The illegal wildlife trade is one of the world’s largest criminal industries, generating billions of dollars every year and driving the exploitation of wildlife across the globe.

For bears in Asia, the impact is devastating.

The illegal wildlife trade drives poaching, trafficking and the sale of live animals, body parts and wildlife products.

Bears are targeted to be kept as illegal pets or in bear bile farms, and for body parts such as their paws and gall bladders. Cubs are especially vulnerable, and in most cases, a cub entering the illegal wildlife trade has already lost its mother, as she is killed by poachers so the cub can be illegally taken from the wild and sold on the black market.

At Free the Bears, we work every day to stop this trade at multiple points: rescuing animals, caring for survivors, supporting law enforcement, gathering intelligence, and building the local capacity needed to respond quickly when illegal wildlife trading is uncovered.

Many of the bears we rescue in Laos are cubs. Some are only weeks old. They arrive orphaned, frightened, dehydrated and underweight, after being illegally pulled from the wild and passed through the black market.

Raising an orphaned bear cub is specialist, round-the-clock work. Many need 24-hour care, 6+ feeds a day, warmth, monitoring and veterinary support. As they grow, they need the right nutrition, climbing opportunities, social development, enrichment, and more.

Free the Bears has become a world leader in rescued bear cub care. Our teams have hand-raised some of Southeast Asia’s most vulnerable rescued cubs, giving them the urgent care they need.

Wherever possible, we also assess whether rescued cubs may one day be suitable for a return to the wild. This requires careful behavioural monitoring, minimal human contact, protected forest habitat and long-term research. Sadly most bears will need sanctuary care for life, due to the trauma they experienced. But whether a cub can return to the wild or needs sanctuary care for life, every one of them deserves safety, expert care and the chance to grow.

The world's largest rescue of threatened bear cubs

In 2024, we received a call we never expected – 16 moon bear cubs, intercepted in the back of an illegal wildlife traders truck and in desperate need of urgent care.
1 3

Cub Care Kit donation

Help provide the specialist food, formula, and feeding equipment, orphaned cubs need in their most vulnerable weeks.

$35.00 AUD
$35.00 AUD
Sale Sold out
Taxes included.
View full details

Free the Bears works closely with authorities across Southeast Asia to support wildlife confiscations and investigations. Our teams gather field intelligence on illegal wildlife trading, including bears and bear products being sold in markets, shops, restaurants, private facilities and increasingly through social media networks.

This intelligence helps authorities identify traffickers, locate animals in need of rescue, and support confiscation operations before wildlife disappears deeper into the trade.

We also help strengthen the response to wildlife crime through our Wildlife Care Course for Frontline First Responders, which has helped train more than 100 local law enforcement officers. The course provides practical skills in safe handling, transport, and animal welfare, ensuring confiscated wildlife receives urgent care from the very first moment of rescue.

1 3