The Free the Bears Fund (FBF) is an Australian charitable wildlife-protection organisation, started by Mary Hutton.
With bears in each country facing a unique set of issues that threaten their future, Free the Bears employs a range of strategies including environmental education, conservation research, and strengthened law enforcement regarding illegal farming.
The FBF was formed in 1993,[1] in response to Australian Television program A Current Affair airing a segment containing footage of moon bears being regularly milked for their bile.
On 23 March 1995, Free the Bears Fund was registered as a not-for-profit charitable organization[2] in Perth, Australia.
Further requests for help arrived, and Free the Bears was soon involved in projects throughout Southeast Asia and further afield.