VietNamNet Bridge - Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has directed relevant bodies to ask bear breeders in Quang Ninh to quickly hand over all bears to the Tam Dao Bear Rescue Center.

The decision was made after the local media reported the tragic situation of captive bears at bear farms in the northern coastal province of Quang Ninh.

Bears in captivity at three farms in Ha Long City, Quang Ninh Province starved and died en masse within a short time. Since last November through this January, at least 12 bears died, including four cases on the same day and at the same farm. The remaining bears had many wounds on their bodies, or were severely malnourished and starving, according to Animals Asia.

According to a recent survey by Animals Asia and Quang Ninh officials at the bear farms in the town of Quang Yen in Quang Ninh, most of the bears were hungry and had lost limbs. They also were covered with wounds, had bare foreheads and shook their heads repeatedly and rubbed their bodies against the cage again and again.

The risk of death for this group of bears is very high, causing negative consequences for the conservation of bears in Vietnam. Notably, the mass death of bears posed a question on whether the farms tried to kill bears for the purpose of selling body organs.

Animals Asia has called for support from local and international communities and the Vietnamese Government to quickly close bear farms in Quang Ninh and take the bears to the Vietnam Bear Rescue Center.

According to other statistics, by the end of 2013 there were 152 bears in Quang Ninh. By November 2014, the number fell to 82. The latest report of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Quang Ninh said the province now has only 48 bears owned by 18 people.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development reported the situation to the Prime Minister and proposed to transfer the remaining bears in Quang Ninh to the Vietnam Bear Rescue Center in Tam Dao, Vinh Phuc province. The proposal was approved.

The deadline for the handover of bears is September 2015.

Animals Asia in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development built the Vietnam Bear Rescue Center in Tam Dao National Park in Vinh Phuc province in 2006. The center has rescued more than 100 bears.

The Forest Protection Agency of Vietnam said more than 2,000 bears are imprisoned at bear farms.

Minh Thuy