A six-month-old sun bear cub has arrived safely at Animals Asia’s sanctuary in Tam Dao, Vietnam following a two-day rescue including a 500 km journey.

Nicknamed Goldie, the cub was rescued from Dien Bien Province in one of Vietnam’s remotest regions which borders China and Laos. Confiscated by the authorities from a local village - it’s believed Goldie’s mother has most likely been killed by poachers. If the traffickers had not been apprehended then it’s highly probable he would have ended up on a bear bile farm.

Goldie now joins 111 other bears at the sanctuary - rescued either directly from farms, or from traffickers.

Animals Asia Vietnam Director Tuan Bendixsen said:

“In that location, Goldie could have been headed for a bile farm in any number of locations including illegal farms in Vietnam. Now, thanks to the authorities’ vigilance he will have the chance to have as near natural life as possible.

“Great credit to our rescue team.  As we dealt with the worst roads imaginable we were also continuing to ensure that Goldie was fed and looked after. Goldie is sadly a very traumatised bear and is understandably nervous of humans.  We hope that he’ll be able to relax in sanctuary surroundings and be integrated with other rescued sun bears in due course.”

The first stop for Goldie will be a 45-day quarantine period, where he is kept in a den in the cub house, well away from the resident sun bears.

As part of the trip, the team also called in on Na Khoa school in Dien Bien Phu. The team met with local school kids to raise awareness of the plight of sun and moon bears as a result of the bear bile industry.

That same day the team would also be stopped by police. The officer demanded paperwork to prove the team could legally move the sun bear.  It was an act of vigilance that met with team approval.  Such actions had previously led to bear confiscation and subsequent rescues.

The team arrived back around 4pm on Thursday with Goldie immediately transferred into quarantine.

Animals Asia founder and CEO, Jill Robinson MBE, said:

“The Vietnam team never stops. This was their second rescue only days apart - following a five-day-rescue of three bears from the south of Vietnam. We are seeing the tail end of the bear bile farm industry in Vietnam but - so long as young bears like Goldie are being trafficked - there are people out there that think it has a future. Bear bile farming must end.  Goldie will grow up in a safe, loving environment - but sadly there remain thousands of bears in Asia who continue to face the extreme cruelty of the bear bile industry every single day.”

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