What Happens to Bears After They're Rescued From Bile Farming?
The open-walled shed, running the length of a tennis court, appeared forlorn at first glance. Tangled metal wires, tarnished steel frames, and empty petroleum barrels were strewn across the uneven dirt floor. It was a strange place to come looking for bears—but tucked away in a corner, hidden behind a corrugated zinc wall, we found them: two Asiatic black bears in adjoining copper cages.
Wendles had the sweeter face, but it was Bazan who first caught my attention. Her temper matched her namesake—fiery, like the red basalt soil that grows most of Vietnam’s famously bitter robusta coffee. In the 90-degree heat, Bazan paced in quick circles, growling softly. A small crowd had gathered in front of her cage. After 12 years in captivity, she’d come to learn that people usually signaled harm, not help.
“Bears on farms often mistrust people because they think they’re coming to take their had traveled to An Khê, a town in Vietnam’s Central Highlands region, to meet Quoc Viet Le, the owner of a timber construction company who had gotten in touch with the local forestry department to say he wanted to give up his “pet” bears. Now, Ng was there to rescue them to Animals Asia’s sanctuary up north.
