A woman is preparing to spend five days in chains to highlight the plight of thousands of black bears kept in cages in barbaric conditions.
Katie Warren, 23, of Overdale, in Ashtead, will spend two weekends and a weekday in October with her wrists and ankles shackled with 15 pounds of 2m-length of steel chain "to demonstrate a small fraction of the discomfort some of Asia’s animals are subjected to".
Katie Warren will spend 120 hours in the chains in October
The University of Brighton student aims to use the shackles, which were supplied by her cousin, a farmer, and are designed for pulling tractors, to create a "wild demonstration", which will include taking to the streets of London and Surrey carrying placards with friends who also support the cause.
Miss Warren's brother welded the chains together for his sister to wear
Miss Warren said she wants to educate people about the "horrible" conditions faced by animals through cat and dog farming, Asian zoos and safari parks where animals are made to perform, and, most importantly to her, the lives of the estimated 12,000 Asian black bears held in captivity in China and Vietnam.
She said she her "world view was changed" a year ago while studying psychology, when an internet search on suicide threw up information about "animals running into walls and committing suicide because they have such miserable lives".
The students wants to highlight the plight of black bears which are kept in cages like this in China and Vietnam
She said: "Ever since then it’s changed my outlook on the world. It makes me very uncomfortable.
"Black bears, or ‘moon bears’, are still being kept in barbaric bile farms across China and Vietnam.
"They are kept in tiny cages and milked daily of their bile for use in traditional Asian medicine.
"They spend their three-year life span in cages.
"They are deliberately deprived of all but essential food and drink as thirsty bears produce more bile. When their productivity falls, many are left to die of dehydration.
"I wanted to do something visual to raise awareness and create a bit of a hullabaloo."
Miss Warren said her step-mother and father are supportive of her challenge
Miss Warren is asking for sponsorship for the challenge, with all the money raised to be donated to the Animals Asia Foundation.
For more information about Animals Asia Foundation visit www.animalsasia.org
To sponsor Miss Warren visit www.givey.com/SHACKLESFORBILEBEARS
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