Bear bile farming is one of the most prolonged welfare issues in Asia. Bear rescue efforts in Vietnam now focus on retiring the surviving moon bears (Asiatic black bears, Ursus thibetanus) from farms where they have spent years in small cages while bile is extracted from their gallbladders.
The problem
- Bile farming has been officially banned in Vietnam since 2005, and the Vietnamese government has committed to phasing out the practice entirely. Several hundred bears still remain on private farms today.
- Bile is sold for traditional medicine, despite the existence of effective synthetic and plant-based alternatives.
- Bears on bile farms typically suffer from gallbladder infections, broken teeth from biting cage bars, severe psychological trauma, and stunted growth.
- Moon bears can live 25–30 years in sanctuary care once removed from the bile-extraction cycle.
How rescue works
Each rescued bear requires a structured rehabilitation programme: surgical assessment of the gallbladder and teeth, careful nutrition recovery, gradual social reintroduction, and species-appropriate sanctuary enclosures with grass, trees, and pools. None of these bears can return to the wild — they will require lifetime sanctuary care.
What WARN is preparing to do
Working with conservation partners, we are preparing a forested sanctuary site in northern Vietnam with veterinary surgery facilities, climate-controlled dens, and quarantine wings. The programme is designed to accept moon bears as remaining farms are closed under the national phase-out. We need supporter funding to make this happen.
We need your support to make this happen
World Animal Rescue Network is at the launch stage of this work. We do not yet have rescue numbers to share — and that is exactly why your support matters now. Every donation helps us put trained teams on the ground, secure veterinary supplies and equipment, and reach the first animals before they are lost.
Donate today to fund our first deployments, or sponsor an animal to back a specific species through rehabilitation. You can also join the network as a volunteer, fundraiser, or monthly supporter.
