Hanoi (VNA) 🍨- Animals Asia on October 16 rescued the last captive black bear in Hai Duong province that was voluntarily handed over by local people to the Vietnamese "bear house" at the Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre No. 2, a newly built facility on the grounds of Bach Ma National Park in Thua Thien - Hue province.

The rescue team named the bear Apollo, which was inspired by the name of a NASA historical program more than 50 years ago, when humans were able to set foot on the moon for the first time. The Hai Duong Forest Protection Department supports all handover procedures and coordinates closely with Animals Asia in rescue work and completing legal procedures to bring bears to Vietnam's "bear house". To date, Animals Asia has rescued and cared for 268 black and sun bears in Vietnam, of which female Apollo was one of the first three bears brought to the Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre No.2 in Bach Ma National Park. The centre has completed construction of phase 1 with facilities, hospital, temporary quarantine area and 2 double bear houses with four semi-natural areas. A representative of Animals Asia said Apollo has been taken care by a family in Kinh Mon town since around 2003 for commercial purposes on a private farm. The bear has a chip in its body and is periodically checked by officers of the Hai Duong Forest Protection Department in accordance with current regulations. On October 16, Animals Asia performed an on-site rescue using anesthesia and clinical health examination for the bear. Before the rescue day, the organisation guided the family on the necessary care conditions, so that the bear would respond to anesthesia, and would be safest for the bear. Apollo weighs about 120kg. During the rescue process, doctors took blood and hair samples to facilitate the testing process. Currently, veterinarians have not detected any unusual signs that seriously affect the bear's health. “Similar to Apollo's mission to send astronauts to the moon and return home safely, we also want to be able to bring all bears to a safe home - where bears can live happily, leaving behind painful memories of the farms,” a representative of Animals Asia said. Later the same day, the rescue team travelled nearly 800km from Kinh Mon town, Hai Duong province to Bach Ma National Park. The group is expected to reach Bach Ma National Park on October 17 afternoon. In 2020, there were seven bears on private farms in the Hai Duong area. Now, thanks to effective advocacy work, the participation of relevant professional parties and the enthusiasm of bear owners to bring a better life to bears, Hai Duong province has officially ended captive bear farming./.