given a general anaesthesia, ophthalmology, minimally- with ChamPa’s progress and enjoyed anaesthetic, full clinical examination, invasive surgery and disease prevention the opportunity to catch up on the many blood tests, dental check and ultrasound and control - all of whom generously changes that have taken place at Tat examination. A number of health issues donate their time freely to support our work Kuang Si Bear Rescue Centre since his last were identified in the bears and these will because of their commitment to the bears.” Free the Bears CEO Matt Hunt added “These incredible vets really do make the world of difference to our bears lives, donating tens of thousands of dollars worth of their time to our cause each year. Slowly but surely they are helping us build a corps of local veterinarians who can continue to offer our bears first-rate veterinary care for as long as it takes until all bears are able to live freely in the forests where they belong.”
page 07 A solitary Moon bear languishes on a Laos bear bile farm Copyright Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals
FOCUS: Illegal trade in bears reaches record levels in Laos
The illegal trade in endangered species rarely, if ever, breed any of the animals in been informed of no fewer than 15 bear is increasingly falling under the spotlight captivity and source their stock from the cubs being held or illegally offered for sale with news updates on the deadly trade in wild) however black-market economics within Laos. 15 cubs each with a mother rhino horn between Africa and East Asia are notoriously difficult to interpret and so likely killed, that’s 30 bears. Then times regularly featuring on evening news reports. we couldn’t be certain of the validity of the that by ten to cover the cubs we’ve not Hollywood stars and even the British Royal prices we were hearing. heard about, now that’s 300 bears. So far family have started using their positions to three cubs have been successfully rescued raise the issue on a global platform. Most This calm before the storm ended in late and we’re tracking several other cases with people now agree that the illegal trade 2015 when our team was called upon to hopes of more rescues soon, however it is in wildlife is unsustainable and will push assist in the rescue of eight Moon bears clear that so much more needs to be done. species into extinction, however fewer in less than three months. This was more people consider the animal welfare aspects than we had ever rescued in any previous With record-breaking numbers of bears of this trade. year working in Laos, however further being rescued in 2015, and then a south our colleagues at Wildlife Friends record-breaking number of rescues in Free the Bears has been working with the Foundation of Thailand had also been a single morning early in 2016, it would Laos government to protect wild bears swamped with six bear rescues coming into surely take the most skeptical of minds and end the illegal trade in bears and their their new Lao Wildlife Rescue Centre. In to believe that the situation for bears in body parts since 2003. Over the following total 14 bears were rescued in Laos during Laos is looking anything but perilous. The decade, an average of three bears have the second half of 2015, placing a huge recent shooting of Harambe the gorilla been rescued each year, with just slight burden on already crowded wildlife rescue at Cincinnati Zoo in the USA led to a variations from year to year. Each year centres and highlighting the scale of the public outcry, however at the same time a additional reports of bears being traded are illegal trade in these species within Laos. National Geographic story about the rise in received but often these animals cannot bear trade in Laos gained nowhere near the be found or have been sold on by the time We have to consider all options before same level of attention. We have to remind that enforcement agencies are mobilised. declaring an emergency - 14 bears lost ourselves that the killing of a bear (or any To all intents and purposes 2015 looked to a dwindling wild population is a big other animal) in a forest to feed the illegal like it would be a quiet year in Laos - word problem, unfortunately it is generally wildlife trade is almost certainly happening had reached us of a few cases but nothing believed that the number of animals every day, perhaps several times each day. more than normal and usually follow-up seized in enforcement efforts is just the tip The fact that we don’t have photos of these phone calls yielded the information that the of the iceberg. In most cases more than bears, or haven’t given them names, does bears had already been sold on to wildlife 90% of illegal wildlife trade is likely going not make their suffering any less. Whilst traders or moved across international undetected. A mother bear would never bears remain one of the most sought-after borders. Anecdotal reports were received allow her cubs to be taken away from targets by poachers and illegal wildlife telling us that the value placed on live bears her and so it is also likely that for each traders in Laos their suffering will continue was rising rapidly due to the emerging bear rescued its mother has likely been unless we are able to protect them - in threat of bear bile extraction facilities slaughtered and sold for her body parts. their forest homes and wherever they are (also known as bear farms although they In the first three months of 2016 we have exploited in captivity.
