KAWA and TWAS rescue moon bears
by Katie Pfaff
NGO Korean Animal Welfare Association and US nonprofit, The Wild Animal Sanctuary, completed a rescue of 22 moon bears from Seoul, South Korea. Called “Project Free: The Bear,” the efforts brought the bears to TWAS, which is based in Colorado. The animals will be cared for at the TWAS 10,000 acre location which specializes in bears.
"Americans have gained the respect of the world and Koreans not because of big ships or guns, but because of the humanity of its people which was demonstrated again and again by The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Denver, Colorado,” said General In-Bum Chun, a veteran in South Korea, who was present at the rescue.
The bears are part of a breeding facility in South Korea which sold the gallbladders and bile from the animals. Some 300 bears are still held in South Korea. Though a 2017 move allowed for sterilization of the captive-bred population, bears older than 10 can still be harvested.
Two years ago, KAWA reached out to TWAS to ask for help in rescuing the bears. TWAS answered with a pledge of more than 1,000 acres of its refuge to the Moon Bears. An initial rescue effort for 22 bears was begun at that time until it was halted by the pandemic.
Rescued bears take some time to acclimate to walking on the ground after spending their entire lives in cages, according to TWAS. Additional efforts are underway to continue to rescue the remaining bears.
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