Rescuing Moon Bears from Asian Bile Farms

Moon bears—also known as Asiatic black bears—are native to the dense forests and mountainous regions of Asia. They are easily recognized by the crescent-shaped patch of fur on their chests, which gives them their nickname.

Like most bears, moon bears are highly intelligent and exhibit a wide range of emotions, including joy, fear, and sadness. Here’s a short video of a pair of rescued moon bears enjoying a tender moment of affection:

Unfortunately, bile from a moon bear’s gallbladder has been used in traditional Asian medicine for over 3,000 years, causing people to kill the bears.

Bear bile farms emerged in the 1980s. These farms keep bears in small cages for their entire lives and force them to undergo repeated or even continuous bile extraction procedures. The conditions on these farms are too disturbing to show, but this video captures the emotional and psychological impact on one captive bear. Don’t worry—this story has a happy ending.

At the peak of bear bile farming, nearly 20,000 bears were held captive, with an estimated 4,300 in Vietnam alone. Fortunately, a group called Animals Asia has led the charge to eliminate these farms, reducing the number of bears in captivity in Vietnam to 228 by 2023.

They’ve done this by:

• Working with the Vietnamese government to help close the remaining bile farms and microchip the remaining bears to prevent illegal trade and ensure compliance with the bile extraction ban of 2005.
• Partnering with the Vietnamese Traditional Medicine Association to end bile prescriptions by replacing them with herbal alternatives.
• Educating the public.

Animals Asia has also rescued 700 bears, bringing them to sanctuaries like Tam Dao and Bach Ma. This is where we return to the story of Dawn, the bear in the preceding video. Here’s what she was like after one year of loving care from the sanctuary staff:

Moon bears can live 30 years or more in sanctuaries like the one where Dawn now lives. This means that, despite being caged for the first 20 years of her life, Dawn may now be able to enjoy a decade or more of love, safety, and happiness.

Hats off to Animals Asia and its staff—not just for helping to stop bile farming but for working to protect all animals in Asia. Theirs is an incredibly noble cause. To learn more about them, visit their website at https://www.animalsasia.org/. For more inspiring videos of their rescued bears, see https://www.youtube.com/@HKAAF/videos.

Together, let’s make a world where no creature is kept as a slave in a tiny cage. We are better than that.