For today's post I'm above the surface not below. As I guess you know from previous posts I have filmed often for the Earth Touch "Insider" series and spent many days filming at The WFFT run by the amazing Edwin Weik here in Thailand. The insider series often focuses on wildlife trafficking and the challenges facing those trying to fight the criminal networks that profit from it.
Many species of Asian wildlife are trafficked ultimately for the exotic pet industry. In Thailand you can find all manner of young wild animals being offered openly in markets, pet shops and more recently, online as "exotic pets". I covered Gibbons and Slow Loris' in other episodes and today it's the fate of the poor Asiatic Bear also known as the Sun Bear that I turn my cameras towards.
I didn't realize the extent of the problem until I met Edwin at his animal refuge the WFFT here in Thailand. A huge percentage of the refuge was taken up by bear enclosures. He has more than he can handle and the numbers are growing. As he explains candidly in the interview - people think it's a great idea to have baby bear as a pet, they are cute and cuddly and vey manageable. Well guess what - a full grown bear is the opposite of cute and cuddly - the eat a lot, shit a lot and rip everything to pieces - every day. Now is the time to get rid of the bear! So let's put it in a tiny cage and drop it at the nearest temple. I mean seriously - it blows my mind just how dumb people can be, let alone how heartless and ignorant they are at the same time.
All of the bears Edwin has at the WFFT are rescued from exactly the scenario above, either from a temple that he hears about on the grapevine or from desperate owners looking for a solution to get rid of this suddenly awful pet they thought was a cool purchase one day in Bangkok's Chatuchak market.
The other abhorrent reality of captured bears is of course the bear bile industry. We can thank the Chinese for this outrageous and barbaric practice. Of course there is zero evidence that bear bile does any of the things a Chinese traditional doctor will have you believe - but hey, who needs science when you have witchdoctors prescribing parts from wild animals. Bear bile farms actually keep bears alive in a state of perpetual torture as they extract the bile from the bear's gall bladders for use as a traditional medicine - kind of like how robots used to grow humans in "The Matrix". Amazingly National Geographic reports that the Chinese government have even suggested that Bear Bile is a Cornavirus cure. Unbelievable.
Anyway readers, I leave you with this video - it's the first of two and focuses on the amazing work of the WFFT in Thailand and also the Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Center in Sabah, Malaysia. I hope you like it and once again, the next time you see wild animals in captivity in questionable circumstances - dont encourage the practice by engaging with the owners in any way that perpetuates it. If you are in Thailand you can report it to the WFFT.