Illegal bear bile farming in Nghe An will be completely stopped.
(Baonghean.vn) - It is necessary to propagate and mobilize households that illegally raise bears to voluntarily hand over their bears to the Vietnam Wildlife Conservation Center; Resolutely prevent and prosecute criminal liability, and move towards completely ending illegal bear captivity. That was the direction of comrade Dinh Viet Hong - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee at the meeting to listen to and give opinions on handling the situation of illegally raising bears in Quynh Luu district on the afternoon of April 22.
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| Comrade Dinh Viet Hong - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee chaired the meeting. Also attending were representatives of provincial departments and branches, and Quynh Luu district. Photo: Dang Cuong |
According to the report, in Quynh Luu district there are currently 16 bears/4 households (12 males, 4 females).
From December 12, 2015 to December 21, 2018, the Forest Protection Department coordinated with World Animal Protection Organizations, Forest Protection Sub-Department Region II, Provincial Forest Protection Sub-Department and local authorities to implant new generation chips into all bears in Nghe An province (not implanting chips into 2 individuals raised at the Wildlife Rescue Center of Pu Mat National Park). Basically, all households complied with the regulations on raising bears with chips, under the management of the State.
However, from the notice of wildlife violations by the Center for Nature Education (EVN), on April 10, 2019, Quynh Luu Forest Protection Department, District Police coordinated with local authorities to inspect the house of a household in Quynh Ngoc commune where 9 bears were kept in 9 cages behind the house.
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| Two moon bears were rescued and raised at the Wildlife Rescue Center of Pu Mat National Park. Photo: Archive |
After using a specialized tool to check the chip, 2 bears now have chips (chip codes: 011584 and 009060) and 7 bears do not display the chip number. According to this household, 6 bears were transported from Quynh Yen commune (where he registered with the competent authority to keep bears) to Quynh Ngoc commune and 3 bears were newly purchased since April 2, 2019, and have not been fitted with chips.
Thus, according to current legal regulations, only bears that are registered and have a management chip are allowed to be kept in captivity in facilities in the area. The act of keeping unregistered or unchipped bears is a violation of the law.
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| Quynh Ngoc Commune, where a household currently raises 9 bears. Photo from Google Maps |
After listening to the opinions of departments, branches, and local authorities, concluding the meeting, comrade Dinh Viet Hong affirmed that raising bears without microchips is a violation of the law. In the immediate future, it is necessary to propagate and mobilize this bear-raising household to voluntarily hand over the bears to the Vietnam Wildlife Conservation Center for continued care and nurturing according to the provisions of the law.
On that basis, it is necessary to continue to propagate and mobilize people to comply with legal regulations on bear captivity, disseminate legal regulations prohibiting bear captivity trading; regularly check and update the number of captive bears in the area to detect and strictly handle illegal bear captivity.
At the same time, resolutely prevent and prosecute criminally those who carry out the act of keeping bears without legal documents of origin, ensure that the number of bears kept in captivity does not increase, and move towards completely ending illegal bear keeping.
