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
In this photo relased by Precision Helicopters Ltd, Wayne Holmes collects Molly from the edge of a waterfall as his dog Bingo, bottom left, stands beside on the Arahura River on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (Precision Helicopters Ltd via AP) The small dog is a rescue dog Bingo.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — When a hiker fell from a 55-meter (180-foot) waterfall in wild New Zealand bush, rescuers were forced to evacuate the badly hurt woman without her dog, which couldn’t be found. After strangers raised thousands of dollars for a search, border collie Molly was flown to safety by a helicopter pilot who was determined to reunite pet and owner.
In this photo released by Precision Helicopters Ltd, Molly is reunited with her owner Jessica Johnston after her rescue from a waterfall on the Arahura River on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (Precision Helicopters Ltd via AP)
A week earlier, an emergency rescue helicopter found the woman with bruises and lacerations after a fall at a rocky spot at the waterfall on the South Island’s West Coast. She was airlifted on March 24 but they were forced to leave without her pet.
Molly was bedraggled and hungry when she was found Tuesday, just a few meters from the spot where the hiker had been lucky to survive.
“I contacted her in hospital and said I’d go for a look for it,” said Matt Newton, the owner-operator of Precision Helicopters New Zealand, which is based at Hokitika Gorge near the Arahura River where Molly went missing. “I went and looked for the dog several times and no avail.”
Unwilling to give up, Newton and his family launched a fundraiser to pay for more flying hours and advanced search gear. Offers of help and donations poured in, with strangers pledging more than 11,000 New Zealand dollars ($6,300) for a search.
It was enough to fund three more hours in a helicopter using thermal imaging equipment. On Tuesday, Newton took to the skies with a veterinary nurse, volunteer searchers and a dog named Bingo in a renewed search for Molly.
“We struck jackpot within about an hour,” he said. “As we made our way up the river, we could see the dog in the thermal and then we could visually see it.”
In this photo relased by Precision Helicopters Ltd, Wayne Holmes collects Molly from the edge of a waterfall as his dog Bingo, bottom left, stands beside on the Arahura River on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (Precision Helicopters Ltd via AP)
There had been no sign of Molly at the waterfall when Newton previously searched the spot, he said. It wasn’t clear if the dog had also fallen from the waterfall or if she had eventually made her way to the spot where her injured owner landed.
The helicopter dropped low enough for a volunteer to disembark with the rescue dog Bingo to help coax Molly to safety and keep her calm.
Newton thought the dog had survived by eating feral animals during her week in the wilderness.
“She knew what we were up to, I think,” he said. “She behaved real well. She didn’t run away and she was pleased to be rescued.”
The dog was in “surprisingly good condition,” the pilot said. He sent word back to the helicopter base, where other volunteers waited to take turns in the search. “Instead we just had a big barbecue and all had a cuddle with Molly.”
Hours after the dog’s rescue, her owner, still battered from her fall, arrived for a tearful reunion.
“I think that’ll speed up her healing process somewhat,” Newton said. “Having your dog back, that’s for sure.”
More than 80 dogs and puppies are finally safe following a multi-property suspected dogfighting bust in Clay and Union counties, Florida, putting an end to the suffering these animals endured at the hands of a brutal and illegal industry.
Search and seizure warrants were executed early in the morning of December 10 across three properties. What responders discovered was deeply disturbing. Many dogs were chained with heavy restraints, left with plastic barrels or makeshift structures as their only shelter. Others stood in their own feces inside filthy outdoor hutches and pens. On one Union County property, two young puppies were found whimpering alone, without their mother.
Across all three locations, responders observed dogs covered in scars consistent with dogfighting. Many were severely underweight and suffering from skin disease, open sores, and fresh wounds. One dog on the Clay County property was missing his foot; veterinarians determined he had suffered a traumatic amputation that had never been medically treated.
Investigators also uncovered clear signs of organized dogfighting, including treadmills and conditioning and breeding equipment on each property, tools used to force dogs into violent combat for human profit.
“Their scars tell a heartbreaking story—the sadness and suffering these dogs have endured is unimaginable,” said Kate MacFall, Florida state director for Humane World for Animals. “This is a complex, multi-agency collaboration, and we are grateful for the Clay County Sheriff’s Office and Union County Sheriff’s Office for investigating and bringing justice to these animals.”
