CAMPAIGNERS battling to rescue a rare baby moon bear from a factory farm in China staged a family fun day at Southampton Sports Centre.

The baby bear - named Southampton by animal activists - is currently imprisoned in a tiny cage and "milked" for its bile through a rusting catheter permanently implanted into its abdomen.

On Sunday dozens of campaigners from all over southern Hampshire staged the fun day and sponsored walk at the centre in Bassett to help raise the £5,000 needed to free Southamp-ton from captivity.

They were joined by the West End Carnival Band, who marched and played dressed as Rupert Bear to highlight the plight of the animals. If campaigners are successful, Southampton will be freed from the farm and placed in the care of UK charity Animals Asia, at a rescue centre in China.

Campaigner Linda Jane Burr, from Hedge End, said: "I was horrified when I found out about these poor bears. If we can rescue this bear it will be a real achievement for everyone and show that even though we are thousands of miles away we really do care."

Hampshire MEP Sharon Bowles, who is backing the campaign, added: "These bears are being kept in tiny cages and tortured, simply to produce a chemical that is also artificially reproduced with no harm done to these animals."