A new technology for cataract surgery has enabled a team of vets to restore the sight of rescued moon bears in China.

The new phaco-emulsification kit is a light, portable technology that makes cataract surgery on large animals much more practical.

Claudia Hartley and David Donaldson from the UK's Animal Health Trust charity (AHT) operated on ten bears at the Moon Bear Rescue Centre in Chengdu, China to remove cataracts or correct vision.

Moon bears (or Asiatic black bears) are rescued from bear bile farms in China, where their bile is milked for use in medicines. They are kept in coffin-sized cages and denied regular food or water, which often leads to eye disease and other health problems.

Snoopy, one of the bears operated on, was diagnosed blind in 2003 with severe cataracts in both eyes. Six years later, the AHT team were able to restore her vision.

"On my first visit I saw several bears I knew I could help," said Claudia Hartley. "However the difficulty of getting heavy and cumbersome equipment to China for the surgeries made it virtually impossible.

"This new machine changes that. With it we've already given sight back to bears who have suffered immeasurably. The kit really will revolutionise the way we can treat eye disease in larger animals."

The phaco-emulsificaton kit will also make it possible to control equine recurrent uveitis, the most common cause of blindness in horses, through an operation known as vitrectomy. The AHT is the first place in the UK to offer this treatment to horses.

Claudia added: "This machine will help restore sight to many animals. It's an incredible development for ophthalmologists across the world."

Snoopy (photo © Animals Asia Foundation)