The stoicism, strength and bravery of moon bears are legendary – sadly it's also one of the reasons why they've been abused by farmers for their bile.

But once they are rescued, this brave front also makes it hard for the vets that care for them to find out when they are sick.

Thankfully, the donation of a custom-made veterinary endoscope is helping combat the problem and improving the welfare of bears at Animals Asia's Chengdu Bear Rescue Centre.

At the end of 2014, the Shanghai AoHua Photoelectricity Endoscope Company visited CBRC to present a $21,000 endoscope customised to accommodate the size of moon bears.

Mandala Hunter-Ishikawa, Resident Veterinarian at CBRC said:

"This gift is fantastically useful for the entire sanctuary vet team. Bears tend not to outwardly express pain, which has made it very difficult for us in the past to diagnose painful stomach ulcerations.

"Using the endoscope during our routine health checks means being able to pick up on subtle changes earlier on, and hopefully prevent prolonged suffering in the bears. By providing better diagnostics, we can provide better medical care and therefore better welfare for the bears."

An endoscope is used to visualise the upper gastrointestinal tract, and would be used if a bear were vomiting, regurgitating, or suspected of having a stomach or esophageal tumor.

The endoscope can also be used to routinely screen bears rescued from the bile industry that are on long-term pain medications, helping vets to rule out stomach or intestinal ulcers.

Animals Asia founder and CEO, Jill Robinson MBE said:

"Everyone at Animals Asia would like to extend the warmest thank you to the Shanghai AoHua Photoelectricity Endoscope Company. It's an extremely valuable gift which will directly improve the welfare of the bears in our care.

"We would also like to say a heartfelt thank you to veterinarians Dr. Zhai Hongjie and Dr. Liu Lang who made this gift possible. Mr. Liu, President of the Federation of the Asian Small Animal Veterinary Association in Beijing, has been an avid supporter of Animals Asia in China and an influential figure who we are delighted to count as a friend."

It is hoped that the Shanghai AoHua Photoelectricity Endoscope Company will be able to provide a similar gift for Animals Asia's second bear sanctuary in Vietnam.

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