The bears, one female and two male and weighing 120kg each, had been kept in cages for 20 years. 

They will be sent to a bear conservation centre in the northern province of Ninh Binh for special care in the coming time.

According to the provincial Department of Forest Protection, as many as 84 bears were kept by organisations and individuals in Dong Nai. All of the bear are implanted with microchips for monitoring. 

Recently, four bears kept in a family in Xuan Loc district have died of unknown causes. 

To stop the operation of the private bear bile farms and protect wild bear populations, provincial authorities have called on local bear keepers to hand them over to animal conservation organisations. 

Last year, owners voluntarily handed over their 19 bears to relevant agencies and organisations in Vietnam, reducing the number of captive bears to about 750 – a significant decrease from the over 4,300 in 2005.–VNA