Un viaggio di 2.000 km per liberare due orsi

25 marzo 2015

The bear languishing in the cage for 10 years in Vietnam's Ben Tre province 3

Animals Asia has announced it will rescue two moon bears from Vietnam’s Ben Tre province on Thursday 26 March.

The bears and rescue team will then make a journey of more than 2,000km up the entire coast of Vietnam to Animals Asia’s sanctuary in Tam Dao.

The whole journey will be shared live via Animals Asia’s website and social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. It’s hoped supporters will be able to offer their support and cheer on Animals Asia’s team.

The rescue crew, including a vet, vet nurse and bear team member, won’t know the full extent of the bears’ injuries and other ailments until able to perform full health-checks under anaesthetic.

However, it is known that both bears are missing limbs, undoubtedly as a result of being poached from the wild.

Both bears are also known to have suffered bile extraction during the decade they spent in solitary confinement meaning they may require surgery to remove their damaged gall bladders.

The bear languishing in the cage for 10 years in Vietnam's Ben Tre province 2

Animals Asia’s Vietnam Director, Tuan Bendixsen said:

“We are delighted that the former bear bile farmer in Ben Tre has chosen to voluntarily transfer these two bears to our sanctuary. She could potentially sell them on the black market, so it is very welcome to see her show compassion for the animals which she has exploited for so long.”

The move comes as Animals Asia battles to secure the release of the remaining bears in Halong City.

In November last year an Animals Asia report detailed 49 moon bears being kept in appalling conditions near Vietnam’s iconic tourist location, Halong Bay.

Since then, at least 30 of the bears have tragically died, while one bear farmer has told the media that he can no longer afford to feed the bears.

Despite the signatures of over 110,000 people urging Vietnam’s Prime Minister to give Animals Asia a mandate to rescue the surviving 19 bears, decisive action is yet to be taken.

The bear languishing in the cage for 10 years in Vietnam's Ben Tre province 1

Animals Asia founder and CEO, Jill Robinson MBE said:

“We are thrilled to be bringing these two lucky bears home. As bear bile farming draws to a close in Vietnam it is vital to remember that every bear’s life is important. Each individual deserves sanctuary – and we’re delighted to have been given permission by the authorities to provide care to these two bears for the rest of their lives. It’s a long journey but not in the context of a life. The bears and team will spend the best part of a week on the road but we hope the bears will have many happy years ahead of them.”

This March, the Vietnamese authorities announced that 1,245 bears are currently being held on farms around the country. The numbers show a marked drop from 1,987 in 2014 – revealing that nearly 750 bears have died in the last year.

Bear bile farming has been illegal in Vietnam since 1992.


INDIETRO