Animals Asia has announced that it will rescue two moon bears on Tuesday 5 May from a remote island on the outskirts of Bai Tu Long Bay, just north of the country’s most iconic tourist destination, Halong Bay.

The rescue marks the beginning of a recent decision by the Quang Ninh provincial authorities to transfer all 38 captive moon bears in the province to Animals Asia’s Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre – making the province bear bile farm free.

The rescue from Ba Mun island will be the first time animal welfare organisation Animals Asia has ever performed a rescue at sea, and has been described as the most challenging they will ever perform.

Animals Asia Vietnam Director Tuan Bendixsen said:

“We’ve rescued 124 bears in Vietnam alone, but have never faced a challenge like this one. The remote location, the potential dangers of travelling at sea, a lack of developed facilities and the reported poor health of the bears will make this a huge challenge.”

Two moon bears, a male and a female, are presently being housed at the basic facility on Ba Mun.

The bears are yet to be inspected by qualified vets, but the male is reported to be in poor health. Observers report that on April 15, the bear appeared extremely weak, was suffering from seriously restricted movement and had clear scarring and an open wound on his back.

The two bears are believed to have been transferred to Ba Mun by the Quang Ninh Forest Protection Department around five years ago. The Quang Ninh authorities had previously intended to set up a facility for wild animals rescued from the illegal wildlife trade, but the plans have since been abandoned primarily due to a lack of funding.

The rescue team expects to spend Tuesday night in Halong City before returning to the rescue centre on Wednesday afternoon.

Animals Asia founder and CEO Jill Robinson MBE said:

“Despite the obvious organisational difficulties of this rescue, we’re delighted to finally be able to begin rescuing bears from Quang Ninh province and helping to free the province from the shame of bear bile farming.

“It’s been a huge team effort and we must all remember that it wouldn’t have been possible without the co-operation and dedication of a great many people. Special praise must be reserved for Dr Ha Cong Tuan, deputy Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Mr Dang Huy Hau, Vice Chairman of the Quang Ninh People’s Committee without whom this rescue would not be taking place.  

“Equally important was the contribution of officials at the Forest Protection Department, MARD, the Quang Ninh Government, the 12 ambassadors who supporter Animals Asia’s campaign and of course the 115,000 people around the world who signed our petition. This is a victory for all of us.”

Ba Mun island is one of the largest of the more than 100 islands which make up the Bai Tu Long Bay archipelago.

You can follow the rescue here from Tuesday 8am (GMT +7).

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