Five moon bears rescued by Hong Kong-based charity from bile farm in Vietnam after being trapped in cages for 21 years
Animals Asia freed the bears from barren concrete cells where they had been kept behind bars for more than two decades. The group has so far rescued 177 bears from farms in Vietnam
Five moon bears have been freed from a bile farm in Vietnam after more than 21 years in captivity, in one of the most harrowing cases of animal cruelty seen by the animal welfare group that lead the rescue.
Hong Kong-based Animals Asia carried out the rescue last week, freeing the bears from barren concrete cells with rusted bars where they had been kept for more than two decades. A vet said the bears had decayed teeth from decades of poor diet, and from biting their cage bars in frustration.
After a five-day journey, the bears – LeBon, Kim, Mai, Star, and Mekong – are now at the organisation’s Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre, a sanctuary in Tam Dao National Park. Moon bears are listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and categorised as endangered by CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), which is an international agreement between governments.
Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.
Animals Asia’s Vietnam director Tuan Bendixsen, who oversaw the rescue, said: “Ending bear bile farming in Vietnam will require the cooperation of NGOs and government departments and that’s exactly how these five individuals have been freed from so many years of cruelty.”