Held Prisoner For Years By This "Torture Vest", She Is Finally Enjoying Freedom

By
Andrea A.

Caesar is an incredible bear.

In 2004, she was saved from the earthly hell of Chinese bile farming by the organisation Animals Asia, reports The Dodo.

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Source: @Animals Asia

For this period, this 300kg Asian black bear lived in a tiny cage, suffering the most shocking of instruments of torture.

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Source: @Animals Asia

Caesar was trapped inside an iron vest which is hauntingly similar to a medieval device, feeding a catheter which was pushed into her gall bladder to extract bile.

A sharp metal point at her throat prevented her from lowering her head to try to bite and remove the torturous trap.

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Source: @Animals Asia

"The worst imaginable bile farm torture", was the description of the organisation that saved her.

Luckily, this is now a distant memory for Caesar. When she was freed in February 2004, the vets took hours to remove the vest which had long tortured the bear.

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Source: @Animals Asia

Finally she could leave this hell...

A new life at the sanctuary

Since then, Caesar has spent many happy days at the Animal Asia sanctuary in Chengdu, central China.

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Source: @Animals Asia

For more than ten years now, she has been enjoying the things that bears just love, playing, running, napping in the sun, but especially...swimming!

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Source: @Animals Asia

A video from May 20 2016 was recently shared by Animals Asia on Instagram. Here you can see Caesar in slow motion, shaking with joy after a good wash:

A video posted by Animals Asia (@animalsasia) on May 15, 2016 at 6:56pm PDT

The Animals Asia team said:

To see her out in the sunshine - a dozen years on from her rescue - it’s hard to imagine her existence back then. [...] We’re honoured to be able to provide her a better life, and watching her enjoy her surroundings every day is an absolute pleasure.

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Source: @Animals Asia

Bile farms: a million dollar industry

In China and Vietnam, bile farms still exist because this substance is believed to have medicinal properties.

The decades-old extraction process is unimaginably painful and causes bears terrible physical damage, most notably to their gall bladders.

1200 illegal bile farms in Vietnam

Bear bile, sold at up to 400 dollars per 100ml, is an integral part of the $2 million bear product trade in Asia.

Although it was declared illegal in Vietnam in 2005, there are still about 1200 bile farms in the country, meaning that this tradition continues behind closed doors.

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Source: @30 Millions d’Amis

In China, however, bile extraction is legal: 10,000 Asian black bears are still held captive in horrific conditions.

Although they are not all subjected to the horror of the metal vest, since it is illegal in this country, their existence is nonetheless one of endless suffering.

In these dreary farms, bears lead a life of misery, held prisoner in narrow cages where they can barely move.

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Source: @Animals Asia

Every day, in two sessions, they come to collect the bile from the bears' gall bladder by sticking needles and catheters into their skin.

The psychological trauma is coupled with unimaginable physical suffering every day.

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Source: @Animal Asia

84% of Chinese people want to ban it

According to a recent survey by World Animal Protection, there is overwhelming support within China to end the bear bile industry.

Over 97% of Chinese people believe it is very cruel and 84% of Chinese people hope to see the bear bile industry banned.

Animals Asia are the pioneers in fighting against this horrific and inhumane trade. The foundation has rescued nearly 600 bears from the practice since it was set up in 1998, and it has two sanctuaries – one in Vietnam and one in China.

So that Animals Asia can continue their fight to end the cruel bear bile farming industry, please donate to them here.

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Source: @Animals Asia

You can also sign the petition to support the ban of barbaric bear bile harvesting in China.

H/t: @TheDodo

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