On Tuesday, Animals Asia rescued the two Asian black bears from a farm in Phu Tho’s Thanh Ba District. The mother bear weighs around 120 kilos while its cub is some 90 kilos. On the same day, they were sent to the Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre in Vinh Phuc Province.
Experts of Animals Asia provided medical checks-up for the two bears before taking them to the Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre.
Animals Asia named the bears Storm and Torrent in order to commemorate the victims of recent storms and floods in the central region of Vietnam.
Phi Manh Tan, owner of the bear farm, said the two bears are among five raised in his farm. The 20-year-old mother bear has been kept in his farm for 18 years. Its child is four years old and was born with the disabled left leg.
According to Tan, he will come to the Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre to visit the two bears in the coming time and if they are in good health, his family will hand over the remaining three to Animals Asia.
Experts of Animals Asia provided medical checks-up for the two bears before taking them to the Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre. However, the animals will have to experience a 45-day quarantine to ensure safety before being officially taken care of at the centre.
Dr. Tuan Bendixsen, director of the Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre, said that so far this year, the centre has received 11 bears, raising the total number of rescued bears to 222.
Currently, around 500 bears are still being illegally kept in Vietnam for bile extraction.
Animals Asia has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to end bear bile farming by 2022.
