Founded in 1998, Animals Asia is devoted to ending bear bile farming and improving animal welfare across Asia. Sun bears and moon bears on farms are kept in tiny cages and fed starvation-level diets in order to increase bile production. The bile is used in both traditional medicine and normal household products. Animals Asia operates bear sanctuaries in Vietnam and China where they bring rescued bears from bile farms to be rehabilitated. They have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Vietnamese Government to end bile farming by 2022. In order to achieve this, Animals Asia is building their second bear sanctuary in Vietnam in order to help them rescue as many of the ~400 remaining farmed bears as possible. In 2021, Bently Foundation awarded Animals Asia with a $120,000 grant to help them finish fundraising for phase one of the new sanctuary construction. Animals Asia finished Bach Ma sanctuary for rescued moon bears in 2023 and is now working to rescue the last remaining farmed bears in Vietnam thanks to this added capacity.

Animals Asia is also working to end bear bile farming in China, where about 10,000 bears are currently suffering on farms. Using strategies that proved effective in Vietnam, they are running a sanctuary with over 100 bears & working with officials and communities to increase awareness and provide cruelty-free alternatives. Bently Foundation contributed $50,000 to moon bear protection in China in 2024.

Elephants are another exploited species in Vietnam that Animals Asia is working to protect. Captive elephants used for tourism are often kept on short chains without adequate access to food and water. Animals Asia is working to end elephant-riding, and has signed an MOU with the Dak Lak government (where the vast majority of elephants reside) to end the practice by 2026. They have rescued 15 elephants and retired most of them to Vietnam's first ethical tourism experience in Yok Don National Park. The elephants are free to roam in a natural environment and tourists observe from a distance while learning about conservation. Animals Asia will rescue several more elephants this year and set up a second ethical tourism program. They also build elephant-care capacity and educate school children about elephant conservation. In 2024, Bently Foundation supported this program with an additional $50,000 grant.

Learn more about Animals Asia here.