Have you ever heard of “moon bears”?
Its marvellous name notwithstanding, a cruel reality is hidden behind it as some 12,000 Asian Black or Tibetan Bears – with the nickname Moon Bear – are tortured, imprisoned in places called “bile factories” and exploited as ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine.
The “Let a Bear Sh!t in the Woods” campaign came about to fight this awful reality.
The bears are forced to live segregated in tiny cages and bred only for their bile, which is extracted through catheters inserted directly into their gall bladders.
Since 1998, the Animals Asia Foundation has been striving to close down these torture chambers where some 12,000 bears are kept in China, Vietnam and Korea to satisfy a growing demand for bile in the Asian market.
The bile is used in traditional Chinese medicine, but the benefits to human health are dubious at most. Not only, but there are less expensive and more easily found alternatives on the market today, so there is no justification in the daily torture the Moon Bears undergo.
Aiming to put an end to these horrible practices, the “Let a Bear Sh!t in the Wood” campaign was launched in May by Animal Asia and supported by a wide range of celebrities like Sharon and Ozzy Osborne, Simon Le Bon, Anthony Kieds, Moby, Duff McKagn, Steve-O and Matt Lucas.
The campaign is an important one because demanding an end to the torture of the Moon Bears is everyone’s sacred duty.