After 14 years of cruelty, Animals Asia rescued moon bear Sky from a bear bile farm where she suffered alone for half a lifetime.

Yesterday, an Animals Asia rescue team arrived in the far northern province of Lao Cai, Vietnam where they freed moon bear Sky from 14 years of cruelty on a bear bile farm.

In 2004, Sky was poached from the wild as a cub and caged on the farm where her bile was routinely extracted for use in traditional medicine.

After anaesthetising Sky and cutting open the cage, the rescue team loaded Sky onto a truck and transported her approximately 260km to Animals Asia’s Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre in Vinh Phuc province.

Animals Asia Founder and CEO, Jill Robinson MBE said:

“Today a lifetime of abuse ended. No animal deserves to suffer as Sky has and it will be some time till she is strong enough to fully enjoy her new life. She has numerous health conditions which will need to be addressed by our qualified vets, but the important thing is she is safe and this awful farm is now closed forever.”

A veterinarian visually assessed Sky on the farm and found she was morbidly obese which will contribute to a range of potential health issues.

She could also be seen to be suffering from severe scarring and calcification of skin and will likely require dental surgery due to being fed an inappropriate diet for so long.

On arrival at the sanctuary, Sky was taken straight to quarantine where she will spend the next 45 days. Then she will move to a large indoor area to regain her strength and be introduced to other bears before being given the opportunity to once again walk on grass and explore an outdoor enclosure for the first time as an adult bear.

Animal Asia Vietnam Director, Tuan Bendixsen said:

"After enduring extreme captivity for so long, Sky's road to recovery will be long, but the journey has begun. Cruelty ended when we cut those cage bars open. Now this farm is closed forever and Vietnam is one step closer to achieving its goal of a bear bile farm free future.”

Bear bile farming has been specifically illegal in Vietnam since 2005 when every bear in captivity was microchipped. However, without facilities to hold the over 4,000 bears on farms at the time, owners were permitted to keep their bears and the practice was able to persist.

However, in 2017, the government signed a landmark agreement with Animals Asia that will see every farm closed and the remaining 800 bears sent to sanctuaries by 2022 as the country works to eradicate the cruel trade.

In August, Animals Asia successfully rescued five moon bears from a farm in the far southern province of Tien Giang.

Having exposed and opposed bear bile farming since 1998, Animals Asia has rescued over 600 bears in Vietnam and China. Today, nearly 200 bears continue to live cruelty-free lives at Animals Asia’s Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre, while a further 192 are cared for by the charity in China.

Animals Asia’s work to rescue bears from the extreme cruelty of the bear bile industry and give them cruelty-free lives at our sanctuaries is entirely funded by the public. You can help Sky overcome cruelty, send a gift today.

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