“We take allegations of animal abuse or dogfighting very seriously, and we are grateful to the community members who stepped forward with information that set this investigation in motion,” said Clay County Sheriff Michelle Cook. “We appreciate the USDA and its agents for their dedicated investigative efforts, and we extend our thanks to Humane World for Animals for their invaluable assistance.”
Dogfighting inflicts horrific and often fatal injuries, including deep puncture wounds, broken bones, severe bruising, and internal trauma. Many dogs do not die during the fight itself, but later from dehydration, infection, blood loss, exhaustion, or shock. These dogs are deliberately bred and conditioned for violence from birth, the start of a lifetime defined by cruelty.
Humane World for Animals has documented that organized dogfighting frequently overlaps with other serious crimes, including weapons offenses, gambling, drug trafficking, and violence. Dogfighting is a felony offense, punishable by up to five years in prison for operating fights or for possessing, training, selling, transporting, or breeding dogs for fighting.
This year alone, Humane World for Animals has assisted authorities in Florida, South Carolina, and Indiana with the rescue of nearly 200 dogs from 12 properties linked to suspected dogfighting operations.
Following this rescue, Furry Friends Humane is transporting the dogs to a secure, confidential location, where Humane World for Animals responders and volunteers will provide urgent medical care, nourishment, and comfort. RedRover Responders volunteers will also assist with daily care as the dogs begin their long road to recovery.
Thanks to swift action and collaboration, these dogs will no longer be forced to suffer for a sick and violent industry. World Animal News is grateful to everyone involved in this lifesaving rescue, including Humane World for Animals, RedRover Responders, Furry Friends Humane, and the Clay County and Union County Sheriff’s Offices, as well as the investigators and community members whose courage helped bring this cruelty to an end.
143 macaques rescued from smugglers in Sa Kaeo Thailand
Rangers in Sa Kaeo seize mesh bags containing crab-eating macaques, intended to be smuggled out of Thailand on Friday. (Photo: Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation)
Patrolling rangers rescued 143 protected crab-eating macaques from two smuggling operations in Sa Kaeo and arrested two suspects on Friday.
The first attempt was in Ban Khao Chong Kab village 2, Khlong Hat district, where rangers heard unusual animal cries from a sugarcane forest, Yotsawat Thiansawat, director of the Protected Area Regional Office 1, said.
The team found 10 plastic baskets with blue mesh bags containing 62 macaques—44 males and 18 females—in poor condition due to improper treatment and cramped spaces.
On the same day, a suspicious dark grey Toyota Revo was spotted in tambon Phan Suek, Aranyaprathet district. Rangers noticed the vehicle entering a sugarcane forest, with some individuals unloading blue mesh bags from the truck bed.
When the officials attempted to inspect, the driver sped away but was eventually intercepted in tambon Khlong Nam Sai of this eastern province bordering Cambodia.
Two people on the vehicle, identified only as Suwat, 38, and Suebphong, 40, were arrested, claiming they were only hired to drive.
A search of uncovered 30 male and 51 female weary macaques, along with a small amount of drugs.
All of the seized animals were being cared for at the Wildlife Rescue Centre No.2 in Chachoengsao province, Mr Yotsawat said.
The captured wild monkeys are believed to have been smuggled out of the country for use in traditional Chinese medicine and are also intended for use in laboratory testing abroad.
Authorities rescue macaque monkeys in blue mesh bags from a wildlife smuggling operation in Aranyaprathet district in Sa Kaeo province near the Thailand-Cambodia border on Friday. (Photo: Royal Thai Army)
This is the incredable story of 2 people that ended the horrific cruel practice of dancing bears in India and started Wildlife SOS
1995, Geeta Seshamani witnessed a sloth bear bobbing up and down in the middle of the Delhi-Agra highway. “The poor bear was being dragged along by a coarse rope that was threaded through his bleeding and infected muzzle while his ‘owner’ begged money off the tourists,” she says, with anguish in her voice.
Geeta Seshamani in 2025 (I am so proud of you ) !!The horrific practice of the Dancing Bear—as it was referred to since the bear jumped up and down in pain when their handlers (from the Kalandar community) tugged at the rope—struck a nerve with Geeta. It involved piercing a hot iron rod into the soft muzzle of the bear cub, after which a rope is threaded through it, which is then used to make the bear ‘dance’.
A dancing sloth bear with a pierced and tied up muzzle.
The dancing bear act began around400 years agowhen a nomadic community entered India from Persia and performed tricks to entertain Mughal emperors. Over the centuries, the emperors and kingdoms disappeared, but the ‘dancing’ bear trade remained. This transitioned to cheap street entertainment for tourists. While the practice was made illegal in India in 1972, underground trafficking of the bears still took place.