You can find the National Geographic article on the rising trade in bears within Laos on http://news.nationalgeographic. com/2016/05/160505-asiatic-bear-bile-trade-laos/
page 08 FUNDRAISINGUPDATES
NEW SOUTH WALES QUEENSLAND By Jeanette Akkanen By Jarrod Schenk Tel: 0421 1099166 Tel: 0431 291 907 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Our year started well in Sydney with a Free the Bears 21st Birthday Maly the Sun bear’s 8th birthday party at Wildlife HQ was a roaring fundraiser at Joan Pearson’s beautiful house in Mosman. Thanks success once again this year with record-breaking numbers of to Joans’ amazing generosity in covering all of the food and drink visitors coming along to join the party! We were joined by Bob Irwin costs over $30,000 was raised towards the purchase of the land for and held a heap of special events throughout the day, including the new sanctuary in Laos. Of course we also used this opportunity special keeper talks to raise awareness of the threats to Sun bears to celebrate Free the Bears 21st birthday and the amazing and the work being done to address these issues. In total over FOCUS: achievements of Mary Hutton. $1,000 was raised for the bears. The rest of our team has also been busy over the past few months. We have just started to build a new, dedicated Sun bear education Lesley Small raised almost $3,000 from the annual Mother’s Day area that has been designed in partnership with students at the Illegal trade in bears reaches Raffle. Thank you to all who donated goods, sold and bought University of the Sunshine Coast and with input from Free the Bears tickets and of course well done once again Lesley! Kelly and Marie teams in Southeast Asia. Our hope is that this will serve as a model have been doing well with the cake and book stalls, the next will be for other zoos holding Sun bears and will help raise awareness record levels in Laos held on 4th June at Cronulla. We will be having another chocolate amongst thousands of visitors each year to the plight of the Sun drive mid year thanks to Beth and Phil Roffe and we will also be bear. holding a trivia and games night in the near future (date to be confirmed). Our team will be attending the Cruelty Free Festival on 30th October and need volunteers on the day. It is a fun day with lots of stalls and activities so if you can help for an hour or two please contact Jeanette. Sharon Graham has been selling Entertainment Books and ‘Tilley’ soaps, raising much-needed funds for the bears. We recently took delivery of several life-sized Sun bear donation stands that we are seeking good homes for in New South Wales - ideally in a prominent place such as a vet surgery or cafe. These donation stands really are great and it would be so good to see them located somewhere to help raise support and awareness for Free the Bears. The New South Wales mob had a wonderful time on their recent visit to Cambodia and Laos - the improvements at both sanctuaries since our last visit were amazing. Thanks to all of the teams in both Cambodia and Laos for making it such a memorable trip. We are always thrilled to have new members coming along to South Australia Volunteers Krys, Alan, Sonia and Lenara manning our fundraising stall our meetings, we are a welcoming bunch and enjoy adding at the Adelaide Animal Expo in April enthusiastic new members to our team of volunteers. If you would like to come join our meetings they are held on the second Saturday of every second month (next meeting 11th June, then SOUTH AUSTRALIA August). Contact Jeanette for details. By Pauline Cockrill Tel: 0427 523 675 Email: [email protected] We have been busy over the last couple of months with our group having raised over $6000 for Free the Bears made up of the proceeds from fundraising stands, the sale of Adelaide Entertainment Books, as well as money raised by local businesses via donation tins. We were also fortunate to receive a large, one-off, generous donation. Many thanks to all our wonderful volunteers who have worked so hard to increase donations and also special thanks to Dr. Ken Leahey for his generous donation of $1000 for a bathing pool - some lucky bears will soon be enjoying this at one of our sanctuaries! We had two fundraising stands at the Wayville Showgrounds, firstly the Animal Expo over the long Our NSW group catching up on developments in Laos
page 09 Anzac Day weekend and then the Wildlife Expo on 14-15 May. Fundraising was slow at the Animal Expo compared to previous years but we managed to raise just over $2000: $959.60 in donations and $1071.50 in merchandise. The Wildlife Expo was a new venture for all concerned and we are indebted to the organisers for giving us a good deal on a huge space allowing us to spread out our merchandise and educational materials. Again we suceeded in raising just over $2000 in just two days rather than three: $1003.65 in donations and $1064.00 in merchandise. There is still time to buy the new 2016-2017 Adelaide Entertainment book - you can either order your book or digital membership online ($65) https://www.entertainmentbook.com.au/orderbooks/162f805 or contact Anne Clark at [email protected] or 0417 846 145. Remember $13 from each sale goes to the bears and we are pleased to announce that we have now sold around 100 Adelaide Entertainment Books thus making $1300 for the bears.
