They have never been outdoors. They never ran or played. They are devoid of one or more limbs, because they were probably unscrupulously caught in the forest with leghold traps. They have a long list of ailments, broken teeth from long biting bars and from an inappropriate diet and inflamed gallbladder due to bile extraction
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him
The incredible 2 km journey of the bears, free from a bile farm
They have never been outdoors. They do not have never raced or played. They lack one or more limbs, probably because they were caught unscrupulously in the forest with leghold traps. They have a long list of ailments, broken teeth for having bitten bars for a long time and due to an inappropriate diet and inflamed gallbladder due tobile extraction.
They are two orsi, Yogi and Coco, released from a farm in Vietnam's Ben Tre province. A third bear was also rescued, Bern, who had been locked up for the past four years in a truck park in a town in the province of Ba Ria. His story is almost totally unknown. Perhaps he too has a history of bile extraction.
Yogi, Coco and Bern will join 108 bears at Animal Asia's Vietnam Bear Rescue Center. Furthermore, the specimens have undergone thebile extraction for over 10 years, in total and solitary confinement - and this means that they will have to undergo an operation to remove the now irreparably damaged gallbladder.
It's a long journey but it doesn't mean anything compared to a lifetime. The bears and the team will spend most of the week on the road but hopefully the bears will have many happy years ahead.
Animals Asia Vietnam Director Tuan Bendixsen said:
“We are grateful to the former farmer in the province of Ben Tre for voluntarily entrusting us with these bears. He could have sold them on the black market, so we are particularly pleased to see this kind of compassion for animals that have been exploited for so long ”.
The rescue comes just as Animals Asia is engaged in the battle to free the remaining bears in Halong Bay. In November last year, an Animals Asia dossier reported the very serious conditions in which 49 moon bears found themselves right next to the famous tourist resort of Halong Bay. Since then, at least 30 specimens have tragically died, while one farmer has told the media that he can no longer afford to feed the animals.
Just this month, Vietnam authorities said 1.245 bears are still being held on the country's farms. These figures show an incredible debacle, given that in 2014 the bears were surveyed in 1.987. Almost 750 bears have therefore died in the past year. Bile farms have been illegal in Vietnam since 1992.
To follow the journey click here
Roberta Ragni
Read also:
Moon Bears "milked" for bile in China (video)
Moon bear walks on grass for the first time after 14 years in a cage
