About 2 years ago, I stumbled upon the above photo, and it forever changed me.  This beautiful Moon bear is alive and has been in this cage for over two decades, stolen from her mother as a cub she has never walked in the grass or even had a moment of sunshine.  In countries across Asia, thousands of bears just like her live a life of tortures beyond our imagination on bear farms, so that their bile can be extracted from their gall bladders on a daily basis and used in traditional medicine to cure ailments ranging from headaches to haemorrhoids. Bears are confined in cages which vary from agonisingly tiny "crush" cages to larger pens, all of which cause terrible physical and mental suffering. 

Thanks to the tireless efforts of www.animalsasia.org, over 40 bear farms have been closed down by the Government and over 245 bears released into the care of Animals Asia at the Moon Bear Rescue Centre in Sichuan, China. The bears arrive in the most shocking condition – bone-thin, desperately ill and terrified, but with tender loving care and intensive veterinary attention, the vast majority of them recover.

Though we are so far away from these tortured creatures, I feel a need to help them in anyway that I can.  That is why I'm running in the Holualua Marathon in Tucson, Arizona on December 13th, 2009.  For every mile I complete, I will be donating $10.00 to Animals Asia's bear fund.  I ask that you take a look at the site and join me in my "Blisters for Bears" by making a donation to help these majestic bears. 

Thousands of Moon Bears suffer in silence everyday for year after year.  Let's do something about it!! 

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to Animals Asia and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, while saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Thank you so much!!

~Alexa