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Bear cubs tied in sack and offered for sale in Vietnam:FOUR PAWS rescues two Asiatic black bears from the illegal wildlife trade

Global animal welfare organisation FOUR PAWS has rescued two bear cubs that were confiscated by the authorities in Lai Chau province, North West Vietnam

18.5.2022

London, 20 May 2022 - On 13 May, authorities arrested a man carrying around a suspicious looking sack, in which he had smuggled the female Asiatic black bear cubs. He confessed to having caught them in a cardamom field with the intention of selling them.

After being in contact with the authorities, a FOUR PAWS team made its way from BEAR SANCTUARY Ninh Binh to Lai Chau province in an eleven-hour journey, to collect the bears and bring them safely to a new home and into their care.

Named Bé and Em, the cubs, who are most likely siblings, arrived safely at Ninh Binh on 15 May and will receive all the care they need to grow into healthy bears.

“Both cubs are very small, only weighing 2.4 and 3.3. kilograms but otherwise they are in good health. We will provide them with an appropriate diet so they can grow up healthy. 

At the moment they mostly eat, play, and sleep but we can already see their individual personalities showing. Bé is very playful and confident, while Em, for now, is more reserved but nonetheless curious. 
 We commend the authorities for stepping in and making sure these animals do not have to suffer any further.”

Emily Lloyd, Animal Manager at BEAR SANCTUARY Ninh Binh 

In recent years, the team at BEAR SANCTUARY Ninh Binh has hand-raised five bear cubs rescued from similar circumstances as these and are highly experienced with the needs of such young bears.

“FOUR PAWS welcomes the efforts of the Vietnamese authorities to enforce existing laws and combat wildlife crime. 
 Releasing the bear cubs back into the wild is not possible. There are no safe wild places in Vietnam and no projects set up to reintroduce bear cubs into the wild. 
 We are pleased to have been able to play a part in saving these bears from a life of suffering at the hands of the wildlife trade in Vietnam and provide a safe home for them amongst the bears living at BEAR SANCTUARY Ninh Binh.”

Sonul Badiani-Hamment, Country Director, FOUR PAWS UK.

The legal and illegal wildlife trade in Vietnam is a billion-dollar industry which sees animals taken from the wild and bred in captivity to be sold in markets, restaurants, online and used in pseudo-traditional medicines throughout the country.

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