“I realised this was not just entertainment for tourists but torture and abuse of an endangered wild animal that was being exploited for human greed,” says the co-author of ‘Dancing Bears of India’ and ‘Trade in Bears and Their Parts in India: Threats to Conservation of Bears’.
Since then, Geeta, her old friend Kartick Satyanarayan, and their team at Wildlife SOS have rescued 628 bears. They have rehabilitated the bears and helped provide alternative livelihood options to the Kalandar community — who traditionally captured the bears.
A Kalandar man with his dancing bear entertains a crowd.
The child of a military father, Geeta travelled to many places while growing up. She completed her education at Delhi University and said that she has always been compassionate about animals.
“What I recall as a ‘life-changing incident’ was when I was 20 and saw a dog in pain, after having met with a road accident. The accident had happened right in front of my eyes, and the human responsible had not bothered to glance back. I immediately leapt out of the car, picked the dog up, and took it to the side of the road. Unfortunately, the injuries were fatal, and the dog passed away on my lap,” the 70-year-old laments.
This incident compelled her to become a voice for the voiceless and create an institution that would help such animals in distress. “In 1979, I met a group of school children who were part of a ‘kindness club’ led by Anuradha Modi. Friendicoes SECA (Society for the Eradication of Cruelty to Animals) is one of the oldest animal shelters in Delhi-NCR,” says Geeta who is now the Vice President of the organisation.
Later, in 1995, she and Kartick established Wildlife SOS that runs several projects to support wildlife conservation in India.
In an earlier interview withThe Better India, Kartick also admitted to finding his calling early on when he saw large-scale poaching of wildlife and habitat destruction was doing irreversible damage to ecosystems.
After witnessing the bear in 1995, Geeta went with a filmmaker to a village of the Kalandar community, just 30 km outside Delhi, to find a horrifying reality.
“The bears were tied to sticks andTikar ka ped. They were lying in dirty conditions with swarms of flies around them. And that night that I stayed with them was a life-changing experience. I saw the poverty of the people. The children were pot-bellied. Every household had only five or six vessels and two sets of clothes - if they were lucky. They had bears, owls and monkeys, who were in such bad shape. I was taken aback that so close to Delhi, where we are steeped in privilege, lies this village in abject poverty,” she says.
Kalandars bringing the last dancing bears into BBRC.
Geeta and Kartick eventually investigated the illegal practice of dancing sloth bears from 1995 to 1997. They stayed in over 60 villages across five states — Bihar, Odisha, Karnataka, Haryana and Rajasthan.
“We realised right at the very beginning that if we wanted to help implement India’s wildlife laws to eradicate the illegal and brutal practice of dancing bears, we had to work with the nomadic community that depended on the bears for a livelihood,” says Delhi-based Geeta.
Geeta adds, “Kartick and I travelled for months to remote parts of India, stayed in tents and on railway platforms to gather intelligence. The dancing bear practice was being handed down from generation to generation, thereby preventing youngsters from accessing education. We wanted to ensure a bright future for younger generations while ensuring sustainable protection of the bears.”
The duo’s report was published in 1997 and submitted to the government of India, which got them their support and cooperation. It also helped them establish the world’s largest rehabilitation centre for sloth bears in Agra in 2002.
“The first of the bears started coming in on Christmas Eve in 2002. That was a beautiful blessing. Interestingly enough, our last bear also came in on Christmas Eve in 2009,” Geeta says.
Geeta Seshamani feeding a rescued elephant.
In 2009, the final curtain was drawn on the centuries-old practice in the country, and Wildlife SOS successfully rescued and rehabilitated 628 sloth bears from this cruel industry.
However, a lot of the bears were already infected with tuberculosis. “The Kalandars had tuberculosis, and hepatitis was endemic in the community, and the bears would live with them in their huts. About 50% of the bears were lost due to these diseases. But today, all of the bears in our enclosures are almost 20 years old, with a few turning 30 and 32,” says Geeta, who continues her work to resolveman-animal conflicts.
Helping The Kalandars
To protect the indigenous sloth bear population, efforts had to be made at different tiers. An alternate means of livelihood confirmed uprooting the practice effectively.
At first, the Kalandar community felt threatened by the Wildlife SOS team, who they thought were attempting to take away their only means of survival.
Rose (L) & Elvis (R) play in the sanctuary.
