Asian black bear
Five black bear populations, occurring in Kyushu, Shikoku, West-Chugoku, East-Chugoku and Kii areas, were listed as endangered by the Environmental Agency in the Japanese Red Data Book in 1991. Small isolated populations in the Tanzawa and Shimokita areas of mainland Honshū were listed as endangered in 1995. Beyond recognising these populations as endangered, there is still a lack of efficient conservation methods for Japanese black bears.
Mary Hutton (activist)
In 1993, Mary Hutton started a petition at her local shopping mall after witnessing on television the extraction of bile from an Asiatic black bear. The bear was in a coffin-sized cage with its bile being removed via an abdominal catheter. Within months she had thousands of signatures and regular supporters. In 1995, Free the Bears Fund was officially formed. The petition was presented to the Chinese Embassy in Canberra which evoked public and media interest. Mary Hutton continued to raise funds. During this time she was made aware of the dangers facing the sun bear. Mary was asked to help rescue and relocate some sun bears that had been taken from Phnom Penh restaurants. Her work with the bears spread to encompass multiple species including Asiatic black bears, sloth bears, and sun bears. The fund is active in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, India, Thailand, and Kalimantan.