Caged since he was a cub - today Bao Lam starts a 1,500km journey to freedom with Animals Asia - you can follow it live.

For the past seven years this has been Bao Lam's home - a small corner of a sizeable resort in Lam Dong Province, Vietnam. His previous owner was in Ho Chi Minh City - it's possible that he was also tapped for bile during that time.

He was microchipped and registered by the authorities in 2005 and it's likely that he was caged for years before that.

Since 2009 this is how he has lived. No direct sunlight, nowhere to climb or nest, no other bears to interact with. In addition, inadequate diet and limited vet care also means that we cannot be sure of the health of the bear.

There are over 1,200 bears kept in small cages in Vietnam – many of these in bile farm cages with others kept as exotic pets or for performance - but for Bao Lam it ends today.

This morning a rescue team from Animals Asia arrived in Lam Dong province and will remove him from his prison. He will then be transported 1,500kms to his sanctuary, Animals Asia's Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre (VBRC), in Tam Dao National Park.

There he will start his quarantine and rehabilitation ahead of a move into an outdoor enclosure with a community of rescued moon bears. Animals Asia has rescued almost 600 bears, the vast majority from bile farms or animal traffickers, in Vietnam and China.

VBRC continues to care for nearly 150 bears. It is anticipated that Bao Lam will arrive in Tam Dao on Friday.

The bear's rescue is thanks to the zoo owners' decision to voluntarily hand over the bear. The bear's name "Bao Lam" was given to the bear by External Affairs Officer and veteran rescue logistics "fixer" Ung Toan The. The name - derived from the local area Bao Loc, Lam Dong - also means protect the forest in Vietnamese.

Animals Asia Vietnam director Tuan Bendixsen is with the rescue and said today:

"Obviously the conditions Bao Lam has faced for so long are shocking to us. However we welcome the decision to hand over this beautiful bear into our care. It is only because of the work we do advocating for bears that people know there can be a better life for these animals.

"Beyond the years Bao Lam has spent at this tourist attraction we know very little. Until we can give him a full examination we can't be sure whether he has ever been farmed for bile. But we do know that after so long living this way - it is likely he will need a great deal of veterinary assistance. We hope, however, that Bao Lam can now enjoy many years of living in the sunshine.

"He will be moved into a transport cage for the 1,500km trip and during that time he'll be given the best diet he's ever enjoyed as well as luxuries he's never known before - including leaves to play and nest with. But, of course, the best will come for Bao Lam after his arrival in Tam Dao."

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