A Moonbear at the sanctuary
Pollyanna examines a metal corset restraint
removed from one of the rescued bears
Incredibly an adult bear was kept inside this
tiny cage before being rescued by Animals Asia
Polly bear enjoys a snack in his rehabilitation
cage
We now want to commit to continue supporting Polly, and to
fund his care at the sanctuary for the rest of his life. It
costs £1100.00 to feed and care for a bear each year,
and with your help, we want to be able to provide at least this
amount annually.
We are offering Foundation supporters the chance to Become
a Friend of Polly Bear, and help pay for his ongoing care, including
food, medical care and just as importantly his ongoing enrichment
programme, which will provide Polly with special treats to keep
him happy and occupied – treats like fruit ice blocks,
rubber kongs, honey, raisins and tofu-filled bamboo shoots –
all of which will keep him stimulated and occupied for hours!
For a minimum donation of £35.00 you can befriend Polly
Bear for one year. As a thankyou you will receive a personalised
friendship certificate including a photo of Polly and twice
yearly updates on his progress, along with a bookmark and a
set of four greetings cards featuring different bears of the
world painted by Pollyanna. Most excitingly everyone who befriends
Polly bear will be entered into a prize draw to win a signed
limited edition of Pollyanna’s sketch of a moonbear (above).
This print is strictly limited to just 100 copies. Every time
just ten friendship packages have been bought, one lucky winner
will be drawn, and will receive their picture.
The prints are also be available to purchase through our online
studio at £95.00 (post and packaging free). £50.00
from the sale of each picture will be donated to Polly bear’s
annual care.
Click
here to purchase securely
We would also urge you to write to the Chinese
government to stop other bears suffering the same cruel treatment.
Click here to download a sample letter
January 2010 - Click here to read
an update on Polly Bear
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Polly Bear's
Story
When Pollyanna visited China in January 2010 to gather sketch
Giant pandas and Amur Tigers for her exhibition ‘Beyond
the Great Wall’, she was delighted to take the opportunity
to visit a wonderful rescue sanctuary near to the city of Chengdu.
In countries across Asia, thousands of bears live a life of
torture on bear farms, so that their bile can be extracted and
used in traditional medicine to cure ailments. Bears are confined
in cages which vary from agonisingly tiny "crush"
cages to larger pens, all of which cause terrible physical and
mental suffering. The Animals Asia Foundation has created a
wonderful sanctuary where bears rescued from a life of unmitigated
misery can enjoy everything they were denied on the farms. Happy,
healthy bears have unlimited access to tasty food, the pleasure
of roaming in lush natural foliage or swimming in cool water.
Pitiful, caged newcomers are professionally treated and healed
by the Animals Asia veterinary team, which is globally recognised
for its expertise in caring for rescued farmed bears in China.
The sanctuary is the first of its kind in the world –
an adventurous creation that combines a safe, semi-natural environment
for the bears in rehabilitation areas and bamboo forest enclosures.
Catering to their special needs are professional on-site managers
and workers, plus experts (including volunteers) who are experienced
and qualified in working with bears, and who ensure that each
day is filled with interesting enrichment activities to keep
them stimulated throughout the day.
Ten years ago, Pollyanna helped to raise funds to build the
first enclosures at this unique facility, by donating a specially
completed original painting, which was also reproduced as an
exclusive limited edition print. When Jill Robinson, founder
of Animals Asia heard that Pollyanna was planning to visit China,
she extended an invitation to visit the centre. Pollyanna, along
with her daughter Anna-Louise, who is also a trustee of the
Pollyanna Pickering Foundation, spent a wonderful day at the
sanctuary on an unseasonably warm January day. She was able
to see the newest arrivals in their rehabilitation pen, as well
as the long term residents in their spacious and well equipped
enclosures. “It was a very emotional visit” Pollyanna
commented “Although I have read a great deal about the
trade in bear bile, and the appalling production methods, I
was still unspeakably shocked to see the horrifically tiny cages
which are on display in the education centre having been confiscated
from bear farms. But it was truly joyful to then see the rescued
bears playing in their enclosures, or stretched out in sleeping
hammocks enjoying the warm sun”. Pollyanna was able to
spend the day watching and sketching the rescued bears.
While Pollyanna and Anna-Louise were at the sanctuary news
came through of a further 12 bears awaiting rescue from a bile
farm in Vietnam where the practise is now illegal. Pollyanna
was delighted to be able to present Jill Robinson with a cheque
for £5,200.00 to fund the rescue of one of the bears,
and his safe transfer to the foundations’ sister sanctuary
in Vietnam.
When Pollyanna presented Jill with the cheque to fund the rescue
of one of the Vietnamese bears, Jill told her that one of the
bears awaiting rescue was missing a paw. Bears are often found
in the farms with missing limbs, an indicator they have been
caught in the wild in a snare trap. Jill explained that it can
be harder to find sponsorship or funding for these bears, as
many people or organisations prefer to rescue a ‘whole’
bear. Pollyanna and Anna-Louise confirmed that the Foundation
would be happy to fund the rescue of the bear who was missing
a paw. Jill immediately asked if they could name the rescued
bear ‘Polly’ – and Pollyanna was of course
happy to agree! Shortly after her return from China, Pollyanna
received confirmation that Polly bear had arrived at the sanctuary,
and undergone the usual health checks, which revealed just one
problem…….. Polly was a boy! So he will now be known
as Polly Boy Bear.
Polly was one of 19 moon bears rescued from years of torture
and transferred to the Vietnam Moon
Bear Rescue Centre in Tam Dao. To date, this is the largest
number of bears rescued in Vietnam in one operation. Discovered
cramped in 40ft cargo containers on an illegal bile farm in
the southern
province of Binh Duong, near Ho Chi Minh City, this group of
bears underwent a gruelling, three-day road-trip to safety.
Tuan, the director of the Vietnam sanctuary said all the bears
from the farm were wild-caught. Tuan and the rescue team were
disturbed to see the living conditions of the bears –
locked in isolation in small prison-like cells, with inadequate
food and water and only the cold, metal floor, often dirty and
wet, to lie on. In his opinion, the rescue came just in time
for the 19 bears. “It would have been so hot and suffocating
for the bears in those containers over the summer months. I
doubt they would have survived.”
The bears were fed before leaving and given lots of water melon
and dragon fruit during the trip. As it was very hot on the
first day, the lorries stopped every two hours to check on the
bears and give them water, fruit, and banana leaves.
Polly was the last of the bears to be unloaded from the transit
truck, where Jill Robinson was waiting to welcome him to his
new home. She described him as “A gorgeous three-limbed
boy, missing his front left, who hopefully won't mind his new
rather feminine name.” She told us “Polly also has
the longest neck in the world - and has the nickname "Giraffe".
He also has a nice spotty crescent that looks like a mayoral
chain around his neck. Weight is 150kgs and all looking good.”
A week later we were pleased to receive a further update –
“He starts bouncing and clucking late in the day, but
seems content for the most part. He eats all of his mazuri and
rice, but leaves all the veggies. He loves browse, and has eaten
all enrichment except coconut.”
Pollyanna commented “We are delighted to have been able
to give this beautiful bear the opportunity to enjoy the rest
of his life in the lovely surroundings of the Animals Asia sanctuary.
Of all the many cruelties humans inflict on animals, I think
bear farming is the worst. The animals are kept in such unspeakably
cruel conditions, and are in constant pain sometimes for as
long as twenty years. I would like to say a huge thank you to
all the supporters of our foundation for helping us to give
at least one bear a chance for a better life.”
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