Dear Friends,

Thanks for taking the time to visit my Just Giving page.

I will be doing a 5-mile "Walk For Freedom" walk on Wimbledon Common on 11th September 2010 in a bid to raise money for the charity Animals Asia, which was founded by Jill Robinson MBE in 1998. 

In countries across Asia, including China and Vietnam, thousands of beautiful bears (affectionately called "Moon" bears because of the beautiful yellow crescent moon found on their chests) endure a life of torture on so-called bear farms, so that their bile can be extracted and used in traditional medicine to cure a variety of ailments.  The bears are confined in cages - often incarcerated in tight metal "jackets" - which vary from agonisingly tiny "crush" cages no larger than their bodies to larger pens, all of which cause terrible physical and mental suffering.  Bears are often captured as cubs and can spend their entire lives in these cages.  The bile is extracted daily through holes made to the bears' gall bladders and is done without anaesthetic or sanitation, leaving them in horrendous pain and at the mercy of all sorts of infections.

Jill has a dedicated team of staff working for her and I am hugely supportive of the work that they do.  Please help to help Animals Asia continue their efforts to stop this misery.  There is a long way to go yet, however slowly but surely we can get there: to date Animals Asia has rescued 276 bears from farms in China (10 only recently on 19th April 2010), and 54 bears in Vietnam. The bears that survive are rehabilitated and live out their lives at Animals Asia's sanctuaries, having first arrived violently angry but eventually responding to kindness and tempting food or treats.  Slowly their wonderful personalities start to emerge: they become loving, fun, playful and very mischievous!

My aim is clearly to raise as much as possible, however my ultimate target is to raise £665 which will pay for gall bladder surgery for 1 bear: 99% of rescued bears require surgery.  Here is an idea of what else your money can buy:

£5.........will buy a pot of honey (yes, it's true!! - bears really do love honey) or a giant tub of raisins
£8.........will buy a basket of fruit
£90...... will buy a swing
£120.... will buy vet care for one month
£210.....will buy a bear health check

£665.....WILL BUY GALL BLADDER SURGERY

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 the charity 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, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.

Finally, if you want to learn more about the wonderful work that Animals Asia do, then please visit their website for yourselves at: www.animalsasia.org

Thank you.

Petra