Amy was born in 1993 – the year I first walked onto a bear bile farm in China. From childhood, she had always taken her teddy to bed and, according to her mum, had kept the curtains open in a touching ritual that allowed her bear to see the moon while she slept.
Recently Amy learned about the plight of the moon bears for the first time – and the day after crying herself to sleep, she decided to use her tears of sadness, and her talent in art, to help them.
Amy’s stark work, "Bear Bile", was the main painting in an exhibition she held at college. It should have the bear farmers on their knees in shame with the “role reversal” image showing how their egregious practice would translate to human suffering. Her poem, "If only I could speak", is equally stunning, confronting and beautiful.
Thank you Amy, and I hope your talent and passion will soon translate into beautiful freedom for the bears.
If only I could speak
I have spent my life in this cage,
incarceration is all I know.
The bars clenched tight to my body,
they are my tomb and my home.
Veiled by terror and sorrow,
there is barely room to breathe.
To think of anything but the inevitable end
would be senseless and naïve.
I have seen my friends before me.
I've heard their gasping breath.
Dragged across the bile stained floor
as they arrive at the valley of death.
Inside I rage and scream,
but externally I cower.
For to draw attention to myself
would bring closer my final hour.
If this is all I'm good for,
Just ceaseless, needless pain,
then why gift me with a life?
Why must I remain?
Can't you hear our shouts for justice?
Can't you hear our mournful cries?
Can't you witness our fear-ridden bodies?
Please God won't you open your eyes?
I cannot fathom your reasons,
behind this sickening game.
We all feel hurt and emotions
and our hearts they beat the same.
People who are so eager,
so willing to take a life,
if the tables were turned I'm sure you too
would beg them to drop the knife.
You think you have right of privilege,
to do with us what you please,
because you have left us defenceless,
begging on our knees.
If I could only speak,
then these are the words I would say.
It doesn't take much to realise,
that it should never have been this way.
Give us a chance to feel safe,
let us feel life's glory.
Look into my eyes,
gaze upon the despair
and please listen to the words of my story.
- Amy-Le Owens
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Sally Taylor, our lovely Bear Manager in Chengdu, swapped out her Wellington boots for rather posher footwear on April 28th when she married Geoff in the UK.
Despite a heroic effort by the weather to dampen the proceedings, the wedding went ahead without a hitch and at the most perfect venue at Wick Farm in Bath.
Sally, of course, looked absolutely beautiful and was joined by all her family and friends, and colleagues Nic, Karli and I from Chengdu, and Heather from Edinburgh University.
With thanks to Nic for sending over the pictures, here is our blushing and very gorgeous bride and her handsome husband, with our love, congratulations and the biggest bear hugs from us all.
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The past few weeks have a been a crazy round of presentations and events in New York, London and Italy, with barely a moment for catching our breath. The highlight of course has been seeing so many old friends, and meeting new supporters of the bears, dogs and cats, where we've been able to convey the reality of the progress across China.
Often the spoken word can transcend so much more than the written, and so we have found during the course of these presentations - where we're really able to articulate the passion of people all across China who share our disgust for the practice of bear farming (it really should be renamed bear torture) and now leading campaigns to bring it to an end.
First stop was New York and two interviews - one a live radio interview with Leonard Lopate of WNYC, New York's NPR affiliate, and the second with Jane Velez-Mitchell of CNN Headline News.
Over to the famous Rubin Museum of Art where, because of the museum's kindness and generosity (and particularly that of producer Tim McHenry), we were able to premiere Martin Guinness's beautifully produced film, "Cages of Shame". This award-winning film, featuring the incredible rescue of 10 bears in Shandong Province - and the life-saving surgery of Oliver on the back of a truck on the way home - had the audience in tears of sorrow and joy as the rescue unfolded and the bears were brought safely "home" to our sanctuary in Chengdu.
A lively question and answer session followed the film, with the opportunity, once again, to articulate the rising force of those in China relentlessly closing in on the farms.
A brief but memorable visit to New York, with endless thanks to all who attended and with gratitude to Morgan, Alice, Jada and Maya for their professional organisation, and always with big beaming smiles despite the long hours.
Please see here for more US news.
Back to Hong Kong for a couple of days, before leaving for the UK and the event of the year there - "Moonstruck" at the Menier Gallery in London. How do I say thank you to two of the most generous and certainly loveliest people on the planet – Suzie Marsh and Richard Symonds, who have quite literally given a year of their life to the bears after visiting us on site almost exactly one year ago.
