Without ventilation, light or fresh air, nothing but the rusty bars of tiny barren cages. Two bile bears, kept in a windowless, wet basement since they were cubs. Bears Xuan and Mo have suffered unimaginably. 

The only time the bears saw the light was when their owner came to feed them or worse: puncture their gallbladder with a needle, a painful procedure to extract their bile. This bile was used for medicinal purposes by the family of the owner. For years these bears have known nothing but pain and abuse. 

During the pre-visit to the farm on site, the team were shocked by the horrific living conditions and what the bears had to go through, there was no question that the bears had to rescued and brought to our BEAR SANCTUARY Ninh Binh.

Following the much planning and preparation needed, our team travelled over 10 hours to arrive in the Son La Province at the residence where the bears were being kept. Arriving at the farm in the early hours of the morning, the two bears were quite calm and unafraid when they met the FOUR PAWS staff. We are all relieved that the rescue mission went well and smoothly. An initial vet check was done onsite, revealing that the bears both had signs of gallbladder disease due to multiple unsanitary and traumatic bile extraction processes carried out on the farm. In addition, Xuan is overweight, has liver disease and his teeth are in terrible condition. Three of his fractured canine teeth will need to be removed in the coming months.  

The long journey to BEAR SANCTUARY Ninh Binh was calm, and the bears happily snacked on bananas and apples. From their experience of life in a tiny rusty cage, this trip much have felt like first-class to them! Now, the bear's hell is over, they can start over and live the species-appropriate life they deserve. We hope the two bears will be able to overcome their hurtful past and fully adapt to their new surroundings soon. We can’t wait to watch them enjoy the upcoming years in our sanctuary!