ENV’s End Bear Farming Team hosted the first meeting of a new club in Phuc Tho district of Hanoi where a large number of bear farms are concentrated. The clubs, operating in middle schools in two “hotspot” communities, were designed to students in activities within their community aimed at bringing pressure upon bear farmers to get out of the bear bile business.
Club members will meet regularly during the school year, participate in events in school, as well as collect pledges in their community, produce simple maps showing locations of bears in captivity, and participate in ENV’s video blog speaking out nationally about bear farming. Saturday’s club meeting was the first of many to come and part of wider effort to end bear farming in Vietnam.
Photos: Kids sign a pledge poster to help protect bears and not use bear bile. Club activities include avoiding captivity, hunters, and traps in the “bear maze” and completing a club booklet (soon to be printed) with information and fun bear activities.