The most read Vietnamese newspaper
Edition: International | Vietnamese
© Copyright 1997 VnExpress.net. All rights reserved.
Authorities checked the motorbike of 52-year-old Lo Van Bua in Phu Luong Commune that night and found a carton with two bear cubs, each weighing four kilograms.
Bua said he had bought the cubs from a local for selling.
That morning the province forest protection department handed over a rescued cub weighing five kilograms to Animals Asia, an animal welfare nonprofit.
It had been rescued from a family in Thanh Truong Ward following a tip-off.
Animals Asia said it would rescue another moon bear held captive on a Son La farm since 2000 on Friday. The local forest protection department said the family raising the bear had willingly agreed to hand it over.
Vietnam is home to both the moon bear and the sun bear, species listed as vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
The country banned commercial bear bile extraction in 2005, but the practice remains widespread to this day.
Bile, which is extracted from a bear's gall bladder, is used as traditional medicine.
Veterinarians perform a health check-up on a moon bear cub in Dien Bien. Video by VnExpress
