Update on Halong Bay bears

To update Horrific events spark rise of animal advocacy in Vietnam,  the Vietnamese authorities have agreed that the bear bile farms in Halong Bay have broken bear-keeping regulations,  paving the way for the bears to be rescued.

A report by Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) details how nine moon bears are being kept in conditions that contravene regulations.

According to the law, the nine bears should now be retrieved by government,  as the state remains the sole legal owner of all captive moon bears in Vietnam.

If the bears were to be retrieved by the authorities, the most likely outcome would be for the bears to be transferred to Animals Asia’s nearby bear rescue centre.

However, the fate of the bears remains in the balance as the report will now be given to the Prime Minister who will decide the ultimate course of action.

As the ANIMALS 24-7 article recounted, Animals Asia in November 2014 inspected 49 bears held in captivity in the Halong Bay area and reported that many were suffering from malnutrition,  open wounds,  and missing limbs.

Since then 30 of the bears have died, leaving just 19 alive in the region.

With bear keepers publicly claiming they can no longer care for the bears or even feed them sufficiently, Animals Asia has been pleading with authorities to be allowed to bring the animals to our award-winning sanctuary in Tam Dao..

––Maya Gottfried
Senior public relations manager,
Animals Asia Foundation
+1 (347) 885-9051
mgottfried@animalsasia.org