Victorian bear-fans turned out to celebrate Paws for Claws on Free the Bears 21st birthday
VICTORIA By Kate Vella Tel: 0422 044 960 Email: [email protected] Thank you to all those who supported and came along to the Paws for Claws Walk on Saturday 19 March at Caulfield Park. There were many dogs in coats and humans rugged up who braved the cold weather to help raise $1085 for Free the Bears on their 21st Birthday! Our next event will be a movie night over the Winter period and we’re bound to have more events in coming months so stay up to date Canine friends of the bears in Tasmania playing Bear Pong 1 with what’s happening in Victoria via our new Facebook page https:// www.facebook.com/freethebearsvictoria/ TASMANIA By Jan Ransley & Fiona Connolly Tel: 03 6261 3535 Email: [email protected] and [email protected] Our group in Tasmania is relatively small and so we were wracking our brains for a way to celebrate Free the Bears 21st birthday. One of our wonderful supporters, Fi Millhouse, came up with a madcap idea to do a little fundraiser on Facebook to celebrate the event. The idea was to sell numbered ping pong balls for $5 each and then get the Goldy gang of Willow, Shaddy and Cedar the Golden Retrievers to draw the winning “Bear Pongs” from the pool. Ten fantastic prizes were donated by a bunch of generous friends and we were hoping to sell 100 balls and raise $500. We were stunned (and delighted) that so many of our friends “spread the pong” and invited their friends to participate, so that the final tally was 452 pongs sold, raising $2,260 for Free the Bears. Thanks to all our Facebook friends and their friends, the donors of our prizes and of course the Pongsters (the people who purchased all the pongs). A big thank you also to the gang for helping on the day of the draw, Kim, Clarissa, Hazel, Joanne, Cathy, Evie and of course the Awesome Pawsome canine crew...Willow, Shaddy, Cedar, Holly, Howie, Blowie, Foddy and Sandy. Another Facebook auction of a beautiful Rare Bag, kindly donated by our wonderful supporter, Jessica Rettig of Rare Bags Tasmania, raised more funds for the bears. Congratulations to Amanda Lee on being the highest bidder and joining the Rare Bag Club. Bears Alive! event at Perth Zoo
page 10 WESTERN AUSTRALIA By Nicole Arielli Tel: 08 9244 1096 Email: [email protected] Nine year old Sophie Farrington is on a mission to help her favourite animal; the Sun bear. After visiting the bears at Perth Zoo, she learned how they were exploited overseas and decided to take action. Together with her mum and younger sister she held her first fundraising Teddy Bears picnic and lap-a-thon in April - fundraising a whopping $2000! Well done Sophie and team! Passionate Free the Bears supporter Margaret Miles has spent hundreds of hours’ hand-making vintage bears over many years of dedication and love for bears. She has recently moved into a retirement village and generously donated her collection to Free the Bears to raise money - $360 has been raised so far! Thank you Margaret for your steadfast support and passion for the bears. Albany volunteers Pauleen, Meg and Janet selling books in the rain! May 19th kicked off celebrations for Free the Bearss 21st anniversary you, Jill! This was the first day out for our life-sized Sun bear donation with a cocktail party under the stars at Perth Zoo. We were stand, and she and her baby brought in $177 on the day; we now privileged to have Matt Hunt travel from Cambodia to attend and have two bear stands in Albany and they have brought in over $1200 give a presentation of the current situation and progress within the between them over the first three months. Four summer sausage sanctuaries. Thank you to everyone who contributed to making this sizzles at Bunnings raised close to $4000 in total, and we thank Lynne evening a great success by helping, attending, donating auction Meads and Jill Thomas for generously donating the sausages. items and donating on the night. A grand total of $18, 000 was raised on the night which will greatly assist with the building of the new Two cupcake stalls at Denmark Ocean Beach Caravan Park on 30th sanctuary in Vietnam. December and then on Easter Saturday, as well as Emu Beach Holiday Park, made $2400 and brought customers “like seagulls Lastly a big thank you to all the wonderful volunteers who have helped to a bag of chips”! Our sincere thanks go out to both Parks for this run stalls over the last 3 months. We are extremely thankful to have valuable fundraising opportunity. such dedicated volunteers willing to help. You greatly contribute to raising awareness and funds for the bears and your assistance is Our garage sale was held at the home of Sheryl and John Shaylor, much appreciated. who kindly offered us the use of their magnificent garden, and we made $2600. Thank you, Sheryl and John! Our Street Appeal on 18th March was very successful and brought in $3538. A Mothers’ Day raffle made $470; thanks to Reeves on Campbell and IGA for permission to use their shop venues. We recently held a “garage book sale” which brought in $250 - and our thanks to Erin Hall for allowing us to use her garage and for her hospitality on such a bleak and stormy winter’s day. We were delighted to find that our total raised for 2015 was over $16,500, while our total so far for 2016 is now in excess of $12,000. Big bear hugs to Chris Offer and Chris Bowler for their tireless organisation, to all our volunteers, and to our local businesses and community who support us so well. If anyone is contemplating starting a regional group, we recommend it as a rewarding and lucrative way to work with like-minded people to help the bears and to improve the profile of Free the Bears in local communities. Albany may only be a small town and we’re a small group but we’re punching above our weight for the bears!
