NDO – Tien Giang Provincial Forest Protection Department transferred five bears that were held in captivity at a local farm in the province to the Bear Rescue Center in Tam Dao run by Animals Asia, on August 27, marking an end to the bear farming activities at private farms in the locality.

Phan Van Cong, Deputy Director of Tien Giang Provincial Forest Protection Department, expressed his delight with the local people for voluntarily transferring their bears to the authorities concerned.

In just the last two weeks, seven bears have been voluntarily transferred to rescue centers. Earlier, Tran Van Trach, the owner of two bears, was the first bear farmer in Thai Nguyen to voluntarily transfer their bears to the authorities concerned. The two bears were safely transferred to a bear sanctuary in Ninh Binh province run by FOUR PAWS Vietnam, on August 14.

Since the beginning of the year, 13 bears in six provinces have been voluntarily transferred to rescue centres. In particular, Ninh Binh and Can Tho have successfully ended the phase of captive bear farming, increasing the total number of provinces ending bear farming activities to 22 provinces.

Recent successes in Thai Nguyen and Tien Giang show that the coordination of local authorities with non-governmental organisations on bear protection has contributed to accelerating the process of ending bear farming activities in Vietnam.