stop the torture and farming of bears in China for their bile.

Harbourfront Restaurant's Jason Berwick wants people to join a campaign launched by the World Society for the Protection of Animals to stop the cruel practice of harvesting the bile for use in traditional Far Eastern medicines.

He said yesterday: "I am getting a petition together and want to get a letter-writing campaign started. People can either write directly to Chinese president Jiang Zemin or to me and I will forward it.'' Officially 247 bear farms exist in China housing 7,002 bears but this figure is believed to be much higher. Wild bear population estimates range from less than 20,000 to more than 60,000.

The bears are farmed for their bile which contains UrsoDeoxycholic Acid (UDCA) which is used in traditional Chinese medicine despite the existence of at least 75 herbal alternatives and a synthetic substitute.

Bear cubs are taken from their mothers at three months old and are first trained for circus acts. Once they are fully grown the bile extraction process begins with the bears first being stuffed into a small iron bar cage that allows no movement.

The bears are milked twice a day using a surgically made opening through the abdominal wall and into the gall bladder and through a hollow tube or with a steel stick that allows the bile to run into bowls beneath the cage.

Once the bears stop producing the bile they are left to die from starvation or are killed for their body parts.

Letter writers can write to Jiang Zemin, President of the People's republic of China, Nine Xihuang-Chenggen Beijie, Beijing, China, or to Jason Berwick, P.O.

Box 705, HM CX, Par-la-Ville Road, Bermuda.

BUSINESSES REPORT THEFTS CRM Businesses report thefts Office staff at a number of businesses around Hamilton reported thefts of wallets and purses last week.

Police appealed for workers to be more vigilant and to ensure that all valuables were out of view from opportunist thieves passing by.

A Police spokesman said: "A number of thefts have been reported to Police where personal items, such as wallets and cheque books, have been removed from bags kept at various offices.

"These incidents have occurred primarily around the City of Hamilton over the past two days, and have usually occurred while the bags were left unattended in areas that have relatively easy public access.

"Members of the public are reminded that these types of incidents typically escalate around the Christmas season, and should therefore take extra care to secure all valuables and keep them out of sight when leaving them unattended.'' Anyone with information about the thefts, or requiring more crime prevention advice, should call Police on 295-0011.

DELTA FLIGHT CANCELLED FLY Delta flight cancelled A Bermuda to Boston flight was cancelled during the on-going dispute between Delta Air Lines and its pilots.

The Saturday afternoon service was called off because of "crew unavailability'', according to one passenger who was called by the airline hours before the flight.

The woman, who did not want to be named, said Delta offered to re-route passengers via their earlier Atlanta flight.

Services do not not appear to have been affected since then but the stand-off between pilots and Delta continues in the US.

The slow down by thousands of pilots was reported only to have affected domestic services, leading to many cancellations and delays across the US.

Yesterday, Delta was trying to use the courts to halt the action, which was hitting overtime.

ANIMALS ALS