A short-film has been released by the Education for Nature-Vietnam (ENV) in an effort to raise public awareness of the mistreatment of bears and calling for the end of bear bile consumption.

According to Vice Director of ENV Nguyen Thi Phuong Dung, the film is part of a campaign run by her agency, the World Animal Protection organisation, and FOUR PAWS Viet to stop the captivity of bears and protect wild bears in Vietnam.

The film will be screened on national and local television channels across the country. It will also be posted on EVN’s Youtube channel.

A scene in the film (Source: baomoi.vn)

Since 2005, the Vietnamese Government and non-governmental organisations operating in conservation and protection work have gained remarkable achievements in eliminating the captivity of bears.

According to ENV, the number of bears in captivity in Vietnam sharply declined between 2005 and July 2018 from 4,300 to 780. They had been caged to harvest their bile, a digestive fluid used in some traditional Southeast Asian medicines. Bear bile farming was outlawed in the country in 1992, but owners were not forced to give up the bears they held, only serving to prolong the harmful practice.

In 2017, the Government of Vietnam agreed a plan with the non-profit group Animals Asia to shut down all bear farms in the country and move all remaining captive bears to sanctuaries.

VNF/VNA