An animal welfare group in Vietnam has rescued 19 bears that were living in cramped containers on an illegal bile farm, the group says.

“The containers are divided into six to seven compartments with one bear per compartment. This is the first time we’ve seen bears kept under these conditions,” Animals Asia Vietnam director, Tuan Bendixsen, said in a statement.

The group said the central and provincial Forest Protection Departments asked for its help a few weeks ago after authorities decided to close down the bear farm for not meeting regulations.

A Taiwanese businessman who owned the bears moved them to cargo containers two months ago after authorities warned him about the concrete “cells” in which he had kept them for several years, Animals Asia said.

Bear bile is extracted with needles in a process which activists say endangers the bears.

In traditional Chinese medicine it is prescribed as a health tonic, an anti-inflammatory, a cure for liver and heart ailments and an aphrodisiac. It is even found as an additive in shampoo, toothpaste and soft drinks.

Bile farming has been illegal in Vietnam for years but farmers were allowed to keep the bears they already had, and in 2005 thousands were given microchips in an effort to monitor the population.

Bendixsen said staff at the Binh Duong farm told him two of the rescued bears did not have microchips.

Asiatic black bears, also known as moon bears, are under threat of extinction, Animals Asia says.

Source: AFP