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Free the Bears
In 1993, Perth grandmother Mary Hutton started a petition at her local shopping mall after seeing a news story about the extraction of bile from a caged and traumatized Asiatic black bear. Upon learning that thousands of bears were being held in these horrifying conditions throughout Asia, Mary was compelled to act, and by 1995 she had officially formed the Free the Bears fund.
Free the Bears is the heartwarming story of how one woman's decision to make a difference has made an extraordinary impact around the world.
Free the Bears is the heartwarming story of how one woman's decision to make a difference has made an extraordinary impact around the world.
267 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 3, 2019
Mission of Free The Bears: To protect, preserve and enrich the lives of bears throughout the world'.
Today I am proud to talk about the book 'Free The Bears', the story of a rescue organisation which I have supported for twenty years. This fascinating and often heartbreaking read is about a long hard battle to better the lot of cruelly treated animals.
It is now widely known that for the sake of the supposed 'properties' of their bile thousands of bears have been imprisoned and cruelly treated. In Perth, Australia, one evening in 1993, Mary Hutton watched in horror as the first footage of the practice played on the TV. 'It was the eyes that did it, those limpid black pools, pleading and frightened'. After weeks of sleepless nights she decided that she 'had to do something'. But what? All she could think of was drawing up a handwritten petition and nervously standing in the local shopping centre.
'Would you like to sign a petition to help the bears in China', I said in a weak voice. 'Too right I would, love! Just give me the bloody pencil'. .. After half an hour people were queuing to sign. Ch. 1
And so it began. A 55 year old housewife and mother found her named linked with the bears in newspapers, even Parliament. 'What can we do to help?', strangers began to ask. 'It was then I realised I could not stop with this one petition .. I had to help free the bears, one step at a time'.
In the early days the small but fast growing group focused on raising money to direct to those on the ground, in particular Jill Robertson who later formed Animals Asia and who has done so much fine work. Out of the blue 'Free The Bears' was asked to help with little Sun bears in Cambodia and destined for a horrible fate (I will not describe it here: it still upsets me). This mission seemed impossible but good people rallied: a member of Parliament, a television crew, an airline, Taronga zoo and more. The saved bears, 'Lucille', 'Victoria', and 'Mr Hobbs' touched down in Sydney in 1997.
Since that time Free the Bears has worked, one step at a time, first in Cambodia then Laos and Vietnam, to build and run purpose designed sanctuaries for the animals. Teaming with local groups and agencies, Free The Bears has helped raise awareness in these nations about their precious wildlife. People are helped too: some of the very villagers who, driven by extreme poverty, once poached bears, are now trained as rangers and diligently protect the wildlife in their territories.
Mary was approached in 2002 by Mrs Maneka Ghandi and Wildlife SOS of India. They wanted to do something both about the plight of sloth bears forced to 'perform' for tourists, and about the poverty of their owners, the Kandahar people. Could Free the bears help? Free the Bears did. More than five hundred bears later, a great day arrived in 2009:
'I watch with a lump in my throat as Raju, the last known dancing bear of India, walks the road to freedom. This is animal welfare history in the making.'
Mary speaks not just of the good days and successes but of the struggles, the disappointments, and of personal loss. We are also confronted, sadly, with the seeming unending capacity of some humans for the ghastly treatment of animals. Some of the rescued bears were so badly injured and weak they could not survive. Others had lost limbs, or had organ troubles, or had lost all their teeth, or were blind. Twenty six years after Mary Hutton stood up alone in that shopping centre, and despite all the work achieved by Free the Bears, and by similar organisations around the world, the need is as great as ever. Yet every single bear rescued can now live a safe and pampered life in a sanctuary.
The light is back in their eyes.
Ways to help: One way would be to buy and read this book and share it about. All proceeds go to the bears. More about this cause can be seen at free the bears. org
Today I am proud to talk about the book 'Free The Bears', the story of a rescue organisation which I have supported for twenty years. This fascinating and often heartbreaking read is about a long hard battle to better the lot of cruelly treated animals.