Nicole, Jan and Jeannie from our Perth office at Bears Alive! Perth Zoo in March ALBANY Coordinator: Chris Offer Tel: 08 9844 1973 Email: [email protected] Update By: Janet Traylen Tel: 08 9841 5140 Email: [email protected] It has been a busy six months for our Albany group. We started with a stall at the national caravan and camping show, which brought in $400, and this was soon followed by the Albany Show where we held Supporter Margaret Miles and some of her beloved a raffle and sold preserves, potted succulents, and merchandise, bear collection raising $1590. Jill in her bear suit was a fantastic drawcard – thank page 11 GETINVOLVED ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We’re incredibly grateful to the following COMING EVENTS individuals and organisations who have JUNE SA supported our work to protect bears TRIVIA NIGHT WA through grants over the past few months. Unley Community Centre, 18 Arthur Street, Unley SA 5061 EVERY WOMAN EXPO Saturday 25th June, 7pm Our veterinary care programme was given a Perth Convention Centre 17th - 19th June Come along for a great night for the whole family. Prizes, raffles, welcome boost by our partners at the Royal silent auctions and of course, Sunny the bear! Beer, wine and Zoological Society of Scotland as well as If you would like to help out on our merchandise and information soft drinks for sale. stall please contact Nicole at [email protected] Entry: $20 per adult and $10 per child. Welttierschutzgesellschaft e.V. in Germany. or 08 9244 1096 Contact: Vicky Mackenzie 0438 809 537 Thanks to their support we’re able to or [email protected] continue offering first-class healthcare to WA ANNUAL RAFFLE our rescued bears. June through October VIC We have a number of fantastic prizes on offer including a MOVIE NIGHT - THE LEGEND OF TARZAN Jeff Morgan at Global Conservation and weekend getaway and wine packages. Tickets are $2 each. Palace Cinema Denby, 26 Church Street, Brighton If you would like to buy tickets or would like books sent out to Thursday 30th June, 6pm Colchester Zoo Action for the Wild have you to sell at your work place please contact the Perth office. generously contributed towards our appeal Don’t get the winter blues, come along for opening night of a We’re also still in need of volunteers to help us sell tickets and great new movie starring Margot Robbie plus a chance to meet for a second sanctuary site in Laos. We’re merchandise within shopping centres, please contact fellow bear-lovers. Tickets $36 adults, $26 children including [email protected] or call us on 9244 1096 incredibly grateful and look forward to movie, cupcake and beverage. Tickets must be booked by updating all our supporters on the progress 28th June, visit https://www.trybooking.com/Booking/ BookingEventSummary.aspx?eid=204128 of this exciting new venture that will remove or contact [email protected] the stain of bear bile farming from this beautiful country. WA HOLD THE DATE PERTH ROYAL SHOW Finally our friends at Wellington Zoo have Claremont Showgrounds 24 September- 1st October 2016 once again pledged their support for the WA - Albany Please contact Nicole [email protected] if you are HOW MUCH ABBA CAN YOU BEAR? development of our education and animal able to do a 4 hours shift morning, afternoon or evening. Friday 9th September husbandry teams in Laos, whilst our SA colleagues across the pond at San Diego SA BEARS ALIVE! FUNDRAISING ART SHOW Zoo Global are working with us to expand ROYAL ADELAIDE SHOW Santos Conservation Centrwe, Adelaide Zoo our understanding of public attitudes Jubilee Pavilion, Adelaide Showgrounds, Wayville SA 5034 19 September – 17 October 2016 2-11 September 2016 towards bears across Southeast Asia. Through this work and other initiatives we hope to learn more about the drivers of illegal wildlife trade so that one day we might finally see an end to the flow of bears into our sanctuaries.
Photographic credits for this newsletter are due to Peter Yuen, Claire Davidson, Jo- Anne McArthur, Wildlife SOS and FTB staff and volunteers.