From the time we stood on the roof of House 10 and shed tears without embarrassment together at the sight of our magnificent "broken bear" Oliver (now generously sponsored by Angela and Martin Humphery) enjoying the spring sunshine, they have devoted every single day since - sculpting, drawing, dreaming moon and brown bears and preparing to sell their art to benefit as many "Olivers" into the future until bear farming has ended.
Their art was superb and the visitors were enchanted and enthralled. The gallery looked breathtakingly beautiful, as Oliver, Jasper, Banjo, Paddy, Jingle, Bodo, and all of our charismatic bears were represented in pencil, ceramic, pewter and bronze - and showed off by Richard and Suzie just as perfectly as if they were really there.
Absolutely no words for my respect and admiration for them both - not only for devoting their time and indescribable talent to this cause, but also for their generosity in donating up to 50 per cent of the profits the exhibition raised.
I would also like to send heartfelt thanks and gratitude to celebrities and media; Rula Lenska, Martin Roberts, Gary Hodges, Simon Cowell and Jim Incledon, who came along in support, to my heroine Virginia McKenna who was unable to come but sent a beautiful message, to our UK team of Gill, Nicky and Kay who worked so fantastically hard in the months leading up to the exhibition and of course on the days themselves, and to our ever-amazing volunteers, Maren, Babs, Silke, John, Lynne, Jessica, and Barbara.
Thanks last but not least to some of our staff and volunteers from Chengdu - some of whom were coincidentally in the UK for bear manager Sally's wedding to Geoff - so to Sally and Geoff (congratulations and more in Blog soon), to Nic, Karli, Jane, Jayne, Amy and Sarah.
Here's the link to the whole wonderful Moonstruck event - and please, if you haven't browsed the shopping link, do just go in and have a look.....there is something for everyone there who loves our bears.
Click here to go to Moonstruck.
The final words of this blog should go to Suzie who, on behalf of herself and Richard, wanted to send a message of what this past year has meant. So over to Suzie's message - and a fitting poem at the end from her friend Felicity
Moonstruck – Dream – Thank You All
from Suzie Marsh
Well, we have now “been there”, “done that” and “got the T shirt”. I find it hard to believe that the exhibition is over as it has been such a big part of my life for the last year. I would like to thank EVERYONE who has been involved in Moonstruck for their help and support, Jill and the bears for being an inspiration, Nicky for getting me involved in Animals Asia all those years ago and for all her hard work for Moonstruck (and Jamie for putting up with it), Rich for having the idea of an exhibition and for asking me join him in it, Gill for her constant support and encouragement, Lara and Sue for beavering away at the UK headquarters, Kay and Fiona for all their hard work away at the other end of emails and Kay at the exhibition (and her patient husband). To Carney and Hong Chan for all their painstaking work in getting the website up and running and the rest of the team at the Hong Kong Office for all their hard work. To all the team at Chengdu for looking after us so well and for making us so welcome last year. Thanks to Monica and Wendy for letting us help with Diamond’s and Eclipse’s health checks and to Wendy for her subsequent taking of paw prints for me in dental clay and to Rocky and Sally for helping me name the bears in my photos. To the London supports for their help during the show, Maren, Babs, John, Barbara, Lynn, Jessica, and Silke. Thanks also to the girls who we met in Chengdu for coming to the exhibition Nic, Sally, Jayne, Amy and Sarah, for giving us a reminder of our happy time out in Chengdu and for making Moonstruck go with a swing. Our week at the exhibition was another emotional roller coaster and made me long to go back. A special thank you to Mike and Tracie Spraggs and Oliver and Gitte Lodge for funding the exhibition and the hospitality. To all those who bought a picture or a sculpture last week and thereby gave their help to the untiring work of AAF and, of course, my husband Doug who has supported me all the way through this, no matter what it cost! Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for making the last year a very special and happy one for me.
I have enjoyed every minute of working for the bears, from our life-changing time in Chengdu to sculpting each bear. All year I kept saying I must sculpt something else and I would sit down to start on a tiger and up would pop another bear! Each one brings back all the emotion I felt for them. I think I am an addict and am going to find it so hard to wean myself off for a while, but thank goodness several people at the exhibition have ordered more bears so I can continue for a little longer. That will hopefully tide me over until we have the next Animals Asia project set - and I do already know what I must sculpt for my Christmas bear!
