Free the Bears strengthens fight against bile trade with new Laos sanctuary for rescued moon bears
The sanctuary that will house up to 150 rescued bears is under construction in the hills outside Luang Prabang, the former capital of Laos, where the NGO saves bears from the pet trade and bear bile farms
Two Asiatic black bear cubs, barely a few weeks old, were recently put up for sale in the former Laotian capital, Luang Prabang. The twins had been taken from a forest in northern Laos where their mother was killed by poachers. The asking price for the tiny creatures was 15 million Lao kip (HK$14,000) – a small fortune in the impoverished communist nation.
No payment was ever made. Instead, following a tip-off, Free the Bears Fund alerted Laotian officials, who confiscated the animals.
“We received a call and moved fast,” recalls Luke Nicholson, a wildlife expert at the charity, registered in 1995 by Australian activist Mary Hutton. “They were the smallest cubs we’ve ever rescued in this country,” adds Nicholson, the non-profit’s programme manager in Laos. “They required round-the-clock care.”
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Two months on, the two cubs, named Beryl and Bertha, are living at a bear sanctuary run by the NGO just outside town. “Beryl is definitely the naughtier one,” Hunt says. “She’s just trouble – bitey and scratchy. She loves climbing to the top of trees and [she] stay there for ages.”