The Free the Bears Fund (FBF) is an Australian charitablewildlife-protection organization. It was started by Mary Hutton after she watched a documentary in 1993 on bears kept in small cages for bile farming. The fund was registered as a not-for-profit charity on 23 March 1995.[1] The Free the Bears Fund supports animal welfare projects in Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, working with rescued and confiscated Asian black bear (Ursus thibetanus), sun bear (Helarctos malayanus), and sloth bear (Melursus ursinus). A sister charity Free the Bears UK was established in the United Kingdom in 2010.[2]
The organization was informally formed in 1993,[3] in response to Australian Television program A Current Affair airing a segment containing footage of moon bears being regularly milked for their bile.
On 23 March 1995 Free the Bears Fund was registered as a not-for-profit charitable organization in Perth, Australia.[4]
The organization fought for several of the Sun bears to be brought to Australia to start a regional breeding program and began construction of the Cambodian Bear Sanctuary at the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre.[5] This is now the world’s largest sanctuary for Sun bears, educating hundreds of thousands of Cambodians about the threats facing their wild bear populations each year.
Further requests for help arrived and Free the Bears was soon involved in projects throughout Southeast Asia and even further afield. Free the Bears soon joined Wildlife SOS and International Animal Rescue in an attempt to rescue India’s "dancing" bears. The first group of 25 rescued bears entered the Agra Bear Rescue Facility on Christmas Eve of 2002. Over the next seven years Free the Bears provided seed money for more than 500 families to abandon the practice of "dancing" bears and adopt new sustainable livelihoods. Less than seven years after the first "dancing" bears were rescued, the last of India’s "dancing" bears were handed over into the sanctuary.[6]
The organization plans to halt the spread of bear bile farming and protect wild bears from the threat of the illegal wildlife trade. With bears in each country facing a unique set of issues that threaten their future, Free the Bears employs a range of strategies including environmental education, conservation research, and strengthened law enforcement.
^Christian Science Monitor Mary Hutton frees Asia's endangered bears from lives of torment
^BBC News 19 December 2009 Last Indian dancing bear set free
External linksedit
Official website
March 23, 2024
free, bears, fund, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, neutrality, this, article, disputed, relevant, discussion, found, talk, page, please, remove, this, m. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages The neutrality of this article is disputed Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page Please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met September 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article s tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia See Wikipedia s guide to writing better articles for suggestions September 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article relies excessively on references to primary sources Please improve this article by adding secondary or tertiary sources Find sources Free the Bears Fund news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2010 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message The Free the Bears Fund FBF is an Australian charitable wildlife protection organization It was started by Mary Hutton after she watched a documentary in 1993 on bears kept in small cages for bile farming The fund was registered as a not for profit charity on 23 March 1995 1 The Free the Bears Fund supports animal welfare projects in Cambodia India Indonesia Laos Thailand and Vietnam working with rescued and confiscated Asian black bear Ursus thibetanus sun bear Helarctos malayanus and sloth bear Melursus ursinus A sister charity Free the Bears UK was established in the United Kingdom in 2010 2 Contents 1 History and achievements 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksHistory and achievements editThe organization was informally formed in 1993 3 in response to Australian Television program A Current Affair airing a segment containing footage of moon bears being regularly milked for their bile On 23 March 1995 Free the Bears Fund was registered as a not for profit charitable organization in Perth Australia 4 The organization fought for several of the Sun bears to be brought to Australia to start a regional breeding program and began construction of the Cambodian Bear Sanctuary at the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre 5 This is now the world s largest sanctuary for Sun bears educating hundreds of thousands of Cambodians about the threats facing their wild bear populations each year Further requests for help arrived and Free the Bears was soon involved in projects throughout Southeast Asia and even further afield Free the Bears soon joined Wildlife SOS and International Animal Rescue in an attempt to rescue India s dancing bears The first group of 25 rescued bears entered the Agra Bear Rescue Facility on Christmas Eve of 2002 Over the next seven years Free the Bears provided seed money for more than 500 families to abandon the practice of dancing bears and adopt new sustainable livelihoods Less than seven years after the first dancing bears were rescued the last of India s dancing bears were handed over into the sanctuary 6 The organization plans to halt the spread of bear bile farming and protect wild bears from the threat of the illegal wildlife trade With bears in each country facing a unique set of issues that threaten their future Free the Bears employs a range of strategies including environmental education conservation research and strengthened law enforcement See also editBile bear Animals Asia FoundationReferences edit About Us Archived 28 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine Free The Bears Fund Inc FREE THE BEARS UK 1135682 Charity Commission for England and Wales website Archived from the original on 24 March 2021 Retrieved 24 March 2021 Fight to end bear farming boosted by Lao sanctuary for rescued bears South China Morning Post 29 July 2017 Retrieved 8 July 2019 Free the Bears Ltd Australian Charities and Not for profits Commission Australian Charities and Not for profits Commission website Archived from the original on 12 March 2021 Retrieved 24 March 2021 Christian Science Monitor Mary Hutton frees Asia s endangered bears from lives of torment BBC News 19 December 2009 Last Indian dancing bear set freeExternal links editOfficial website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Free the Bears Fund amp oldid 1180386699, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
