Who We Are

About Us:

Animals Asia is devoted to ending bear bile farming and improving the welfare of animals across Asia. We promote compassion and respect for all animals and work to bring about long-term change.

Founded in 1998, the Animals Asia team has been rescuing bears since 1994. We operate award winning bear rescue sanctuaries in China and Vietnam, and we are the only organisation with a bear sanctuary in China. Our founder and CEO, Jill Robinson MBE, Dr.med.vet. h.c., Hon LLD is widely recognised as the world’s leading authority on the cruel bear bile industry, having campaigned against it since 1993.

Our work focuses on three major programmes:

End Bear Bile Farming

Animals Asia works to end the bear bile trade in China and Vietnam, which sees over 10,000 bears in captivity, kept in cages and other insufferable conditions to have bile painfully extracted from their gall bladder on a regular basis.

We have rescued nearly 700 bears since our foundation in 1998 – Asiatic black bears, commonly known as moon bears, are the main victims of this industry, but sun bears and brown bears are also exploited.

After years of working together to rescue bears in Vietnam, Animals Asia and the Vietnamese government have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to completely end bear bile farming in Vietnam by the end of 2026. This includes rescuing and providing sanctuary for the 300-400 bears that remain on farms in Vietnam, where bear bile farming has been illegal since 2005.

In China, we also have consensus from the authorities to work towards the ending of the trade, rescuing bears to our sanctuary in Chengdu, Sichuan Province.

In both China and Vietnam, we work closely with government departments, traditional medical associations, bile farmers and communities to bring about change, building trust and raising awareness around the animal welfare issues associated with the bear bile trade. We also highlight the dangers that consumption of wildlife products like bear bile can present to humans, and promote the use of synthetic and plant-based substitutes as a humane alternative.

Cat and Dog Welfare

Animals Asia works to end the trade in dogs and cats for food in Asia, collaborates with governments and NGO's to improve the welfare of companion animals, and promotes humane population management.

Captive Animal Welfare

Animals Asia campaigns for an end to abusive animal practices in zoos and safari parks in Southeast Asia, and works closely with governing authorities and facilities to improve animal management and increase awareness of the welfare needs of captive wild animals.

Vision, mission and values

Our approach

Change through empathy:

We work with animal ambassadors who embody the ideal that empathy for one animal can evolve into empathy for an entire species and ultimately for all species.

Negotiation:

We take a non-partisan, sensitive approach in working with governments, authorities, experts and local communities. We work with, not against, people to find sustainable solutions for all parties.

Education:

We inform and empower local communities for the welfare of animals and people, promoting change at the grass-roots level. We promote alternatives to animal products for use in traditional medicine through our Healing without Harm campaign.

Investigation:

We work with vet and bear-care teams, field officers and a network of research scientists, university students, pathologists and traditional medicine doctors to investigate the bear bile industry, the trade in cats and dogs for their meat, and cruelty to animals in captivity – and use this knowledge to fight against these practices.

Our locations

Animals Asia is a registered charity in Hong Kong, Australia, China, Germany, Italy, the UK, Vietnam, and operates in the US through CAF America. With bear sanctuaries in China and Vietnam, we have a total of 413 staff, with 320 based in China and Vietnam, 35 in our Hong Kong headquarters and 58 across other regions.