Three black bears kept in Bien Hoa city of the southern province of Dong Nai were handed over to a wildlife conservation centre on March 12.

The bears, one female and two male and weighing 120kg each, had been kept in cages for 20 years. They will be sent to a bear conservation centre in the northern province of Ninh Binh for special care in the coming time. According to the provincial Department of Forest Protection, as many as 84 bears were kept by organisations and individuals in Dong Nai. All of the bear are implanted with microchips for monitoring. Recently, four bears kept in a family in Xuan Loc district have died of unknown causes. To stop the operation of the private bear bile farms and protect wild bear populations, provincial authorities have called on local bear keepers to hand them over to animal conservation organisations.-VNA