Seven moon bears freed after 20 years in metal cages

The seven moon bears were handed over to the rescue center by Nguyen Van Thao's family in Phuc Tho District on Thursday.

The bears, registered with the authorities, had been raised for the past 18-20 years.

Thao is the first person in Hanoi to voluntarily stop raising bears for commercial purposes.

The bears were raised in metal cages two meters tall.

According to the Hanoi Forest Protection Department, Thao's family agreed to hand over the bears after several rounds of talks to persuade them.

Experts from Animals Asia watched the bears since the morning to learn their patterns and behaviors, deciding whether to sedate them or lure them into another cage for transportation.

Three bears were sedated and had biological samples collected for health checks.

After spending a long time in cages, their paws were severely damaged in several places.

A man had to cut through a metal fence in order to get the bears out.

A sedated bear is transported to a truck.

The Phung Thuong Commune in Phuc Tho District is home to the highest number of bears in captivity out of all Vietnam localities. As many as 122 bears are being raised by 18 families/farms in the commune.

Four bears were lured into different cages to be loaded onto trucks.

So far, Animals Asia has rescued a total of 251 bears, 204 of which are currently living in a semi-wild environment at the Bear Rescue Center, part of the Tam Dao National Park spanning the northern Vinh Phuc, Thai Nguyen and Tuyen Quang provinces.