Thousands of Hanoians call for end to bear farming
More than 5,000 residents in Phuc Tho district of Hanoi have signed their names to a petition calling for an end to bear farming, said Deputy Director of the Education for Nature-Vietnam (ENV) Nguyen Thi Phuong Dung.
Hanoi (VNA) – More than 5,000residents in Phuc Tho district of Hanoi have signed their names to a petitioncalling for an end to bear farming, said Deputy Director of the Education forNature-Vietnam (ENV) Nguyen Thi Phuong Dung.
Dung said on February 13 that the petition wassent to the chairperson of the Phuc Tho district People’s Committee. It calledon authorised agencies to take drastic actions to encourage local bear farmowners to voluntarily hand over nearly 170 bears that remain in captivity,giving them a better life.
She noted that the appeal shows local people’sstrong support of this issue and positive changes in their awareness. Theeradication of bear farming in Phuc Tho, an area of particular concern withinVietnam, will help promote the transfer of captive bears in other localities.
However, this work depends much on efforts byrelevant agencies in monitoring the situation and strictly handling violations,Dung added.
In 2018, 19 bears were voluntarily handed overto relevant agencies and organisations in Vietnam, reducing the number ofcaptive bears to about 750 – much lower than the figure of over 4,300 captivebears in 2005.
Dung said the ENV will hold many activities topromote bear farming eradication this year. Notably, an ongoing letter writingcompetition on this topic has attracted more than 1,000 entries.
She also called on the public to stop using bearbile products which are believed to have medicinal uses, while also popularisingbear protection messages in the community and reporting violations to thehotline on 18001522.–VNA
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Illustrative image (Source: Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre) 