“In the beginning, they couldn’t understand why we wanted to help them, and it took us many years to earn their trust. Whatever little Kartick and my salaries permitted, we used to take small things like helping them with rice or atta. If a village needed water or a tubewell, we’d help them with that. We even helped them make ad hoc temporary toilets, which were essential for the women. Over time they realised that we wanted to help provide a more sustainable solution for their families,” she says, adding that funding from donors and international organisations came only after 2002.
Slowly, the community began to adopt alternate methods of livelihood.
“There was a very old man who took the funds to buy himself a Genset which he would lease out at weddings or events. Highway stalls of boiled eggs and omelette stations and other food items, juice stalls, fruit and vegetable carts were set up. The women were empowered with many skills, seed funds for their small businesses like sewing, block printing. They always did better than the men in accepting this change and turning their investments into profits,” says Geeta, who also helped set up a driving school for the youngsters who learnt how to drive auto-rickshaws.
Along with providing alternative livelihoods for the community, Wildlife SOS has designed and carried out several initiatives to empower the women of the community in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
Geeta adds, “We wanted to wean them off child marriage practices. We asked them how much they spent on marriages, and it was maybe Rs 6,000 to 8,000 at the time. We then assured them that we would pay for the girl’s lehenga and kitchen vessels only if they waited till their daughters were 18 before marrying them off. They agreed.”
Even today, the organisation has to approve 100-200 seed funds and marriage funds every year.
Geeta with a rescued donkey at Friendicoes.
Banks were another foreign concept for the community, which had a low ratio of students completing their education. “In many villages, if the child has cleared his class 8, they can avail of loans from the block officer. So we put them in touch with the authorities, which made them more willing to study. We even pay for everything from the satchel to the sweater to their pens, books and fees on the condition that they educate the girl child too,” says Geeta.
Over 3,000 families have benefited from the initiatives by Wildlife SOS, and over 7,600 children access education which helped change the future for the community.
The Return of Elvis
Wildlife SOS rehabilitated all 628 sloth bears in four large natural sanctuaries across India. Wildlife SOS operates these centres in collaboration with the State Forest Department. They were also able to stop the poaching of the bear cubs from the forests successfully.
But even today, there is a community across the border in Nepal that still indulges in the dancing bear practice. During some festivals, they cross the border and come into some states.
In 2015, the Wildlife SOS anti-poaching unit, ‘Forest Watch’, gathered intelligence about a gang of poachers who had a bear cub in a remote village on the Indo-Nepal border area.
Elvis at the Agra Bear Rescue Center shortly after his rescue.
“We liaised with the Forest Department and local police to launch a joint operation to rescue the cub, who was later named Elvis,” says Geeta, who adds that the King of Rock and Roll was her ‘heartthrob’ growing up.
Elvis was poached from the wild as a cub of barely 6-8 weeks old and was in the process of being smuggled across the international border. His delicate muzzle was already pierced with a red hot iron poker.
“Unfortunately, the poachers had already received word of the raid and had fled the scene before the Forest Department and our team could intercept them. We found Elvis chained to a tree, whimpering softly and scared of being left alone in a half-starved condition,” she says, adding, “Elvis has been hand-reared by our staff and caregivers since then. We can’t release him back into the wild. As he was snatched away from his mother at such a young age, he never had the chance to learn the basic skills of surviving in the wild.”
“Today, it fills my heart with joy to see Elvis, who is almost five years old, living a healthy and safe life in the company of other bears at the Agra Bear Rescue Facility,” says Geeta.
Elvis all grown up.
The septuagenarian describes her journey as a ‘roller coaster ride’ and is still not ready to throw in the towel when it comes to conservation. “I am aware that there is still plenty more to come, and I feel incredibly fortunate to have experienced so much, connected with so many lives and been able to make a difference, no matter how small it may seem,” she signs off.
Across the country, shelters and rescues are facing an overwhelming crisis. While many are aware of the tragic plight of shelter dogs and cats, a less visible but equally dire emergency is affecting another species: pigs. Each year, thousands of pigs, especially potbellied and so-called “mini pigs,” are abandoned, hoarded, bred uncontrollably, or seized in cruelty cases. As the rescue community struggles to keep up, many pigs are falling through the cracks, often landing in high-kill shelters with no escape and no one to save them from this heartbreaking fate.
