A scene in the film (Source: baomoi.vn)Hanoi (VNA) – A short-film has beenreleased by the Education for Nature-Vietnam (ENV) in an effort to raise publicawareness of the mistreatment of bears and calling for the end of bear bileconsumption.
According to Vice Director of ENV Nguyen Thi Phuong Dung, the film is part of acampaign run by her agency, the World Animal Protection organisation, and FOURPAWS Viet to stop the captivity of bears andprotect wild bears in Vietnam.
The film will be screened on national and local televisionchannels across the country. It will also be posted on EVN’s Youtube channel.
Since2005, the Vietnamese Government and non-governmental organisations operating inconservation and protection work have gained remarkable achievements in eliminatingthe captivity of bears.
According to ENV, the number of bears in captivity in Vietnamsharply declined between 2005 and July 2018 from 4,300 to 780. They had beencaged to harvest their bile, a digestive fluid used in some traditional SoutheastAsian medicines. Bear bile farming was outlawed in the country in 1992, butowners were not forced to give up the bears they held, only serving to prolongthe harmful practice.
In 2017, the Government of Vietnam agreed a planwith the non-profit group Animals Asia to shut down all bear farms in thecountry and move all remaining captive bears to sanctuaries. –VNA
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