These past few weeks have seen indescribably exciting times with people across China now making their feelings very clear and calling for bear farming to end.

Never before have we seen such an outpouring of anger as a result of bears suffering so much pain and disease at the heart of an industry that is unconscionably cruel. We've seen around 8,000 news stories in February alone, with cartoons such as these by Chinese illustrators overwhelmingly making their point.

With the industry fighting back, this is no time to be complacent, and we remain focused and true to the research we have gathered over the years since that first visit to a bear farm in 1993. Of 277 bears rescued in China, 121 have since lost their lives as a result of their physical and psychological torture on the farms.

During our recent press conference in Beijing, independent film-maker Xiong Junhui (Elsa) and team Tu Qiao and Chen Yuanzhong released their undercover film of a two-year investigation of legal bear farms in six provinces across China. The results are chilling. Elsa emphasised that every single second of their brave investigation saw bears suffering great pain.

One unforgettable quote in the film from a bear farmer says it all:

"The wound is left open to allow bile to drip. The wounds are easily inflamed and we have to feed the bears drugs, like penicillin, each week to diminish the inflammation... Contaminated? We don't care whether the bile's contaminated or not. We just care how much bile they drip."

Now, statements such as this, together with the obvious cruelty and deceit of the industry, are infuriating people countrywide.

Click here to read more about the exciting events in China.

Thank you, so so much, our friends and supporters, for never giving up on this issue. Because of your help, Toby and our Animals Asia's front-line staff in China have been able to continue their relentless work, exposing the truth of the industry and the reality of torture for thousands of caged bears.

Most of all, our grateful, grateful thanks to the caring citizens of China for leading and accelerating the call - and my personal thanks to the kind government official so many years ago who wisely advised; "Start the debate in China".

The time for bear farming to end is now.