Viet pol asks South Korea to help stop bear bile trade

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE, November/December 2009:

 

 

 

Viet pol asks South Korea to help stop bear bile trade

 

SEOUL--Vietnamese National Assembly member Nguyen Dinh Xuan

on October 28, 2009 confirmed to Moon Gwang-lip of the South Korean

newspaper Joong Ang Daily that he has asked the South Korean

government to cooperate with Viet efforts to halt bear bile farming.

" Nyuyen Dinh Xuan said that Korean visitors are involved in

illegal bear bile sales in Vietnam, " South Korean environment

ministry senior deputy director Kim Won-tae told Gwang-lip. " He

requested that we instruct Koreans to refrain from these illegal acts

when they travel to Vietnam. "

Bear bile farming is now illegal in Vietnam, but about 10

bile farms with about 80 bears remain near Ha Long City, Quang Ninh

Province, a seaside area popular with South Koreans.

Xuan said he learned from the environmental group Education

for Nature/ Vietnam that more than 100 tourist buses took as many as

1,500 South Koreans to visit bear farms within 10 days in April and

August 2009. A South Korean travel agency director told Gwang-lip

that " a significant portion of the profits from the sales of bear

bile to tourists return to us in the form of commissions. "

" We want to emphasize that we feel regret for this, and we

hope that we might work with others in the future to stop such

violations, " Xuan said. Xuan told Gwang-lip that all 33 members of

the National Assembly Committee on Science, Technology and

Environment are working to end the bear bile traffic.

Other Vietnamese officials, however, seem to be in no

hurry, while customers keep arriving. The Hong Kong-based Animals

Asia Foundation in May 2009 opened a sanctuary for the Ha Long bears,

on the promise that the bile barms would all be closed, but so far

has received only one bear, founder Jill Robinson told ANIMAL PEOPLE.

 

 

--

Merritt Clifton

Editor, ANIMAL PEOPLE

P.O. Box 960

Clinton, WA 98236

 

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Fax: 360-579-2575

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Web: www.animalpeoplenews.org

 

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