Dear Friends and Family,

On 19th May I'm competing (or rather 'completing') in a Half Ironman to raise funds for Free The Bears, an Australian animal charity which has built three bear sanctuaries in Southeast Asia and has so far recused 950 moon and sun bears from the vile practice of bear bile farming. These bears are ripped from the wild as cubs and forced into tiny, filthy cages where their gallbladders are regularly mutilated for the extraction of bile. This bile is used in 'traditional medicine', but today it exists in a synthetic compound—easily manufactured in a lab—so there is absolutely no reason for it. The worst thing about it is that the bears are so resilient they can survive for up to 30 years in these cages.

On 19th March Free the Bears captured a major wildlife tracker and rescued 17 orphaned, endangered moon bear cubs. One has already died but the others are at the Free The Bears sanctuary in Laos. The Director of the sanctuary is the lovely Matt Hunt, who got his start at my grandfather John Aspinall's wild animal park Port Lympne. These orphaned cubs are in desperate need of food and care.

£20 provides a care kit for a new cub.

£40 provides medicine required to treat sick bears.

£80 feeds a bear for a month.

And anything above that goes a long, long way!

PS I've always had a thing for bears, not just because my names means 'little bear', coming from the Latin 'ursus'. They are wonderful creatures, deserving of our care and respect, and there is no reason for them to suffer lives of starvation, stress, isolation, and mutilation. Please give whatever you can, and give me a reason to run on 19th May!

Orson.

Free the Bears protects, rescues & cares for the world's most vulnerable bear species - sun bears & moon bears. We've helped rescue more than 950 bears from the illegal wildlife trade, helped end the centuries old dancing bear tradition in India, built & operate rescued bear sanctuaries in 3 countries, become a world leader in cub care, provided alternative livelihoods to impoverished communities & helped educate & inspire countless people around the world. Your donations will help us continue to protect & care for bears in need. Thank you.