There’s a programme on BBC2 on 26th August and 2nd September 2022 at 8pm that you must just not miss!

It’s called Bears About the House. #BearsAbouttheHouse

Conservationist Giles Clark (Big Cats About the House) is off on his biggest mission to date:  he’s taking on the illegal wildlife trade and helping to build a pioneering new bear sanctuary in Laos, South East Asia.

Enter Matt Hunt, CEO of Free the Bears.  Free the Bears is an amazing charity which rescues moon and sun bears and cares for them in bear sanctuaries in Cambodia, Vietnam and Cambodia.  And Matt asked Giles Clark to help for 12 months. 

Visit Free the Bears' website
Please donate if you can and/or spread the word.
Thank you! 

Before long, Giles was needed to step forward and help Mary, a 5 month old sun bear who was rescued after her mother was killed in the wild.  Fragile and malnourished, she needed care at home, and that's what she got.

Visit Free the Bears here to find out more
Thank you

We wish everyone at Free the Bears all the best with the programme, thinking of you
and thank you for all you're doing

DONATE TO FREE THE BEARS
Thank you

Don’t miss it – and if you can make a donation, please donate.

Bears across Asia are sold as trophy pets.  They are used for their body parts in restaurants and processed for traditional Asian medicine. 

The most valued part of a bear is their gallbladder.  It stores bile, a digestive fluid which is thought to have medical qualities. Many bears across Asia are kept in bear farms – this enables their bile to be extracted as needed. 

Giles and the team want to stop this.  They are working with the government to shut these bear bile farms down.

It’s a constant effort, and Free the Bears need your help.  Donations in whatever form will help rescue more bears in need of rescue, and care for those who have been rescued, and who need food, care and enrichment activities.

Ways to help

• Spread the word – a bear necessity, of course!
• Treat the bears to a gift from £9.00
• Treat a human to a bear related gift from £2.00 (including soft toy bears)
• Be a bear carer from £5 a month
• Make a donation, a single one or a monthly donation – one day’s food is £3.00. 
• Sponsor a bear from £238 for a year

Visit Free the Bears' website

The 15th June 2022 is International Working Animals Day and you'll find lots of information and how to help on SPANA's website.

The charity works with working animals – hard working horses, donkeys, camels and elephants – in a number of countries where locals are depending on their animals to help them bring in a livelihood such as in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, and Central and South America.

Sometimes these working animals fall sick or get injured – and there may be no veterinary services to help them.  Perhaps their owners can’t afford them.

Enter SPANA which believes that all animals deserve the right to excellent veterinary care.  It gives free treatment to thousands of working donkeys, horses, camels and elephants every year.   They wouldn’t get treatment otherwise.

SPANA is highlighting the many animals in the world who have little or no access to vital veterinary care.  It focuses on the three t’s:

1. Teaching
2. Training
3. Treating

SPANA has mobile veterinary clinics which can travel to animals and help.   The charity provide training to owners in animal welfare and best practice.  They give treatments and check-ups.  They give free vaccinations and worming treatments.

Visit SPANA's website here

5 ways to help SPANA help working animals:

1. Find out about SPANA and what they do and where they work.  Be aware of the work SPANA do –such as providing free veterinary treatments and educating children in animal welfare.  They reach over 30 countries, and have 54 mobile veterinary clinics
2. Find out how you can help – this could include knitting for SPANA with the Big Knit for Vets 
3. Support SPANA through their shop – you could buy Christmas cards for instance or support an appeal or just donate
4. Give a gift of Health and Happiness to a working animal – these start at £5 for a comfy new bridle. 
5. If you’re a vet, you could volunteer!
   

Find out more about International Working Animal Day here

Here's a list of working animal charities

Two thirds of Brits don't realise working animals produce much of their food and drink  (The Mirror, 14 June 2022)

It's back! Don't miss this on Channel 5 on Tuesday 14 June 2022.

The programme is called Elephant Hospital and it's the world's largest elephant hospital nestled in the forests of Thailand in Lampang. It's open 24/7 and is a sort of NHS for elephants. The team of highly skilled and very dedicated staff never know what sort of problems the elephants will be arriving with but they all do their very best to help them.  

Paul O'Donoghue and Katheirne Connor head back to the hospital for this new series (four parts).  It cares for over 100 sick, injured or neglected animals every year.  And if the elephants can't come to the hospital, the vets go to the elephants!

This is a heart-warming series with uplifting and unexpected stories, be they treating an elephant with cancer or a baby elephant being fed with a giant milk bottle!  There's an elephant with severe diarrhoea, and a male elephant who has been attacked by another bull elephant.  It's all go, as the incredible team try to help each elephant as best they can. 

Find out more from Channel 5

I am looking for ways to donate to this hospital - watch this space

It's supported by Friends of the Asian Elephant and here is their Facebook page.

Their website is here.

#ElephantHospital 

THANK YOU to everyone at the hospital for all you do for these wonderful elephants. 

The World Elephant Day website has LOTS of information about ways to help elephants, whatever day of the year it is so please take a look at it here.

See our list of elephant conservation charities here

How about an elephant conservation holiday? 
Take a look at the range of choices 
with Responsible Travel

You could adopt an orphan elephant
from the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust
Image ©David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust