Xuan and Mo, the moon bears released after 17 years of torture

Without light for seventeen long years. In the darkest darkness of a shop basement, in a stinking cage with rusty bars, yet the lack of light and freedom weren’t the only sad features of Xuan Bear’s life. The extraction of bile, with a cannula stuck in the abdomen from which it dripped day after day, was the other torture to which the moon bear released on March 23 in Vietnam has been subjected for seventeen years since, still a cub, he was captured and imprisoned.

Because even today, in 2021, in Vietnam and China there are those who imprison these splendid animals to steal the bile produced by the gallbladder and sell it on the black market for the production of preparations of the so-called traditional Chinese medicine.

A shame that the Vietnamese and Chinese people still cannot eradicate, since there are thousands “Bile farms” still active in the two countries, where thousands of moon bears continue to be held captive for the production of a substance that has already been chemically produced for years.

The story of Xuan e di Mo, the female bear who shared Xuan’s space and misfortune in the dark basement, is just the latest that comes out of Xuan’s work. Four Paws, the world organization of animal welfare and protection founded in 1998 in Vienna by Heli Dingler and now branched all over the world. “The Four Paws team has in the past rescued many bears in poor condition, but were speechless at the cruelty they encountered on this occasion. – says Szilvia Kalogeropoulu, the veterinarian of the organization responsible for the rescue and transfer of the two specimens. – The bears have lived in complete darkness for years: at least 17 in Xuan’s case. The team even had to use flashlights to see them. Their rusty cages were small and dirty, there was no access to fresh air and the basement was windowless and therefore no ventilation. ‘

Despite these terrible conditions for any sentient being, able to experience sensations such as pain, boredom and anger due to lack of freedom, the two bears did very well during the rescue operations that brought them to their new home. the Ninh Binh shrine where they will live cared for but free to move, play with their peers and experience natural elements such as water and grass, of which they had been defrauded until today. The Four Paws team, after entering the basement, sedated them and first visited them to ascertain their condition. “Although they have been exploited for years to extract their bile in such horrible conditions, when we arrived both Mo and Xuan were quite calm and fearless – says the veterinarian. – Health checks for both bears revealed gallbladder disease due to multiple unsanitary and traumatic biliary extraction processes carried out on the farm. Besides, Xuan is overweight, has liver disease and his teeth are in terrible condition. ‘

After the veterinary examination which has ascertained their conditions and the possibility of traveling, Xuan and Mo were transferred to Ninh Binh shrine after a long journey of nine hours. “For now our priority is that the bears can adapt to their new home and relax a bit – adds the vet – they have been placed in a quarantine area to prevent any potential transfer of diseases between them and our other resident bears. During this time they will receive intensive medical care and gradually adjust to a new healthy diet, while continuing to be closely monitored by our team of assistants ». After such a long imprisonment and completely devoid of external stimuli, rehabilitation will obviously be long for the bears. “Mo and Xuan have lived in an environment without the possibility of physical and mental stimuli of any kind, so they are still a little stressed and unaccustomed to natural light and different sounds they did not know before. They are very responsive to any noise and other stimuli, and even if they are kept in a quiet area of ​​the sanctuary, it will take some time for them to get used to the new environment. They both have some health problems that are sadly common to bears mistreated for their bile and kept in captivity. Their rehabilitation will be a slow process: we will gradually provide for their individual needs ».

In the history of Four Paws’ rescues, Xuan and Mo’s is certainly one of the most outstanding recoveries. “It was the first time we rescued bears from an environment without natural light and only exposed to artificial light – concludes Kalogeropoulu. – Bears are very resilient, but the road to recovery will still be a very long road“. In their misfortune, however, the two bears were lucky. Living in a sanctuary will not be a return to freedom, but their second life will not lack sun, water, lots of grass to roll on and good food. In addition to the company of many other former companions in misfortune. In Ninh Binh, the managed sanctuary of Four Paws, there are already about forty bears who, victims of bile extraction or escaped from poachers, have found welcome and refuge. And the nails on their paws, worn out like their teeth on the rusty bars of the cages in which they were imprisoned, began to grow again.