From an early age I always wanted to be a veterinary nurse. I can honestly say I have never been disappointed with my choice of profession.  Each day is different but always involves the rewarding task of nursing animals back to health and making them feel better. 

The Asiatic Black Bears, otherwise known as "Moon bears"or "Bile Bears", are kept in captivity to harvest their bile. The bile is used in some traditional Chinese medicine therapies. 

Image source: www.theguardian.com

The bears are house in small, coffin-like cages and are milked twice daily for their bile. The bile is removed through a direct stoma (an artificially created hole.) Some of the bears had suffered this for over twenty years. 

Image source: www.animalsasia.org

Animals Asia Foundation is dedicated to putting a stop to this practice (among other campaigns to end animal cruelty including dog and cat and captive animal welfare campaigns in China.) From when I first met the bears upon arrival to the sanctuary in Sichuan, China, I was determined to do all I could to make a difference in their lives.  

When I arrived in the village, all the locals were very friendly and welcoming.  Initially, the language barrier was a problem -- I quickly picked up basic Mandarin and with that (combined with hand signals and drawings in the ground) I managed to get by. I assisted in weekly basic English lessons in the canteen which was very fun. We would regularly head into the local town for food and karaoke.  The village was extremely remote and so the token Westerner was always encouraged to entertain! 

The bears arrive at the rescue center in horrendous conditions. They all have bile stomas and many have missing or fractured limbs from illegal traps.  We would observe and triage each bear and schedule their surgery (a cholocystectomy: removal of the gall bladder, rendering them undesirable for the medicinal market as they no longer produce bile.)

The surgery itself can take up to eight hours. As the nurse, I was responsible for the surgery preparation, the anesthetic, taking samples, preparing and administering medication, clipping their nails and cleaning their ears and teeth. (Their teeth were always in a terrible condition due to years of biting the cage bars and other stereotypic behaviors.) All these tasks were along with the normal nursing duties of assisting and sometimes "scrubbing in"during surgery. 

The most rewarding experience of my time volunteering was watching the bears wake up after their surgery. They recovered in a cage larger than what they had lived in their entire lives.  This was when, for the first time, they were able to stretch and scratch themselves.  This always brought a tear to my eye. On recovery, I would prepare a medicated milk shake with fruit, jam, and lots of honey! 

The bears then progressed through rehabilitation which included a huge playground with climbing frames, toys and a pool to encourage them to regain use of their fatigued muscles and limbs.  Here, they were integrated with other bears before progressing into the acres of natural bamboo forests where they would spend the rest of their carefree lives. 

Each bear had their own personality: different characteristics, likes and dislikes. Some played all day while others lazed in the sun but all of them were now free to enjoy a safe life, far from the tortures they had been subjected to on the barbaric bile farms. 

If you would like to find out more and support the amazing work of AAF please check out their website or visit PPVH to chat to Claire and pick up a leaflet.