Halloween hijinks hit our Vietnam and China Bear Rescue Centres!

31 October 2019

Bear enrichment doesn’t come much spookier than this! 

Every day our bears, who  have been rescued from some of the most appallingly horrifying conditions imaginable, are treated to treats, mental stimulation and enrichment that encourages the natural foraging behaviours they would be able to practice in the wild. To celebrate the Halloween season, our bear carers in both our Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre (VBRC) and China Bear Rescue Centre (CBRC) are helping the bears forget their past horrific treatment on bile farms with creepy enrichment treats and decorations.

Lots of the bears love pumpkin so it’s always a welcome treat, except these pumpkins were decorated for added spookiness!

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Treats like carrots and slices of squash were hidden in scarecrows and as an added bonus the bears at VBRC had candy corn ice pops to seek out and devour! Miomojo Bear House at VBRC is sponsored by Italian ethical vegan fashion brand Miomojo and the Miomojo gang were super keen to leave their dens and explore the eerie wonderland of their enclosure.

In China the bears found treat-filled spiders as well as creepy sack-cloth ghosts to contend with. The team at CBRC had as much fun as the bears as they held a costume competition and an epic pumpkin carving session to celebrate the day!

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Our Bear & Vet Team Director at the China Bear Rescue Centre Ryan Sucaet said:

“Halloween is one of our favorite times of the year. We really love to go ‘all out’ and spoil our bears with treats. There is nothing better than watching our usually stoic bears letting it all loose and get into the holiday spirit. And this time around there were lots of spirits! Our wonderful Bear Team created ghosts out of hessian sacks, made paper mache spiders attached to rope webs, scarecrows with straw and witches brooms. 

“At the China Bear Rescue Centre we also hosted an event where 10 students came on site and joined our staff and volunteers in carving jack-o-lanterns! Undoubtedly, the best part of creating all of the enrichment is watching the bears destroy it. And they did not disappoint. There was an eerie feeling watching one of our Tibetan brown bears named Benji placed his forepaws on the face of a jack-o-lantern and then put his full weight down and the pumpkin exploded! These bears that come from such harrowing pasts deserve to be spoiled every day. Happy Halloween from the bears and people of CBRC!”

Amanda Catwell Bear Manager for Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre’s Miomojo Bear House said:

“The bears of Miomojo Bear House are among the most playful and inquisitive at the VBRC. Halloween offers the perfect opportunity to provide them with special treats so they can use all of their senses to explore different tastes, textures and sounds. Thanks to Miomojo’s support, we can  provide these enriching experiences for our rescue bears. As the bears came bounding out for their breakfast, to their delight and not a fright the enclosure was Halloween themed.

“The two scarecrows did not stand a chance from the magical moon bears. Tieu Long was the first bear to take one down, then Ricky rumbled with the remains, throwing the scarecrow’s hessian sack shirt over his body making himself into a ghouly ghost.

“Jenoe decided that a candy corn ice block was number one on his hit list. Climbing up on the platform he accidentally knocked the slippery candy corn to the floor before climbing down and getting his paws on it and devouring it as far as he possibly could.

 We love to see bears having fun and just being bears. As you celebrate Halloween this year, please spare a thought for the thousands of animals who are living in chilling conditions that are beyond the worst horror movie you could imagine. Together we will end the horror and bring joy into the lives of these most precious, intelligent, funny and kind creatures. Thank you all for your support.

The Miomojo Bear House is part-funded by Miomojo – a responsible fashion company from Italy making gorgeous fashion accessories that don’t harm animals or the environment.


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