Cover Jill Robinson, founder and director of Animals Asia (Photo: Alex Maeland, Styling: Christie Simpson, Hair and Make-up: Gloomy Kwok, Irene Lee at Makeupbees, Styling Assistant: Angela Leung, Outfit: Lemarie jumper available at Lane Crawford)
Jill Robinson, founder and director of Animals Asia (Photo: Alex Maeland, Styling: Christie Simpson, Hair and Make-up: Gloomy Kwok, Irene Lee at Makeupbees, Styling Assistant: Angela Leung, Outfit: Lemarie jumper available at Lane Crawford)
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Jill Robinson, founder and director of Animals Asia has been championing for animal rights, who gained her a spot on The Impact List 2020 for her dedication to improving the welfare of animals across Asia
It wasn’t a background in veterinary science or law that led Jill Robinson to champion animal rights in Asia, but the soft caress of a bear.
When Robinson arrived in Hong Kong in 1985, she was shocked by instances of animal cruelty she witnessed. “I saw dogs that were just thrown away by people who had become fed up with their designer animals,” says Robinson. She joined the International Fund for Animal Welfare as a consultant and also set up Doctor Dog, Asia’s first animal-therapy programme, in 1991.
See also: Introducing Asia's Most Influential: The Impact List 2020
In 1993, she got a tip-off from a journalist about bear farms in the neighbouring Chinese city of Zhuhai. In traditional Chinese medicine, it is believed that moon bear bile can treat a host of ailments, giving rise to a lucrative industry where intestinal acid is forcibly extracted from live bears that are often kept in restrictive cages.
“As I was walking around the basement of the bear farm, I suddenly felt something touch my shoulder. I turned around and a female moon bear had her paw through the bars of the cage, so I just took her paw,” she recalls. “She just squeezed my fingers. How could she be so gentle with the human species that had caused her so much pain? I left thinking that I would never see her again but she changed my whole life: one bear was responsible for starting Animals Asia.”
See also: 5 Hong Kong Charities That Support Animal
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