Sloth bear cub Elvis is growing into a well-balanced little lad thanks to lots of TLC and some special treats sent by his friends at Aussie Dog toys
MAKING A MONTHLY DONATION TO SUPPORT OUR BEARS With more bears arriving at our sanctuaries each month, many of them suffering from terrible injuries sustained at the hands of their captors, monthly donations are a great way to help provide for their care. Each tin of milk formula (essential for orphaned cubs) costs $15 while $30 helps provide honey and other tasty treats for a rescued Moon bear PLEASE HELP US SAVE ON POSTAGE AND PAPER by for a week. Monthly donations help you to plan your finances more easily, and help us to receiving the FTB newsletter and receipts via your budget for the ongoing care of bears that require life-long support. Just contact Jeannie email. If your current email has changed or if you in our Perth office on [email protected] if you’d like to know how to set up have a new email address, please send it our way. monthly donations. You’ll be helping us and the environment at the same time. Email your details to [email protected].
FREE THE BEARS FUND INC. FREE THE BEARS UK PO Box 1393, Osborne Park DC , WA 6916, Australia PO Box 6395, Basildon, Essex, SS14 0NY
Tel: +61 (08) 9244 1096 Tel: +44 (0) 7785 552856 Fax: +61 (08) 9244 4649 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Charity Number: 1135682 Charity Number: A1004507U ABN: 23 763 253 031 FREE THE BEARS SE ASIA REGIONAL OFFICE PO Box 723, Phnom Penh, Cambodia This newsletter is printed on recycled paper chlorine free. Re-life 50% Patrons: Dr Harry Cooper BVSc MRCVS C.M. and Founder & Chairperson: Mary Hutton Maneka Gandhi. CEO: Matt Hunt SPECIAL APPEAL FOR BEARS IN LAOS Help Us End Bear Bile Farming in Laos
Around 150 endangered Moon bears are languishing in bear bile farms across Laos (credit L. Scotson/Free the Bears)
Free the Bears has been working in Laos since 2003, With 37 bears now at our sanctuary we desperately assisting government authorities in the battle against need to expand and create a safe home where these illegal wildlife traders and poachers whilst lobbying for cubs can run, climb and play as they would if they an end to bear bile farming in the country. Over the had been left in the wild where they belong... past 13 years more than 40 bears, many of the orphaned cubs, have been rescued and brought to our sanctuary just outside of Luang Prabang for specialist care. Here they receive veterinary attention, a healthy balanced diet and are able to enjoy life in our forested sanctuary located next to one of the region's most stunning waterfalls.
THE I SS UE The rescued bears in our sanctuary are the lucky ones. Right now around 150 bears are being kept in bear bile farms across Laos, and due to loopholes in the local wildlife laws it is likely that dozens more are being raised in private households as "pets", destined to be sold into bile farms or butchered for their body parts once they have reached adult size.
The past year has seen a dramatic increase in the For many of the bears, such as Moonie who lost a paw illegal hunting and trading of bears in Laos. Last year to a poacher's snare, the injuries sustained prior to our teams rescued eight bears, including six cubs. their rescue mean that they will require life-long care Unfortunately reports continue to come in of bear for up to 30 years. cubs being offered for sale and in April our teams worked with Forestry officers in Luang Prabang to rescue three tiny Moon bear cubs.
Will you help us turn this into a safe home for Laos’ bears?
Free the Bears Laos Programme Manager Luke Nicholson assessing the site of our planned sanctuary, which will offer enough space to provide a safe home for up to 150 rescued bears
We know that these so-called farms are actually OUR SOLUTION extraction facilities - no bears are bred in captivity, driving a demand for bear cubs that are stolen from We have identified a suitable site close to our existing the wild. We need to end this vile industry NOW! sanctuary that we hope to purchase and turn into a world- class sanctuary for bears in Laos. Set high amongst cloud- No one believed that we could end the dancing bear trade wrapped mountains the new site covers almost 25 hectares in India but with your support we were able to rescue over (60acres) of rolling hills, natural pools and woodlands, 600 bears and find a solution that worked for people and enough space for us to offer a safe home for up to 150 bears. With your support we know that we can replicate this rescued bears. success and end bear farming in Laos - but we simply This means that this new sanctuary could potentially house cannot do it without you... each and every bear currently languishing in bear bile farms within Laos. It's an ambitious plan, but we know that with your help we can do it! Every dollar counts - here's how you can help;
Please help us with a donation to create a safe home for $10 feeds a rescued bear for three days. each and every bear in danger within Laos. $25 pays for crucial medicine to help bears heal. $60 buys an Aussie Dog treat ball to enrich a bear's life. Bear bile farming is a relatively new phenomenon within $100 provides a bear with a comfy bear-sized hammock to Laos - having been started by Vietnamese and Chinese relax in. businessmen seeking to take advantage of loopholes in Laos' $10,000 buys 1 hectare of land as a forever home for wildlife laws. rescued bears.
This is how we found Nam Et and her sister Louey last year- now we need your help to build them a safe home