Free the Bears, the not-for-profit charity that helps rescue and rehabilitate Moon Bears and Sun Bears, has welcomed its first residents to ‘Bear House 6’ – a safe and secure 5,000 square metre area funded by AJN Steelstock, and set within the Luang Prabang Wildlife Sanctuary in Laos.

Four rescued Moon Bears, including brothers ‘Thong’ and ‘Ngeurn’ who were rescued from a timber yard and featured in the BBC series, ‘Bears About the House’, along with ‘Pi Mai’ and ‘Ciag Xaug’, moved into their new purpose-built enclosure last Tuesday.

After spending a couple of days getting used to their new surroundings, the four boys were let out on Thursday (10th June) and were quick to explore their new thickly forested home.

In addition to two outdoor enclosures complete with caves, pools and climbing towers, which offer the bears a natural and safe environment to thrive, Bear House 6 also features a number of purpose-built dens containing hammocks for sleeping in, denning boxes, platforms to relax on and automated water drinkers.

With wildlife sanctuaries in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, Free the Bears, has rescued hundreds of bears from a life of misery and captivity. Thanks to the support from AJN, the completion of Bear House 6 is enabling the charity to help meet the demand for safe sanctuary for rescued bears in the region.

Having seen a marked influx of rescued cubs over the past few years, however, thoughts are now turning to additional enclosures at the sanctuary to ensure it has the facilities and opportunities to rehabilitate more rescued bears and aid its government partners to close down more bear bile farms.

For more information about the charity, or to make a donation, visit: www.freethebears.org