LamDong (VNA) - A Malayan bear which had been kept in a tourism site in the Central Highlandsprovince of Lam Dong was handed over to FOUR PAWS Viet on November 16.
This is the third bear that have been rescued byFOUR PAWS Viet along with two others in the southern provinces of Ben Tre and DongNai.
The 16-year-old bear, weighing 83kg, wastransferred from a family in Lam Dong to the Prenn waterfall tourism site in DaLat city in 2012.
The same day, FOUR PAWS Viet took the three bearsto its Bear Sanctuary in the northern province of Ninh Binh.
According to Director of FOUR PAWS Viet Ngo ThiMai Huong, the centre has teamed up with other non-governmental organisations(NGOs) to encourage bear owners across Vietnam to voluntarily give up the bearsthey are holding as this is an endangered wild animal that needs protection.
It was estimated that close to 800 bears arestill being kept in captivity in the country, she noted, adding that manyowners now want to transfer their bears and rescue centres and sanctuaries areready to take care of the bears and allow them to live in the naturalenvironment.
FOUR PAWS Viet, an animal welfare sisterorganisation of FOUR PAWS International in Vietnam, was founded in 2017 toimplement a long-term strategy for the rescue of bears being held captive for bilefarming and to make contribution to nature protection and conservation inVietnam.
Prior to this, the NGO had sponsored itsVietnamese partners to build the Ninh Binh Bear Sanctuary. The first phase ofthe site covers 3.6 hectares and offer suitable accommodation for up to 44bears. Once the second phase completes, the entire site will cover an area ofover 9.7 hectares to house up to 100 bears.
According to Education for Nature Vietnam, thenumber of bears in captivity in Vietnam sharply declined between 2005 and July2018 from 4,300 to 780. They had been caged to harvest bile, a digestive fluidused in traditional Eastern medicine. Bear bile farming was outlawed in the countryin 1992 but owners were not forced to give up the bears they held, only servingto prolong the harmful practice.
In 2017, the government of Vietnam agreed a planwith the non-profit group Animals Asia to shut down all bear farms in thecountry and move all remaining captive bears to sanctuaries. -VNA
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Illustrative image (Source: VNA) 
