Two Asiatic black bears at Xuan Lien Natural Reserve

Since late last year the Thanh Hoa provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has been proposing that  the chairman of the provincial People’s Committee send two Asiatic black bears from the Xuan Lien natural reserve to the Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre for better care, as one of them has been ill since October.

The bears are a couple that was found by forest rangers at Pu Hu natural reserve and handed over to Xuan Lien natural reserve last May.

The natural reserve’s management board has invited veterinarians as well as doctors from the Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre to provide treatment for the sick bear but the animal’s condition has yet to improve.

Doctors said the male bear suffers from cataracts, hair loss and a reduction in his white blood cell count.

After receiving an official dispatch from the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Department of Forest Management under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development issued a document approving the proposal. The department requested that the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development coordinate with the provincial government, Tam Dao National Park and Animals Asia Foundation to complete procedures to move the bears to the Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre.

However, during the completion of the procedures, local authorities found inconsistencies in regulations that have hindered the process. While the some regulations stipulate that the provincial people’s committee is authorised to give permission for transporting rare and endangered species, its others say that the authority belongs to a professional agency under the provincial government.