Animals Asia: Another bear farm closes as 4 more moon bears are rescued from decades in small metal cages (video Bear Breeze's first bath is adorable)

 Photo : Jill Robinson is the founder of Animals Asia

Oriole and Cuckoo during their rescue, conducted in part by Animals Asia<br>Credit: Courtesy of Animals Asia 

Breezer was rescued before. This is a 'must see' video Enjoy!!

After almost 12 months of careful negotiations, a bear farmer finally agreed to release the last two moon bears still held in cages at his home into the care of Animals Asia. The rescue of the bears, nicknamed Cuckoo and Oriole in recognition of their springtime freedom, marks the closure of another of Vietnam’s bear farms in one of the country’s bear bile farming hotspots.

Breaking down the strongholds

The bears were rescued from a farm in Nghe An province, around 375 km south of Hanoi. In May 2025, a national bear farm survey (part-funded by Animals Asia) identified 15 bears remaining across 5 farms in Nghe An province. The region is one of the top 5 bear bile farming areas left in Vietnam. The farmer was so concerned about what his local community would say about his decision to break with bear farming that he even suggested conducting the rescue at night to avoid being seen by his neighbours.

Oriole and Cuckoo spent over 20 years in farm cages

A public opinion survey commissioned by Animals Asia found that, of the national regions of Vietnam surveyed, the Nghe An region was significantly more supportive of bear bile farming than any other region surveyed, with 70% of survey respondents based in the area in favour or neutral about the practice; compared to an average of just 8% across all other regions. Getting bears out of the region is very challenging because the practice is embedded in the socio-economics of the region.

Love and care are what Cuckoo and Oriole need

Cuckoo and Oriole were both in very poor condition, showing many of the physical and psychological scars caused by a life of captivity and harm.They were both underweight and dehydrated, with heavily callused paws and some fractured teeth. But their new life started as soon as we got their cages open.

Our rescue team carried out health checks as soon as the bears were free from their cages