7 bears rescued from bile farmers

Seven long-suffering Asiatic moon bears have been rescued from bile farms in northern Vietnam as efforts to end the illegal trade are intensified.

Bear bile farming is banned, but it is legal to raise the animals as pets. Illicit Vietnamese farms use that loophole to feed a regional demand for the digestive fluid, which is believed to possess healing properties in traditional Chinese medicine.

The bears were rescued from coastal Quang Ninh province earlier this week and were in extremely poor health, with missing or maimed limbs after being confined in small metal cages where, according to Animals Asia, their gallbladders were likely milked for bile.