Free... Srey Ya and Jo-Jo at Todd's sanctuary in Kent (Pics: Frank Thorne)
On menu... sun bear in Phnom Penh restaurant
For sale... caged bear at a shop in Cambodia
By Frank Thorne And Susie Boniface
24/02/2008
Bears Srey Ya and Jo-Jo playfully rub noses as they get their first taste of freedom... after being saved from the cooking pot.
The pair were destined for the tables of restaurants in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, where diners are prepared to pay up to £500 a time for a bowl of Bear Paw Soup.
But instead of ending up in the stomachs of wealthy businessmen - who eat the "delicacy" believing it will make them strong and virile - they were rescued by Briton Todd Dalton, who brought them back to his Rare Species Conservation Trust sanctuary in Sandwich, Kent.
Srey Ya and Jo-Jo are sun - or honey - bears and at just 4ft high are the world's smallest species of bear.
The bears are found in Cambodia, Malaysia, China and Borneo, but their numbers have been decimated by poachers. They are now officially classed as "vulnerable" by wildlife experts.
When a customer orders Bear Paw Soup the animal will have a paw chopped off to make it.
It will then be kept alive until all of its paws are cut off before finally the carcass is sold as meat.
The rear paws are cheaper because the bear walks on them and the meat is tougher.
The front ones are more expensive, with the left paw most prized as the bears tend to lick it when eating honey, which makes the meat more tender.
Srey Ya was just two weeks old when she was captured by poachers who had killed her mother. She was rescued by a bear charity and taken to a local zoo.
Back in England Todd learned of her plight and flew to Phnom Penh. There he also saw 16-month-old Jo-Jo, who had been seized from a cage in a restaurant. The businessman spent thousands of pounds bringing the two bears to Britain to start a breeding programme.
"I was shocked to learn that these cute little bears are on someone's menu," he said. "It's just sickening."
To support the trust or visit the bears see the website at : www.rarespeciesconservationcentre.org
24/02/2008
Bears Srey Ya and Jo-Jo playfully rub noses as they get their first taste of freedom... after being saved from the cooking pot.
The pair were destined for the tables of restaurants in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, where diners are prepared to pay up to £500 a time for a bowl of Bear Paw Soup.
But instead of ending up in the stomachs of wealthy businessmen - who eat the "delicacy" believing it will make them strong and virile - they were rescued by Briton Todd Dalton, who brought them back to his Rare Species Conservation Trust sanctuary in Sandwich, Kent.
Srey Ya and Jo-Jo are sun - or honey - bears and at just 4ft high are the world's smallest species of bear.
The bears are found in Cambodia, Malaysia, China and Borneo, but their numbers have been decimated by poachers. They are now officially classed as "vulnerable" by wildlife experts.
When a customer orders Bear Paw Soup the animal will have a paw chopped off to make it.
It will then be kept alive until all of its paws are cut off before finally the carcass is sold as meat.
The rear paws are cheaper because the bear walks on them and the meat is tougher.
The front ones are more expensive, with the left paw most prized as the bears tend to lick it when eating honey, which makes the meat more tender.
Srey Ya was just two weeks old when she was captured by poachers who had killed her mother. She was rescued by a bear charity and taken to a local zoo.
Back in England Todd learned of her plight and flew to Phnom Penh. There he also saw 16-month-old Jo-Jo, who had been seized from a cage in a restaurant. The businessman spent thousands of pounds bringing the two bears to Britain to start a breeding programme.
"I was shocked to learn that these cute little bears are on someone's menu," he said. "It's just sickening."
To support the trust or visit the bears see the website at : www.rarespeciesconservationcentre.org
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