With Tet break starting this weekend – it means a frustrating delay in the campaign to have a reported 23 bears released from bile farms in Vietnam’s Halong Bay.

It arrives just as reports appear that Vietnam’s government is ready to act.

Reports reaching our Hanoi office suggest that a combination of our report on the state of the remaining bears, diplomatic pressure, media reporting and the signatures of 100,000 international animal lovers have swayed the Vietnam government which is keen to see the matter resolved.

However, Vietnam’s annual Tet break means government offices will be closed from 14 – 23 February to celebrate Lunar New Year.  There remains very little chance of any movement during this time.

Animals Asia Vietnam Director Tuan Bendixsen said:

“Our most recent meetings with officials saw widespread agreement that the law is firmly on our side and support for the transfer of the bears to our nearby sanctuary. This leaves us hopeful that there is now a will to resolve the matter.

“Sadly, over Tet we can only anxiously wait and hope that the increased scrutiny on these farmers means that any future deaths might have serious repercussions for those responsible for caring for the bears. We hope they are now receiving better care but without access to the farms we cannot know for sure.

“It is hard to be patient when we know the awful state of the remaining bears but we must take heart from the fact that we are being heard. The task now is to make sure that this dilemma doesn’t go away and that we are prepared to keep up the pressure when normal business resumes in the Year of the Goat.”

The matter continues to be played out via Vietnam’s media with one newspaper indulging the farmer’s plea for compensation now that he can no longer extract bile for paying customers to buy.  Bile extraction is illegal in Vietnam as is his request for payment for the bears – who are actually owned by the state.

Tuan added:

“There has been the suggestion that perhaps a financial agreement could be reached. This can’t be done primarily as the buying and selling of these animals is illegal, but secondly it would also put a price on the heads of all bears – including those in the wild. To create a market for bears would continue to fuel the bear bile industry – not help us end it.

“We are seeing an increased understanding that this can be taken back to a simple argument. These farmers were trusted with bears. They were not allowed to extract bile from them and they were duty bound to care for them.  They have failed on both fronts.  The government knows it and ultimately, it must do the right thing and remove the bears from harm.”

If you haven’t already, please add your name to the open letter to Vietnam's Prime Minister requesting that he steps in and forces the release of the Halong Bay bears.

BACK