We don't use bear bile and neither should you!
Hanoi, February 29, 2012 - Education for Nature - Vietnam (ENV) has launched a series of four new public service announcements (PSA) featuring well-known celebrities and urging the public not to use bear bile. The advertisements, which will begin to air in early March on national and provincial television stations, feature VTV1 anchorwoman Hoai Anh, rock star Thai Thuy Linh, along with Vietnam’s football superstar Hong Son and comedian Pham Bang.
All of the celebrities share the same point of view that bear bile is not a miracle medicine and warn that the Vietnam’s bear bile business is pushing bears to the brink of extinction. At the end of each PSA the celebrities urge the public, “We don’t use bear bile and neither should you!”
“There is a rising tide of public opposition to the bear bile industry,” says Mr. Tran Viet Hung, ENV’s Operations Director. “And people are increasingly speaking out against this cruel and illegal practice from celebrities to ordinary citizens.” Hung notes that the availability of modern medicine and the many herbal alternatives for ailments that people believe bear bile is said to cure have made use of bear bile unnecessary. “It’s time that this dirty bear bile business ends as it does not belong in part of our modern life as Vietnamese,” Hung says.
ENV is working to end bear farming and trade in Vietnam. Major program activities focus on reducing demand for bear bile, encouraging greater public involvement in reporting bear crimes, cooperating closely with enforcement agencies to combat illegal trade, and working with government leaders to strengthen policy and laws protecting bears and other endangered wildlife. From 2008 up to now, over 100,000 people signed pledges not to use bear bile. In 2012, ENV will launch a series of new national events aimed at bringing attention to the need for public involvement and action in ending bear farming and trade.
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Link to the PSA:
http://thiennhien.org/index.php?page=documentView&parent=172&id=192
Hoang Linh
Communication and Public Awareness Unit - ENV
