Six Asian bears rescued in Đắk Lắk Province

ĐẮK LẮK — After 10 years of captivity, six Asian black bears have been rescued from a farm in Buôn Ma Thuột City in the Central Highlands province of Đắk Lắk Province.

Animals Asia, an NGO, said in a statement yesterday that the bears were transferred to its Việt Nam Bear Rescue Centre in Tam Đảo National Park.

It said most of the bears were in poor health after living in captivity at the farm for a long time. The suffered from tooth decay and had injuries on their limbs.  

One male bear had a third of its tongue cut and an infected leg.

This is the second successful bear rescue operation in Đắk Lắc Province, after an Asian black bear was saved from a farm in Buôn Ma Thuột City in September.

Earlier this month, Animals Asia also rescued four Asian black bears from two farms in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai.

Thus far, the NGO has rescued 175 bears, of which 161 are living at the Bear Rescue Centre in Tam Đảo National Park in Vĩnh Phúc Province. The other 14 were rescued just this year from Đà Nẵng City and the provinces of Nam Định, Gial Lai, Đắk Lắk and Lâm Đồng.

The International Union of Conservation of Nature has listed the Asian black bear as a vulnerable species.

Over 1,200 bears have been rescued from bear farms or households. Many bears have been bred for extracting their bile, to be kept as pets or to perform in circuses. —VNS