DAVE SPIKEY, Pheonix Nights star returned to the UK from a trip to Vietnam and China in November 2007, where he visited cruel bear bile farms as well as two Animals Asia bear rescue centres. Along with his wife, Kay, and the Animals Asia team, including two vets, Spikey visited seven bile farms implausibly situated in the tourist paradise of Ha Long Bay in Vietnam. The bears are kept in small cages and milked for their bile, which is used in traditional medicine. Spikey was clearly shocked and appalled as he walked along row after row of caged bears, 78 of which have been earmarked by the Vietnamese Government for release into the care of Animals Asia, which is completing phase one of a bear rescue centre near Hanoi. DAVE FEEDS A BEAR ON A VIETNAM BEAR FARM Spikey was horrified to see that many of the bears had horrific injuries and were kept without access to water. Some were in direct sunlight, despite the soaring temperatures. Some bears were missing paws from being caught in the wild, some had wounds on their faces from rubbing the bars of their cages in frustration and some had grotesquely bloated abdomens. Both passionate animals-lovers, Spikey and Kay, have adopted two bears and they each picked out “their bear” while visiting the farms. They later visited Animals Asia’s sanctuary near Hanoi, where their lucky bears will live out their lives. Spikey also saw first-hand the difficulties Animals Asia faced in dealing with the bear bile farming industry. Returning unexpectedly to one farm that they had left an hour earlier, he and the AAF team watched in astonishment as the panicked staff ran off leaving behind needles and drug bottles, used in the extraction of bile – a practice the farm had promised AAF and the authorities that they had stopped. Investigating further, they found an unconscious bear that had clearly just been subjected to the agonising procedure of bile extraction. Ironically, he was one of the beautiful bears that had particularly caught Spikey and Kay’s attention. The couple also visited Animals Asia’s China Moon Bear Rescue Centre in Chengdu, Sichuan province, where they saw rehabilitated Moon Bears enjoying their new lives – swimming, tumbling in the grass, climbing and foraging for tasty fruit. They also attended an AAF charity event in a local bar – it was packed with young Chinese listening to bands and intent on raising money to help save China’s tortured bears. Sadly, Spikey and Kay were also present when one of the rescued Moon Bears was euthanised after AAF vets discovered he was riddled with liver cancer – a common cause of death among the rescued, but previously tortured, bears. The two were among the mourners who gathered for “Fuzzy’s” burial later that day. JILL HELPS DAVE TAKE BLOOD FROM "FUZZY" DURING A HEALTH CHECK Last summer, Spikey was guest auctioneer at an Animals Asia fundraising event in Manchester. Kay explained that her comedian husband had to knock back about three requests a day from charities asking for help. But when he heard about Animals Asia and the horrific treatment of Moon Bears, he knew this was one charity he simply had to support. Dave and Kay clearly experienced a roller-coaster of emotions for the entire trip, yet it only strengthened their resolve to help this intelligent forgiving species all the more. We are all extremely grateful to them for everything they are doing to help bring this vile industry to an end. www.animalsasia.org