A West-based charity leading the fight to save China's moon bears celebrates its 10th anniversary today.

Staff at Animals Asia, which was founded by Somerset campaigner Jill Robinson MBE, have spent the last decade working to free abused bears and look after neglected animals.

Just down the road from the Moon Bear Sanctuary in Chengdu, the Olympics get under way today – as charity workers face their own sporty challenge.

To mark the milestone, all West-based staff are taking part in the Three Peaks Challenge this weekend.

It is hoped they will raise hundreds of pounds to help keep the charity going strong.

Animals Asia works with local governments in China and Vietnam to bring an end to the farming of endangered Asiatic black bears for their bile and the slaughter of dogs and cats for meat and fur.

A spokesman for the charity said: "While the world celebrates two weeks of sporting excellence, over 7,000 endangered Asiatic black bears still languish in the torturous conditions of the farms, unable to flex their limbs and still being milked for their bile as an ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine.

"Despite the many setbacks en route, Animals Asia has come a long way over the past decade, growing from a handful of people working out of a house in rural Hong Kong to a team of more than 200 animal welfare professionals working in Asia, the UK, Germany, the US and Australia.

"The foundation has built two world-class bear sanctuaries – in China and Vietnam – hundreds of moon bears have been rescued from lives of torture on bile farms."

Ms Robinson has already helped persuade the Vietnamese government to declare bear farming illegal and is currently in the country to negotiate for the release of the first 80 bears to the new sanctuary near Hanoi.

This year has proved to be the busiest yet for the Animals Asia team as they found themselves at the centre of May's massive earthquake in China. After discovering all staff and bears were safe, a team of volunteers headed towards the epicentre to help the devastated communities.

After giving medical support to people, the helpers turned their attention towards trapped and stray pets – rescuing more than 150 dogs and cats.

Ms Robinson said: "This past decade has shown what can be achieved by determined citizens who want to create change. 08/08/08 will certainly be a day for celebration for us and our bears, but we are now looking ahead to the next decade. At no point will we be relaxing our goal – and, in the coming 10 years, we hope to bring you the news that bear farming has ended."

For more information, visit www.animalsasia.org