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 traumatised 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, Free the Bears was officially formed. Since then hundreds of adorable sun, moon and sloth bears have been rescued from an existence of pain and suffering by Free the Bears and are now safe in sanctuaries in South-East Asia and India. Mary and Free the Bears are responsible for bringing the dancing bear trade in India to an end, an incredible feat given its hundreds of years of tradition. Free the Bears may be an autobiography, but Mary Hutton insists she is not the star of the story and that billing belongs to the bears. However, Mary Hutton's one decision to make a difference has had an extraordinary impact around the world.