A moon bear in a red transport cage gingerly licks jam from a spoon held out by a female Animals Asia team member.

Bears | Jill’s blog | Rescues | Vietnam

Why rescuing a bear takes time – and why it’s worth it

‘Why does it take so long to rescue a bear?’

It’s a question we’re hearing more and more – especially as we move closer to ending bear bile farming in Vietnam for good.

In this short video, Animals Asia founder and CEO Jill Robinson explains why each rescue takes time.

She shares the complex reality behind the process – from negotiating with bear farmers to working with the government – and how decades of advocacy, relationship-building and quiet progress have brought us to this hopeful moment.

Here’s Jill’s message, in full:

‘We completely understand your frustration. It’s heartbreaking to see bears still suffering after all these years.

But rescuing a bear isn’t just about turning up and taking them.

It’s far more complex – and it’s something we’ve been working on for more than 20 years.

While the extraction of bile is illegal in Vietnam, it’s still legal for farmers to keep bears they registered in 2005.

So we can’t just remove them.

These bears are still considered legal property, and we can only carry out a rescue with the full consent of the farmer – and with the presence of Vietnam’s Forestry Protection Department.

Every rescue takes time.

Often months, sometimes years of careful negotiation, education, and trust-building with each individual farmer.

So while it may feel slow from the outside, what’s actually been happening behind the scenes is a deliberate, strategic journey.

We haven’t waited 20 years – we’ve spent 20 years lobbying for stronger wildlife laws, working with government partners, educating communities, and slowly shifting public attitudes.

At the same time, we’ve been creating the conditions that make rescues possible – building sanctuaries, training vet teams, and laying the legal and social groundwork to end bear bile farming in Vietnam permanently.

And we are so close.

With every rescue, every farm inspection, every shift in attitude – we are one step nearer to that day where bear bile farming is a thing of the past in Vietnam.’