Jackie Chan kicks up awareness of Bear Farming
A
passionate advocate for animals, Jackie Chan has once again teamed up
with the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) to create
awareness of a little-known example of appalling cruelty to animals �
bear farming in Asia. Chan and WSPA have filmed a powerful 30-second PSA
calling for an end to the cruel practice and showing the intense
suffering and deplorable conditions bears on farms are forced to endure.
WSPA has identified bear farming as the planet's worst
example of animal suffering inflicted by humans, and the PSA is part of
a worldwide campaign to highlight the plight of the 12,000 bears living
in Asia's bear farms.
�Around the world, WSPA is working hard to make people
aware of what happens on bear farms,� said Peter Chen, WSPA Canada
Community Outreach Officer. �We're grateful that Jackie Chan is helping
to further WSPA's mission to end bear farming.�
Bile from the gall bladders of bears is used in
Tradition Asian Medicine and believed to have medicinal properties. As a
result, bears are raised in captivity and forced to suffer painful
procedures to extract their bile. The conditions the bears live in are
dire � most live in cages about the size of a telephone booth turned on
its side, where they cannot stand or easily turn around. They can live
this awful existence for decades.
The use of bear bile in Traditional Asian Medicine is
unnecessary. A synthetic alternative has existed since the 1950s, and
many experts in Traditional Asian Medicine agree that alternatives such
as herbal remedies and acupuncture are equally effective.
�The World Society for the Protection of Animals
campaigns to stop cruelty and change attitudes towards animals,� said
Jackie Chan. �They are doing great work in so many countries and deserve
our support.�
One of the biggest threats faced by bears in the
United States today is an illegal yet thriving trade in bear parts,
including bear gallbladders. Each year wild bears are killed so that
their parts can be sold in Traditional Asian Medicine (TAM) shops in the
United States and internationally. US Representative Raul Grijalva
(D-AZ) recently re-introduced H.R. 5534, the Bear Protection Act of
2008, to protect North American bears. The Act specifically bans the
import, export and interstate trade of all bear parts and products,
while closing loopholes in existing state laws.
Supporters are urged to contact their representative
and encourage them to co-sponsor and pass this important legislation.
