Free the Bears, the not-for-profit charity that helps rescue and rehabilitate Moon Bears and Sun Bears, has opened the doors to ‘Bear House 7’ – a 6,000 square metre enclosure funded by AJN Steelstock and set within the Luang Prabang Wildlife Sanctuary in Laos.
After spending a couple of days getting used to their new surroundings, the first group of six male Moon Bears – including 10-year-old amputee, Kobe, who has been at the sanctuary since 2012 – were given access to the forest earlier this week and were soon foraging and exploring their new mountainside surroundings.
With wildlife sanctuaries in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, Free the Bears has rescued hundreds of bears from a life of misery and aims to raise awareness of the cruel conditions of bear bile farms and raise funds to aid their rescue and rehabilitation.
Matt Hunt, CEO of Free the Bears, comments, “We’re incredibly grateful for the generous and ongoing support from AJN Steelstock. New enclosures like Bear House 7, and Bear House 6, which we were able to build thanks to AJN’s support last year, enables us to rehabilitate more rescued bears and give them the quality of life they rightly deserve.”
Alan Boyden, Joint Managing Director at AJN Steelstock, adds, “The hideous conditions and environments that some of these rescued bears have been kept in, particularly at the bear bile farms, is nothing short of shocking and we’re only too pleased to continue to support the charity’s rescue and rehabilitation work.
“It’s heartening to see the videos of Kobe and his pals exploring and playing in their natural environment, safe from poachers and the illegal wildlife trade. More importantly, however, is knowing that the new enclosures we’re helping to build are making it easier for Free the Bears to garner the support of the local government and shut down more of these awful farms.”
In addition to two separate and protected forest enclosures with caves, pools and climbing towers, which offer the bears a natural and safe environment to thrive, Bear House 7 also features a number of purpose-built dens, denning beds, platforms to relax on and automated water drinkers.
For more information about the charity or to make a donation visit: www.freethebears.org
