Surgery to remove a moon bear’s diseased right eye was hailed as a success by vets as the bear returned to her enclosure to continue sanctuary life, playing and foraging pain-free.

Since her rescue from a bear bile farm moon bear Sophie has suffered from a cataract in her right eye. Ophthalmologists confirmed that the eye was blind, but as it caused no discomfort to Sophie, surgery was avoided.

That changed in April this year, when staff at Animals Asia’s Chengdu Bear Rescue Centre noticed redness in the eye. Further investigation revealed bleeding and inflammation in the eye which would have caused Sophie considerable pain.

With Sophie’s welfare paramount the decision was taken to remove the eye through surgery on April 22.

Animals Asia Resident Veterinarian Mandala Hunter-Ishikawa said:

“In a situation like Sophie’s, when the eye is blind but causing severe pain, the most humane and medically sound option is to remove the eye. Thankfully, the procedure was fairly straightforward and the whole team was delighted to see Sophie back out in the sanctuary grounds, foraging pain free. To see her comfortable again made the whole procedure worthwhile.”

The sanctuary veterinary team will continue to monitor Sophie closely over the next few months for signs of infection or discomfort.

Animals Asia founder and CEO, Jill Robinson MBE said:

“Sophie is an absolutely beautiful bear who has recovered incredibly quickly from her surgery. She seems much more comfortable than before and has been observed foraging naturally in the sanctuary. Clearly, the tireless efforts of the vet team have paid off and Sophie can soon make a pain free return to her friends and sanctuary life.”

While vets can’t be entirely sure what caused the cataract, it was most likely a combination of malnutrition and stress on the bile farm, while genetics can also play a role.

Today more than 10,000 bears are believed to be kept on bile farms in China. The bears endure regular bile extraction as the liquid produced by their gall bladder is used in traditional medicine.

Bile is extracted using various painful, invasive techniques, all of which cause massive infection in the bears. This cruel practice continues despite the availability of a large number of effective and affordable herbal and synthetic alternatives.

To date Animals Asia has rescued more than 500 bears from the bear bile industry in both China and Vietnam.

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