Bear rescued after 20 years in a tiny cage

04/12/2023

After enduring twenty years in captivity, a dedicated team of wildlife experts and local authorities successfully rescued an adult female bear named Na from a bear bile farm.

For 20 long years, Na endured the confines of her cramped cage, deprived of natural light and the freedom to express her natural behaviors. The conditions were deplorable, with barely enough space for her to move around. She endured all this pain and suffering just so her bile could be extracted for Traditional Asian Medicine.

Na - World Animal Protection / One Touch Connections

Na in her tiny cage on the bear bile farm | Photo: World Animal Protection / One Touch Connections

Together with Vietnam’s Forest Protection Department (FPD), we have been monitoring this farm since 2019. We have spent years trying to persuade the farmer to surrender their bears to a sanctuary where they could receive extensive care and live out the rest of their lives. Sadly, Na is the last survivor on the farm after five other bears died before they could be rescued. But even to change the life of one animal makes all this persistent dedication and hard work worth it.  

On October 17, 2023, Na was successfully rescued from her tiny cage. 

Following her rescue, Na was transferred to a bear sanctuary operated by FOUR PAWS. This sanctuary provides rescued bears with the highest quality of life, offering veterinary care, ample space to roam, and the opportunity to live alongside 45 other Asiatic black bears. 

Ursa Na na gaiola de transporte, durante sua transferência para o santuário

Na being transferred to her new home at FOUR PAWS bear sanctuary | Photo: World Animal Protection / One Touch Connections

Na was in extremely poor health upon rescue. She suffers from multiple severe health issues commonly seen in bile bears, such as chronic osteoarthritis, dental, liver and heart disease. Fortunately, she is now under the dedicated care of professionals committed to her well-being and with each day in care, Na is getting stronger.  

With Na, the most concerning issue is kidney problems, likely caused by years of poor access to fresh water and proper nutrition. Na currently has an extensive medication regime. However, her powerful nose allows her to sniff out which food is combined with medications, leading to challenges for her caretakers to convince her to take them! She is also being fed food items with high water content, such as watermelon, dragon fruit, and ice blocks for both enrichment and to ensure adequate hydration. 

After 30-days in quarantine, to protect both her and sanctuary residents from any potential disease transfer, Na has been transferred to the larger bear house dens. This time in quarantine was also a meaningful transition phase where Na is introduced to larger spaces, around three times the size of her previous space, and introduced to new enrichment items like watermelon, which she has taken quite a liking to! In her new space, she continues to be exposed to new spaces, smells, and new bears, and she is quite curious of it all! 

Thanks to your support, Na will now live a life of peace.  

Sadly, there are still thousands of bears suffering on bile farms across Asia.  

Help free bears from suffering 

As part of an extensive monitoring program to inspect bear bile farms, World Animal Protection together with the FPD have been integral in making headway in ending illegal bear bile farming in Vietnam. The program also provides an opportunity to get bear owners to surrender these majestic animals to sanctuaries for a better life. 

Na’s story is a reminder that bears are still suffering on farms across Asia. Help often comes too late and many die alone and in pain. Our next goal is to take our expertise and efforts to China where an expected 20,000 bears are suffering in bile farms.  

You can help end this cruelty. When you give this holiday season, your gift will be matched* having 2x the impact to help end their suffering.    

Your gift today will have double the impact and will help to:  

  • Encourage Chinese medicine practitioners to choose plant-based and synthetic alternatives instead.  
  • Advocate for a breeding ban in China, to make sure the bears currently in captivity will be the last to suffer such horrors. 
  • Keep up the pressure on the Chinese government to end bear bile farming. 
  • Work with partners to identify safe sanctuaries where liberated bears can live a wild life.  
  • Help protect other vulnerable wildlife species, like lions, tigers and many other wild species from suffering in the traditional medicine industry. 

Your gift today brings us closer to ending the bear bile farming industry for good. Together, we can end this nightmare and give bears the life they truly deserve. 

Match my gift 

*Donations will be matched up to $180,000 until midnight December 31, 2023, thanks to our generous lead match donors, Sakura’s Hope Foundation, The Alan and Patricia Koval Foundation, Anna Saroli, and several anonymous donors. 

Banner photo: World Animal Protection / One Touch Connections 

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