Crackdown on Bile Trade Backfires on Vietnam’s Bears

It is a case of good news, bad news for Vietnam’s decimated population of captive bears.

The good news is local residents no longer legally purchase bear bile; the bad news is bear farmers no longer have a financial incentive to feed the animals, which have been used in products from medicine to soup to necklaces.

The decimation has left only 800 sun bears and Asiatic black bears in a country that had 4,300 around 2006, according to sanctuary operator Four Paws.

Earlier this month, Four Paws traversed the country to transport five black bears to its rescue ...