A resident of Cu Chi District in Ho Chi Minh City voluntarily handed over an endangered Asian black bear, which had been legally raised in captivity for about 16 years, to the city’s forest protection division on Wednesday.

Nguyen Thanh Tung, a resident of Tan Thong Hoi Commune, Cu Chi District, surrendered the 20-year-old Asian black bear to the Ho Chi Minh City Forest Protection Department on Wednesday.

The female Asian black bear, or Ursus thibetanus, weighs about 100 kilograms and belongs to the endangered, rare, and precious wildlife species of group IIB, which must be preserved according to a government decree issued in 2021.

Canh said that a chip has been implanted into the bear for management, as required by law, and he also has documents proving the legality of his relationship with the bear.

The bear has been raised in captivity for the past 15-16 years and has never injured anyone.

According to Nguyen Quang Hoang, deputy head of the Wildlife Rescue Station under the Ho Chi Minh City Forest Protection Department, Tung has farmed four bears, each of which was chipped for management purposes, as required by law.

However, three of them died due to illness, leaving only one. Tung voluntarily handed the remaining bear over to the department.

Rangers, in coordination with staff from the Saigon Zoo and Botanical Gardens, anesthetized the bear before transporting it to the Cu Chi Wildlife Rescue Station in the namesake district for further care.

The Ho Chi Minh City Forest Protection Department will create a dossier and present it to the municipal People's Committee in order to establish the entire-people ownership of the bear and obtain approval for the transfer to the bear rescue facility.

Hoang stated that this is the first time since 2016 that the Ho Chi Minh City Forest Protection Department has received a bear from an individual who donated it willingly.

In Ho Chi Minh City, there are now three individuals and three groups breeding a total of 46 bears with government-issued management chips.

Since 1994, Vietnam has been an official member of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which is a multilateral treaty that protects endangered plants and animals.

Under Vietnam’s Penal Code, illegally transporting, trading, capturing or killing wild animals or parts thereof is a criminal offense punishable by six months to 12 years in prison.

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