Dream – how can I thank you enough for such a privilege. To have a share in my own bear and such a special one. Thank you. In the last few months I actually started to dream about having and naming a bear. My Mum and Dad were always passionate about bears but sadly my Mum died a few years ago so did not know about Moonstruck and our trip to Chengdu. She would have loved to have known all about it and to have seen the results. (I’m so glad my Dad was able to be there.) And so I began to dream about naming a bear after her favourite teddy that she had from being a very small girl, namely Tebs. So when Jill gave Richard and me Dream as our own special bear to name I was completely overwhelmed. But both Rich and I agreed that we do not want to change Dream’s official name. We both love the way Tuan BW and Cong named Dream on her journey from the farm to the Vietnam sanctuary, so we want to keep her official name as Dream for them, but we would both like to add our own names as a secondary name - mine being Tebs for my Mum. Richard’s being Mischa for his little girl. And now we have a reason to go to Vietnam, to see her – I can’t wait. Will this bring on Moonstruck 2? I do hope so.
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!
Vile Business
If you want to stoop to the lowest,
cage a bear.
Torture the creature for years
as though you didn’t care, or give a damn
about hell on earth creating.
Stand by and watch a slow death.
Then bottle the pain, black sludge
for cruel gain
that will benefit no one.
But no more will you hide
your terrible ‘business’.
A tube or tubeless drain. It doesn’t change
the facts of this hideous matter.
We see the suffering, beyond belief,
while your bank account gets fatter
and you’re blind to acts of considerable vileness.
We’re talking about bear bile,
that’s theirs, not yours for the taking.
Steal it you do though,
your ‘profits’ flowing from violence.
No amount of marketing speak can disguise
such a torturing ‘venture’.
Admit it.
Get yourself squeezed behind bars.
Suffer the fear, the deformities, scars, and so much
gruesomeness there aren’t words to describe it.
Chew on the iron, in desperate act
of the want of escaping.
And wait. Wait for the sound, the approach
of the human. Feel their savage undertaking.
No labour of love, no concern, no compassion.
You’ll know that the hundreds of days
are only a beginning.
Or. You could stop. Cease
with the vile bile extraction.
Look at the moon bear
and do it a kindness.
Deserving of freedom,
extend that to all bears. Just do it, please, right now.
Felicity Stephen
27.04.12
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Just recently, an incredible event in Beijing gathered together local cat-protection groups from across the country and saw various experts discussing TNR – or trap, neuter, release.
Our Dog and Cat Welfare team worked with Beijing welfare group Lucky Cats to hold the 1st China Cat management Symposium, which saw the attendance of 70 delegates from 30 welfare groups, across 23 Chinese cities.
Over the past few years, what began as a concept that few supported, has mushroomed into a fantastically successful programme where both people and animals benefit. This is a classic example of a win-win situation - sharing our lives, harmoniously, humanely, with community cats, and benefiting from their presence too.
Speakers at the symposium included the Beijing Small Animal Veterinary Association, Lucky Cats, SPCA(HK), Beijing Rong An Vet Clinic and Animals Asia. Topics included general implementation of TNR, veterinary considerations, how to select and work with co-operating veterinary clinics around the city, how to work with volunteers, expert advice on desexing, and running a successful programme in the long term.
At the end of the first day, all delegates were invited to see an example of the "cat colonies" of Beijing. These were established by the Lucky Cats group after it successfully trapped, desexed, vaccinated and ear-tipped the cats and released them back into the community, where volunteers continue to feed them every day.
I had visited these colonies in the winter and was pleasantly surprised by how well they survived in the bitter cold. Their thick fur was freezing to the touch, but they were happy, healthy, nicely socialised – and clearly very well fed.
Now in the March spring sunshine as we all walked around, out these same cats bounced again from their hiding places in the park and eagerly queued up for their twice-daily supply of cat biscuits.
With permission from the local authorities and the park – a beautiful place of cultural pride near the Forbidden City – Lucky Cats and community volunteers have superbly pulled off this much-debated programme of TNR. They are showing even the cynics that this is the most practical and kindest way to control the cat population of our cities, and reduce the risk of disease.
Finally, as we know, cats are never the easiest species to work with - we love them, but they can be touchingly aloof at times and certainly seem to show us exactly who's boss. This thought reminded me of a favourite quote: “Women and cats will do as they please – and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.”
A huge congratulations to all who attended and contributed to the symposium, and who are undoubtedly responsible for the growing harmony between people and cats in China.
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For those supporters in Hong Kong, please join me and some of the gang from our Hong Kong office tomorrow night for the launch of a great new CD in support of the bears.
Hong Kong soul band Soul Traders is launching their debut album, "Fragile" at their own live gig in Central and it should be a fantastic night out.
Funds from the sale of the CD will go to Animals Asia and our campaign to end bear bile farming. Our grateful thanks to Jon and the rest of the band.
The CD will be available to buy from our Gift Shop soon, but meanwhile, I hope to see you tomorrow night.
Launch of Fragile
Date: Thursday 3 May
Venue: Backstage Live, Wellington Street, Central
Time: 9.30pm
Entry: $150 including one drink
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