Resistance Radio - Guest: Jill Robinson

Jill Robinson has been a pioneer of animal welfare in Asia since 1985, widely recognised as the world’s leading expert on the bear bile industry, having campaigned against it since 1993. UK born, Jill arrived in Hong Kong in 1985 and spent 12 years working for the International Fund for Animal Welfare. She founded “Dr Dog” in 1991, the first animal-therapy programme in Asia. More than 1,000 dogs have since qualified as "therapists", visiting hospitals, disabled centres, schools and elderly homes in cities across Asia. In 1993, a visit to a “bear farm” in China defined Jill’s future. Exposing the plight of endangered Asiatic black bears cruelly farmed for bile extraction, Jill embarked on a journey to end the practice. In 1998, she founded Animals Asia, an organisation devoted to ending bear bile farming in China and Vietnam and bring about long-term change for animals by promoting compassion and respect. Today, Animals Asia has rescued over 600 bears, caring for them at its award-winning bear sanctuaries in China and Vietnam, and has signed a formal agreement with the Vietnam government to end bear bile farming by 2022