Monday, September 04, 2006

Calvin Ayre has teamed with world-renowned animal activist Jill Robinson for
a campaign aimed at raising international awareness about the horrific
practice of bear bile farming. Calvin Ayre, the billionaire business mogul
behind the Bodog.com entertainment brand, has teamed with world-renowned
animal activist Jill Robinson for a campaign aimed at raising international
awareness about the horrific practice of bear bile farming. Ayre, who also
serves as chairman of his own international foundation, is in Asia filming a
public service documentary, which will be shown on major networks around the
world this fall. It is simply unimaginable," says Ayre, who was recently
dubbed by Forbes Magazine as one of the world's wealthiest entrepreneurs.
"Thousands of these bears are locked into tiny cages - literally smaller
than they are - and prodded daily in order to extract bile from their gall
bladders. These bears can be tortured this way for up to 20 years, and are
even said to chew off their own limbs because of the sheer pain. Our goal is
to raise international awareness about this horrific practice and spark
discussion about alternatives to the use of bear bile." As chairman of the
Calvin Ayre Foundation, Ayre has been overseas working in conjunction with
the Stop-Bear-Farming organization, and Animal Asia Organization's Jill
Robinson and Annie Mather to fund the construction and maintenance of the
Bodog.com Bear Sanctuary in Vietnam, which is slated to be opened this fall.
Ayre and Robinson have also been filming a 30-minute documentary that will
serve to educate the public on bear bile farming practices, and show how
concerned citizens can help the cause by avoiding the usage of products made
from bear bile. Close to 10,000 bears in China, Korea and Vietnam are being
locked in tiny "crush cages" where bile is extracted from their gall
bladders for use in, among other things, traditional Chinese medicines, eye
drops and hairspray. The Calvin Ayre Foundation is active in supporting
charitable causes throughout the world. Founded by Ayre in 2004, the
Foundation's aim is to achieve meaningful and lasting improvements in the
environment and in the lives of disadvantaged individuals and communities.
The Foundation focuses on promoting greater equity in five broad areas:
Environment, Education, Social Development, Child Welfare and Animal
Welfare.
"Through the Foundation, we're able to cross international borders," Ayre
says. "With fewer barriers, we are better able to offer support for
meaningful charitable causes."

The Calvin Ayre Foundation supports the charitable initiatives of other
organizations, as well as those goals it lays out for its own projects. Some
of the long-term initiatives the Foundation is working on include the
sponsorship of the higher education needs of underprivileged youth.

Other large-scale initiatives the Foundation supports include the
Sponsor-A-School Project and the Sponsor-A-Family Project. These programs
are the core of the Foundation, which directly manages its money and the
allocation of funds to the various initiatives under its mandate.