It is now widely known that for the sake of the supposed 'properties' of their bile thousands of bears have been imprisoned and cruelly treated. In Perth, Australia, one evening in 1993, Mary Hutton watched in horror as the first footage of the practice played on the TV. 'It was the eyes that did it, those limpid black pools, pleading and frightened'. After weeks of sleepless nights she decided that she 'had to do something'. But what? All she could think of was drawing up a handwritten petition and nervously standing in the local shopping centre.
'Would you like to sign a petition to help the bears in China', I said in a weak voice. 'Too right I would, love! Just give me the bloody pencil'. .. After half an hour people were queuing to sign. Ch. 1
And so it began. A 55 year old housewife and mother found her named linked with the bears in newspapers, even Parliament. 'What can we do to help?', strangers began to ask. 'It was then I realised I could not stop with this one petition .. I had to help free the bears, one step at a time'.
In the early days the small but fast growing group focused on raising money to direct to those on the ground, in particular Jill Robertson who later formed Animals Asia and who has done so much fine work. Out of the blue 'Free The Bears' was asked to help with little Sun bears in Cambodia and destined for a horrible fate (I will not describe it here: it still upsets me). This mission seemed impossible but good people rallied: a member of Parliament, a television crew, an airline, Taronga zoo and more. The saved bears, 'Lucille', 'Victoria', and 'Mr Hobbs' touched down in Sydney in 1997.
Since that time Free the Bears has worked, one step at a time, first in Cambodia then Laos and Vietnam, to build and run purpose designed sanctuaries for the animals. Teaming with local groups and agencies, Free The Bears has helped raise awareness in these nations about their precious wildlife. People are helped too: some of the very villagers who, driven by extreme poverty, once poached bears, are now trained as rangers and diligently protect the wildlife in their territories.
Mary was approached in 2002 by Mrs Maneka Ghandi and Wildlife SOS of India. They wanted to do something both about the plight of sloth bears forced to 'perform' for tourists, and about the poverty of their owners, the Kandahar people. Could Free the bears help? Free the Bears did. More than five hundred bears later, a great day arrived in 2009:
'I watch with a lump in my throat as Raju, the last known dancing bear of India, walks the road to freedom. This is animal welfare history in the making.'
Mary speaks not just of the good days and successes but of the struggles, the disappointments, and of personal loss. We are also confronted, sadly, with the seeming unending capacity of some humans for the ghastly treatment of animals. Some of the rescued bears were so badly injured and weak they could not survive. Others had lost limbs, or had organ troubles, or had lost all their teeth, or were blind. Twenty six years after Mary Hutton stood up alone in that shopping centre, and despite all the work achieved by Free the Bears, and by similar organisations around the world, the need is as great as ever. Yet every single bear rescued can now live a safe and pampered life in a sanctuary.
The light is back in their eyes.
Ways to help: One way would be to buy and read this book and share it about. All proceeds go to the bears. More about this cause can be seen at free the bears. org
April 19, 2013
I am an animal lover myself, and cannot stand animals being mistreated. I had a vague idea that bears in Asia were abused for their body parts, but had no idea of the scope and breadth of the issue, and that it goes far beyond what I THOUGHT was the problem. I also had no idea that Mary Hutton even existed! Why is it that we, as Australians, all know who people like Lara Bingle are, whose USEFUL contributions to the world are pretty low, and there are all these wonderful unknown heroes out there, dedicating their lives to important causes and being so inspirational!?
Mary's story is wonderfully told, and her hardworking, humble, gently funny spirit comes across very well. I also really like how Mary tells us that one needs to understand the culture in which the abuse may be taking place (not to be "the great white saviours"), and to offer a solution, it's not just bears that need to be rescued, but people as well. This book has given me a great education, not only on the mistreatment of bears worldwide, the many different types of bears, and their habits. Oh, and what a fantastic cover picture!
Mary's story is wonderfully told, and her hardworking, humble, gently funny spirit comes across very well. I also really like how Mary tells us that one needs to understand the culture in which the abuse may be taking place (not to be "the great white saviours"), and to offer a solution, it's not just bears that need to be rescued, but people as well. This book has given me a great education, not only on the mistreatment of bears worldwide, the many different types of bears, and their habits. Oh, and what a fantastic cover picture!
