On Monday 8 November 2021 Animals Asia was contacted by a police officer with the Uong Bi police force in the Quang Ninh province, four hours east of our sanctuary in Vietnam.

The officer told us his team had intercepted a wildlife trafficking operation and confiscated a moon bear cub who was being held in a bird cage. They had taken the terrified cub to the Uong Bi police station and immediately called Animals Asia. 

Our team sprang into action and while advising the police on the immediate needs of the cub, prepared for his imminent arrival.

Donate today to give this little cub a lifetime of care

Working together to end bear bile farming

Animals Asia had worked side by side with the Quang Ninh authorities in 2015 when we rescued the last bears in the region from bile farming, rendering it bear bile farming free. Although we’ve not been to the province since then, Uong Bi police didn't hesitate to call Tuan Bendixsen, Animals Asia’s Vietnam Director straightaway to organise this urgent and last minute transfer.

Tuan said, “The rescue of this cub clearly shows that Quang Ninh province - formerly the worst region for bear bile farming in the country - wants to stay bear bile farming free. We are grateful for the swift and decisive actions of the Uong Bi police force which display their continued diligence and determination to keep the province free of illegal bear farming.”

Keeping the peace for bears in Vietnam

We’ve nicknamed the cub Yên, meaning “peace” in Vietnamese as he was rescued from Uong Bi city which is home of the Yen Tu pagoda, a sacred buddhist site. This rescue demonstrates that, working together with the local police, we are keeping the peace for bears in Vietnam.

Yên is the 650th bear Animals Asia has rescued. He has been spared a lifetime of cruel confinement and painful bile extractions. Sadly we suspect that this cub has recently been poached from the wild and taken from his mother who probably would have been killed while trying to protect her cub.

Cubs like Yên can look forward to a life of up to 30 years but sadly, without his mother to finish teaching him how to survive in the wild, we will need your help to give him as much love and care as possible to make up for the loss of his mother, and to make those years the best and most enriching possible.

The end of bear bile farming in Vietnam is in sight

This rescue brings the total number of bears being cared for at Animals Asia’s Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre to 188. The sanctuary is now approaching 95 percent capacity which is why we need your help right now. 

We not only need your help to provide Yên with the care he’s going to need for the rest of his life, but also to build another sanctuary in Vietnam so we can rescue the bears who are still trapped on illegal bile farms and bring an end to bear bile farming in Vietnam.

Once all the bear farms are closed, the demand for bears to replenish the farms will no longer exist and cubs like Yên can remain where they belong: in the wild. 

Read more:

Quang Ninh celebrates with press conference

Rescued bear cub Wonder update

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