• Nina

It's shopping —er holiday season again. With all the stuff you can buy, why not help animals at the same time? There are plenty of local rescues that need your support. But if you want your gift to have an international flair, check out www.animalsasia.org. Gift giving for a good cause.

Animals Asia Foundation is devoted to the welfare of wild and urban animals in Asia. Their three main programs are End Bear Farming, Cat and Dog Welfare and Action Against Cruelty. The foundation has gifts for sale to help endangered moon bears. Here's more info from a press release:

As many as 15,000 bears, mostly endangered moon bears, are farmed for their bile in Asia. The bile is used in traditional Chinese medicine despite the availability of over 54 inexpensive herbal and synthetic alternatives. In China, the bears can spend more than 30 years in tiny cages and are milked regularly for their bile through crude catheters or permanently open holes in their abdomens.

Animals Asia aims to bring the barbaric practice of bear farming and the bile trade to an end and rescues bears from bile farms through agreements with both the Chinese and Vietnamese governments. The bears are brought to Animals Asia’s Moon Bear Rescue Centers—placid sanctuaries where they may live out the rest of their lives in peace and safety.

Animals Asia is pleased to present a bounty of gift items to help make the world a better place for these sweet and sensitive endangered animals.

Those who purchase holiday gifts that benefit the bears will receive a special card with a picture and information about how their generosity has enriched the lives of the bears—cards may be gifted to others in place of a conventional present. For the shopper with something more traditional in mind for their human companions—Animals Asia offers gifts including plush toys for little ones, clothing, jewelry, and a calendar featuring stunning photography of our resident bears, the proceeds of which benefit the organization’s work.

All items are available for purchase through the Animals Asia website: here.