Imagine living your whole life in a small cage of 4m², it’s almost impossible, right?

Sadly, this has been the hard reality of bear Ben. Ever since he was a little cub, the Asiatic black bear has been looking at the two concrete walls surrounding his cold and iron cage - not one year, not two years, but almost 30 long years.

Our team rushed to Son La province in Vietnam to help the Asiatic black bear Ben. We were able to begin our rescue mission right away, conducting urgent medical checks on him. Our initial apprehensions were confirmed - he is underweight, and an ultrasound of his organs shows that his gallbladder is chronically inflamed. We are almost certain that Ben was abused for his bile. One of his teeth is also broken after many torturous years of biting his metal cage bars.

3rd December 2019: After a 200km journey across Vietnam, bear Ben can begin his new life at our BEAR SANCTUARY Ninh Binh. There is no doubt Ben will need some time to settle in and rest after his journey and huge changes. In quarantine he will be monitored closely by our veterinarians and caretakers and soon, when Ben is feeling more relaxed, a more thorough health check will be carried out to ensure we know the extent of Ben’s health condition and get him on the road to recovery! We can’t wait to see his progress at our sanctuary. Ben will no longer be confined to bars and will finally be able to live in a species-appropriate environment!