Samstag, 13. Oktober 2012

Stop the Eviction of Animals Asia's Bear Sanctuary in Vietnam....Sign the Petition



Animals Asia’s Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre and sole sanctuary for bears in Vietnam faces eviction and relocation. The director of Tam Dao National Park, Do Dinh Tien, has successfully lobbied the Ministry of Defence to issue an order to evict the sanctuary and its 104 rescued bears.

It is believed that he intends to hand the land over to the Truong Giang Tam Dao Joint Stock Company, of which his daughter is one of the owners. The company intends to build commercial property, including hotels, and a tourism park.

The closure would see 104 bears that have been rescued from the bile industry evicted, 77 local Vietnamese staff made unemployed, and financial losses to Animals Asia of more than US $2 million.

Beside the troubling effects on the bears which would cause a relocation, starting a new centre would take years. 

Only last month on September 13, the inaugural bears' day was celebrated in Vietnam, and here you can see a video where the same park director who causes now so much distress had commented positively on the importance of the bear sanctuary when it was opened.





Photo: EPA/Barbara Walton

Here is "Mara, a moon bear rescued from a bear bile farm where she had a life in a small cage, enjoying a hammock and a branch with leaves, in the bear enclosure at the Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre, operated by international organization Animals Asia, in Tam Dao national park, about 70 kms north of Hanoi, Vietnam, 19 September 2012. Vietnam's Ministry of Defence ordered the eviction of the bear sanctuary from the national park on the grounds of ' national defence '. The Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre hosts 104 bears confiscated from bile farms or given up by pet owners. The sanctuary has been hailed as one of the most successful conservation stories in the South-East Asian country, which is known for a brisk trade in animal products."

Two little Moon bear cubs, Lai Chau and Sin Hoe, were just rescued from smugglers in September.

The two rescued bear cubs getting used to their new home
Photos & more: Animals Asia

Animals Asia is fighting this eviction notice every step of the way, appealing directly to the Vietnamese authorities, enlisting help from the international community, the media and other NGOs. But most of all they need our help.

How you can help

Please write to the Prime Minister of Vietnam, and appeal to him to allow Animals Asia’s Vietnam bear sanctuary, which he previously approved and endorsed, to continue operations, and expand, in line with the government’s original agreement.

1. Email Prime Minister Mr Nguyen Tan Dung
Alternatively, to mail/fax the Prime Minister click here

2. Sign our online petition

3. Spread the word

Learn more on the Stop the Eviction site of Animals Asia or in articles like this one



Sources:
- Stop the Eviction /Animals Asia 
- Bear sanctuary faces eviction /Bulgarian News Agency 09.10.2012

Related:
- Vietnam celebrates inaugural bear day/ WSPA International 13.09.2012


See also:
- Rescue Center for Bears Opens in Vietnam - video on YouTube (2008)

This is a video from the 2008 opening of the Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre. Our friends Jill Robinson and Tuan Bendixon comment on the importance of the sanctuary and its mission. Interestingly the Director of the Tam Dao National Park who has since caused the facility such grief is filmed here commenting on the its very important work.( Thanks for sharing, Else!)

Previous article on the K-files about the project in Vietnam:
- The sad news at the end of February - Kleines Kragenbärchen Tiger...Moon bear cub Tiger RIP/28.02.2010
 
- End Bear Bile Farming/Animals Asia

...
Vietnam: 104 gerettete Bären in Gefahr: Bären als lebende Gallensaft-Spender missbraucht - weiter lesen auf FOCUS Online: http://www.focus.de/panorama/welt/vietnam-104-gerettete-baeren-in-gefahr-baeren-als-lebende-gallensaft-spender-missbraucht_aid_835703.html

2 Kommentare:

Anonym hat gesagt…

Liebe Birgit,

ich habe auch unterzeichnet, um das Schutzzentrum zu retten.
Diese Form der Ausbeutung macht einen unendlich traurig und furchtbar wütend.

Lieben Dank für Deine Mail, Antwort folgt später, sorry - ich bin etwas unter Zeitdruck.

Herzliche Grüße leider nicht bei einem goldenen Oktober
Britta-Gudrun

Dostoy hat gesagt…

Thank you so much for sharing this. I signed!