9 black bears start new life in NE China

Nine rescued black bears were moved recently to the Benxi Animal and Botanical Garden in Benxi, Northeast China's Liaoning province, to start a new life.

This move is part of a joint rescue operation between a Beijing animal release team and the Benxi animal and plant park. More than 20 black bears from Northeast China's Jilin province were rescued last year and nine were donated to Benxi.

In the past several months, these black bears have received treatment and basically recovered. Some black bears have adapted to their new homes and started eating apples.

A source from the Beijing animal release team said that this is the first time the nine black bears have been free to play outdoors. Back in Jilin, they suffered bile extraction for years. One bear was tortured for five years until it was rescued last year.

Traditional Asian medicine believes that bear bile can clear heat and detoxify the body, soothing the liver and eyesight and killing parasites. As a result, Asian countries have a tradition of killing bears for bile.

With the development of modern medicine and the rising animal protection movement, bear hunting has gradually decreased in the past 20 years.