Microsoft has joined the campaign to end bear bile farming with the development of an interactive website called Exploring Moon Bears. The website explains the plight of China’s moon bears and the work of Animals Asia.
The IT giant donated its time and expertise to put together the site, which is anticipated to be used by millions of children across China. In addition, with an English language version now available, the site can be viewed and used throughout the world. The work showcases features from Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 11, but can work across all browsers on PCs and tablets.
Exploring Moon Bears is designed to look like three books, which present the life of rescued moon bear Jasper and highlight the 15 years of work by Animals Asia. With their colorful stories told through the technological advantages of IE11, support for the latest web standards such as HTML5, and optimized touch support, the site showcases a smooth 3D bears experience to users. This is made possible by the strong technical support of WebGL from IE11, and lets users immerse themselves in the Moon Bear stories.
“If you want to reach the widest possible sector of the population then there is literally no one better to have on your side than Microsoft. We are bowled over by their support. From the outset their enthusiasm for the cause coupled with their immense creativity has impressed us all. We love what they did and now young people across China and the world can use this tool to learn about moon bears. Education is the key to changing the world and ensuring that people know the cruelty and illegality behind bile farming,” says Jill Robinson, Animal Asia founder and CEO.
Robinson adds, “Jasper and the moon bears touched the collective hearts of Microsoft and now thanks to their incredible creativity and hard work they’ve reached millions more people across the world. We can’t thank Microsoft enough for their help. We are truly inspired by their contribution and commitment to ending bear bile farming.”
Logic Design, who had worked with Animals Asia on its 15th anniversary celebrations in China, introduced Microsoft to Animals Asia. They were looking for a project to showcase Internet Explorer 11’s capabilities, and were visibly moved by a visit to Animals Asia’s sanctuary in Chengdu, China, where 140 bears rescued from China’s bear bile industry currently live in their care.
