Suffering is finally over for two Vietnamese bile bears, May and Binh Yen, who lived most of their lives in agony on a bear farm in the Vietnamese province of Ninh Binh. In April 2018, we rescued the two Asiatic black bears from their tiny metal cages and brought them to BEAR SANCTUARY Ninh Binh, opened in 2017. May and Binh Yen were the last bile bears to languish on a farm in Ninh Binh province. Their rescue marked the end to the keeping of bile bears in the entire region. Sadly, in other provinces of Vietnam, bears are still suffering on bear farms as humans continue to illegally extract their bile using cruel methods.

Vietnam is one of the few countries in Asia to have taken legal action against the keeping of bile bears. However, it is imperative that existing laws are implemented more consistently. Kieran Harkin, Head of International Wild Animal Campaigns at FOUR PAWS, stated: “We are glad that we were able to end the keeping of bile bears in Ninh Binh with the support of the local authorities. Unfortunately, in many other provinces of Vietnam bile extraction is still happening. We stil have free spots at our BEAR SANCTUARY and we are ready to welcome this many suffering bears to a happy life free of pain as soon as possible. Therefore, with the support of hundreds of thousands of animal friends, we urge the Vietnamese government to vigorously pursue the promised closure of all remaining bear farms.”

After lenghty observation of the behaviour of all three bears, the team at our BEAR SANCTUARY Ninh Binh decided to socialise May with Thai Van and Thai Giang. Now May is able to enjoy the outdoors and beautiful greenery with her two companions. Together they form the first group of three bears at our BEAR SANCTUARY Ninh Binh.

Just like May, Binh Yen is no longer alone. She has befriended bear Misa who was rescued in January 2018 and taken to our BEAR SANCTUARY Ninh Binh. We are so relieved and happy that both are now socialised with other recovering bears. Life is better together – for bears, too.