I’ve just landed in beautiful Germany and I’m about to start on a whirlwind tour of four German cities, bringing to our supporters here news of our latest rescue. The appalling condition of many of the bears has made us more determined than ever to spread the word about the terrible trade in bile.

But with all the tragic news of the past few weeks, I thought I’d hand over to AAF’s lovely Jude in Adelaide, Australia to share with you an uplifting story from Down Under:

“We all waited, then rejoiced in the good news – more bears had arrived at the China rescue centre! Sadly, as the rescue team took charge of their patients, each day bought shocking reports of the unbelievable condition of the bears and the vet team’s heartbreaking decisions to euthanise some of these precious animals.

We thought some positive messages from supporters in Australia and New Zealand, thanking them for the wonderful work they were doing under such terrible conditions, might lift the team’s spirits and show that we were thinking of them.

As soon as we suggested this to our supporters, a flood of emails began pouring in – and they are still coming today! To date, more than 900 antipodeans have written messages of support and thanks to our wonderful vet team and bear carers in Chengdu.

We printed these out on (recycled) coloured paper, then sent them off to China where the rescue centre staff plastered them over the walls of the canteen and hung them from string as bunting for all to read. A lot of the messages were translated into Chinese.

So to all of you supporters who took the time to write, please know that your words were truly appreciated, bringing tears, smiles and moments of quiet reflection and strength to these brave people at “the front”. Some of the Chengdu staff have told me that they had no idea of the amazing support they had from so far away.

Thanks so much to all of you who cared enough to send in messages. They were an absolute hit with the whole team!”

Also, thanks so much from me (Jill) for all the warm and encouraging messages sent in by blog readers over the past couple of weeks. I’m sorry I can’t reply to you all individually, but I want you to know that your compassionate words and understanding have really meant a lot to us all over these past few sad weeks.