January 25, 2026
Inspiring and emotional. It's amazing what people can achieve when they put their heart and soul into something. I learnt a lot about the terrible treatment of bears in India, China and South East Asia. I hope one day things change completely and bears will no longer be used for such heinous things, nor poach and hunted for parts.
June 10, 2018
This book is the story about Perth grandmother Mary Hutton and how she became the leader of free the bears movement after coming across some very disturbing footage about the treatment of Asian bears. This is a touching and at the same time heartwarming story of one person actually making a huge difference by simply taking action. It even makes it more incredible that this person managed to do so from the other side of the world and ended up with multiple sanctuaries in Asia for the bears. I worked in one of them as a volunteer few years ago and came across this book. I recommend this book to everyone and especially the ones that are interested in animal rights since this book also tells a lot about the practical perspective of starting a movement and what it actually takes. In addition to the factors mentioned earlier, the 5 stars also came from the very clear written style and how it was really easy and interesting to read it from the beginning to the end.
March 25, 2013
A really insightful look at an issue I have heard of, but never fully knew about or respected enough. I remember reading a short children's book about dancing bears when I was still in primary school, and it was this and the imploring look on the bear on the front cover that drew me in to this book. It was the excellent writing and personal accounts that kept me there. Mary has done some excellent work over the years, and it is all chronicled here. A must for animal lovers, I would seriously recommend this to anyone with animal interests at heart, you'll be converted to Saving the Bears too :)
June 7, 2013
an easy read which gives a personal account of Mary's fundraising learning experience, and describes the sad lives of these unfortunate bears and the numerous bear rescues to the newly built sanctuaries in Asia & India.
It also shows that if you want to get involved in animal fundraising & rescues, just start & learn as you go along as Mary did.
A good read!
It also shows that if you want to get involved in animal fundraising & rescues, just start & learn as you go along as Mary did.
A good read!
July 31, 2013
Began reading this with a box of tissues on my lap.
October 27, 2013
An honest account of one woman's dedication to animal welfare. Moving in places and goes to show you that one person can make a difference.
May 31, 2025
I once knew Mary when I volunteered in the early days for her free the bear fund. Over the years with being sick I no longer attended their Meetings at Ian Cameron’s office, where we brainstormed strategies to save bears and fundraise. I was aware the charity was still there but I didn’t know what they were up to as I focused on my own battles. So it was nice to read the book and see what was happening with the charity and how much it had grown financially to be able to support so many worthy endeavours. While it hasn’t been easy and has been a long slog of continued dedication, I can’t help marvelling how a lot of luck and the right people at the right time have been drawn to the charity. It seems that in this case, the motto embraced by all charities “tell them how bad it is and they’ll be outraged too, and spurred into giving” has worked. How I wish this worked for all worthy charities. It certainly seems that if your charity has a cuteness factor it will get better support. This does not mean it has been easy (just easier) nor does it diminish the efforts of all involved. What a wonderful legacy Mary has created all out of getting off the couch and doing something. I admire that. Sadly the world is still creating bear problems and the charity looks like it needs to be around for a while yet. The book is an easy quick read and flows very well so that people can get an awareness of the problems facing wildlife, the corruption that damages it, and Mary’s own personal story of her family and life and her dedication to her charity.
December 24, 2020
Wow, this was so inspirational! Mary Hutton was an average suburban grandmother, until one day she saw a news item about bear bile farming and decided she should do something about it. What started as a lone woman outside a shopping centre with a clipboard, is now - 20+ years on - a multinational charitable foundation that has saved the lives of many hundreds of bears. The story is fascinating and the message so simple - that really, anyone has the capacity to change the world, all they have to do is make the effort to do *something*, however seemingly small. It is not extraordinary people who change the world, but regular people who care enough to face their fears and doubts and just try.
December 25, 2021
Amazing story. Having been the the laos free the bears sanctuary i was always curious who had started this wonderful charity. And to see that it was so large before social media is amazing.
March 20, 2024
Fantastic. Inspiring, motivational. 100000% recommend, will re-read.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews