Adopt VR58

Vietnam Rescue #58 was rescued from a bear bile farm on October 26, 2021 with another male and female moon bear. The bears had spent more than 16 years locked in small prison cells, regularly abused to extract bile from their gall bladders to be used in traditional 'medicine'. There used to be more bears at the farm but they had all passed away, these were the last 3 survivors.

All three were in quite poor condition when rescued, with missing fur patches, scars and wounds, damaged claws and teeth. The other male was missing a paw due to a wire snare trap likely when he was a cub. Their rescue brought Vietnam one step closer to ending bear bile farming forever.

Having received lots of loving care since rescue, Vietnam Rescue #58 has made an amazing transformation. From a stressed and skinny bear with a thin and dull coat, he's now a healthy, confident and energetic bear with a great body condition and gorgeous, shiny coat. He lives in a forest enclosure with the other male he was rescued with, who is now adopted and named Dart. The female they were rescued with has been adopted and named Holly - VR58 is the only one of the three still waiting for a name.

He also shares with a 3rd male, Odin, rescued in 2023. The 3 boys have become good friends and are a great support to help each other recover from the trauma of their pasts. You can watch a recent live update with the boys by clicking here.

By adopting VR058, you'll be helping provide for his daily needs - a healthy diet, health checks, enrichment activities and a lovely forest enclosure with climbing platforms, caves, swimming pools and hammocks. By adopting him, he'll finally have a name. We'll send you a sponsorship certificate and send updates every March and September and of course we'd love for you to come and visit him.

Please note, although moon bears can live up to 35 years, the bears we rescue from bile farms in Vietnam are already in their 20s and we’re unsure if they will have many more years with us given the terrible trauma they have already suffered and the damage it does to their bodies. We’ll try to give them the best possible life for the remaining years they have with us.

To adopt and name VR058 we ask that you cover the annual cost of basic care, which amounts to AU$3,000 per year (GBP£1,650 / US$2,000 / EU€1,900). This covers a healthy diet, vet treatment, enrichment activities and more. We're looking for adoptive parents who see this as a long term commitment and wish to continue to support their fur-child on an annual basis. You can choose to make monthly, bi-annual or annual installments.

Watch his rescue below. Please contact us if interested in adopting VR58 or another bear at contact@freethebears.org 

To return and see the other bears available to adopt, click here.