Travel companies risk losing their
business licences if they take international tourists to illegally buy bear bile
in localities nation-wide, said director of the Viet Nam National Administration
of Tourism Nguyen Van Tuan.

Environment Police crack down on illegal bear farming in Ha Long City’s Dai Yen Commune, in the coastal province of Quang Ninh. The city is alledgedly one of the most popular places for bear farms which are used to provide bear bile to foreign tourists. (Photo: VNS)

Illegal trade in bear
bile did not only have negative impacts on bears and the natural environment,
but it also damaged the image of Vietnamese people and Viet Nam in the eyes of
international friends, he said.

Ha Long City in
north-eastern Quang Ninh Province is allegedly one of the most popular places
with bear farms providing bear bile to foreign tourists.

In December 2009, the
administration issued official documents ordering travel companies to stop
offering tours to illegal bear bile farms.

Regardless of the
order, some travel companies continue to operate the tours, according to the
administration.

Tran Ngoc Ha, a tour
guide from Asiana Travel said she agreed with the regulation.

“I don’t know why
people do not protect bears, especially because it is a rare animal in Viet Nam
and in the world,” she said.

Under Government’s
Decree 32/2006, bears are listed as an endangered species.

Owning and selling
bears or products from bears is illegal, under the decree.

Some international
tourists buy bear products and transport them over the border in violation of
the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and
Fauna (CITES).

The convention is an
international agreement between governments aiming to ensure that international
trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.

Viet Nam is a member
of CITES and as a signatory committed to seriously implementing the terms of the
convention.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News