California is currently at a tipping point, with over 100 pigs facing perilous circumstances as several cruelty cases emerge statewide. In Lucerne Valley, authorities seized 63 potbellied pigs from a neglectful environment, with seven piglets born shortly after arriving at the shelter. Prior to the animal control intervention, rescuers had already removed a few others. These pigs were malnourished, many were pregnant, and all were in urgent need of care. As conditions worsened and the owner refused further intervention, rescuers contacted authorities, resulting in the pigs being placed in a high-kill shelter with limited time and resources to save them.
Against all odds, rescuers with Snouts of Sedona and Wilbur’s Hammie Haven, have managed a miraculous feat over the past few weeks. A dedicated team of sanctuary founders and volunteers successfully relocated 32 pigs to safety, in addition to the original eight rescued prior to the seizure. One of the most heartbreaking moments unfolded when a mother sow rejected her newborn piglets. This prompted an urgent rescue by a partner sanctuary, which is now providing round-the-clock care and pan feeding for the vulnerable young ones.
Rescued pigs at Snouts of Sedona
Unfortunately, the rescue groups have exhausted their financial resources, even using their personal funds to cover emergency transport costs. Because they are small organizations, they are not equipped with staff, leaving them to work long hours to care for the pigs they’ve rescued. There are still an estimated 26 pigs remaining at the Devore Animal Shelter from the Lucerne Valley case, and time is quickly running out.
Meanwhile, the second major case in Lucerne Valley is growing more dire by the day. On a remote desert property with no shelter or infrastructure, over 40 large farm pigs were left in sweltering heat, often without food or water. Despite over two dozen visits from animal control and mounting reports from neighbors, the pigs have not been removed. Tragically, a recent visit by a concerned citizen revealed that only 17 pigs remain. There is fear that the rest were sold for meat. Rescuers are clinging to the hope that some may have escaped.
Elsewhere in California, the situation remains dire. A potbellied pig cruelty case that was initially slated for the Devore shelter in San Bernardino has inexplicably come to a halt. The Bakersfield shelter recently reached out to rescuers regarding an imminent seizure of at least 50 pigs suffering from malnutrition on yet another neglected property. Initial photographs depicted skeletal pigs struggling to survive amidst dilapidated fencing. Thankfully, due to another rescue coming forward, now only 15 pigs remain at the shelter.
This issue isn’t just happening in isolated pockets; it’s widespread. Recently, Snouts of Sedona rescued several abandoned pigs. Among them was Billy, found alone on a property where a house had burned down in Rimrock. The organization also took in a mother Kune Kune pig named Hakuna, and her baby, Matata, discovered wandering at the foot of the mountains in Cottonwood. Just last night, as dusk fell, they managed to rescue the father of the pair.
The situation has taken a dire turn as one rescue organization is closing its doors this week due to the founder’s diagnosis of a terminal illness. The urgency for securing homes for the pigs, as well as financial support, has never been greater.
The rescue community isn’t giving up, but they are at a breaking point. The problem extends beyond the pigs themselves. Despite repeated cruelty reports, few neglect cases lead to prosecution. Even when animals are seized, the individuals responsible often continue to breed or hoard with few consequences. Advocates are urgently calling for legal reforms to break this cycle, starting with lifetime animal bans for repeat offenders and stronger enforcement of animal welfare laws.
What’s Needed Today:
Foster homes, adopters, emergency medical funding, and public awareness are the lifelines these pigs need. Every pig adopted from a sanctuary opens space for another in danger. Every dollar donated helps prevent an already-overwhelmed system from collapsing under the weight of constant crisis.
How You Can Help:
1. ADOPT OR FOSTER A PIG
Organizations such as Snouts of Sedona, Wilbur’s Hammie Haven in Norco, and others throughout California are seeking loving homes for their pigs. These animals are often already spayed or neutered, healthy, and well-socialized, making them ready to join new families.
2. DONATE TO SPAY/NEUTER FUNDS
Each surgery costs hundreds to thousands of dollars, with neuters ranging from $400 to $1,000 and spays up to $2,000. With numerous pregnant pigs, preventing further litters is crucial.
Even offering a temporary space for one pig or driving them to safety can save a life.
4. SUPPORT LEGAL REFORM
Contact your local representatives to advocate for:
• Stronger penalties for repeat animal abuse offenders
• Mandatory spay/neuter before shelter release
• A ban on unregulated backyard breeding of pigs
5. SHARE THIS STORY
Awareness is a powerful tool. Many people are unaware of this crisis, and by increasing awareness, we can garner more support to address this ongoing issue.
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