The bear rescue center in Tam Dao (Vietnam) is located about 70 kilometers from the capital, Hanoi.
It has an area of nearly 30,000 square meters, and bears are rehabilitated within it, with comfortable dens and semi-natural enclosures. There are currently about 200 individuals housed and they have all been rescued from the bile extraction breeding industry.
The center is run by Animals Asia Foundation, which is waiting for the operation of the bear rescue center that has been built within the Bach Ma national park.
The bear rescue center in Tam Dao (Vietnam) is located about 70 kilometers from the capital, Hanoi.
The rescue centre covers an area of almost 30,000 square metres and the bears are rehabilitated inside, with comfortable dens and semi-natural enclosures. There are currently around 200 bears housed and they have all been rescued from the bile extraction breeding industry.
The centre is run by Animals Asia Foundation, which is awaiting the operation of the bear rescue centre that has been built in the Bach Ma National Park in Thua Thien Hue Province. According to the Vietnam Forest Protection Department, there are still around 300 bears bred for bile in the country.
The rescued and cured bears come from what are called "bile farms," which are intensive Tibetan bear farms found in Southeast Asia, where such animals are confined in tight cages to extract their bile, an ingredient used in traditional Chinese medicine.
In 1993, the Englishman Jill Robinson was the first to take an active interest in the issue of Tibetan bears and bile farms, founding the Animal Asia Foundation in 1998. This was followed by the launch of the Rescued Bears Recovery Centre in 1999. Negotiations with the Chinese government for the complete and final closure of these sites are reportedly still ongoing