An animal charity has shared heartwarming footage showing the incredible transformation of a bear they have rescued.
Dawn was rescued from a bear bile farm where specialists were “saddened and shocked by her behaviour”, leading to her nickname as the ‘most traumatised and broken’ bear.
But a year on from her February 2023 rescue, and after spending 20 years on the bile farm, Dawn is finally thriving.
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Bear bile farming involves extracting bile from the gallbladders of living bears – a process which can be excruciating for the animals.
The bile is believed to have medicinal properties and is also sometimes used in household products including cosmetics like shampoo and toothpaste.
When Dawn was rescued from the farm, she was taken to Animals Asia’s Vietnam sanctuary, where specialists were horrified to see her condition.
At the time, the team dubbed her “the most broken bear we’ve met in years”, reports Need To Know.
Sharing a video of Dawn now to mark one year since her rescue, the clip shows Jill Robinson, founder and CEO of Animals Asia, who was part of the rescue team, visiting her.
The bear looks like a completely different animal altogether, leaving Jill speechless to see the improvement.
She says: “What a difference a year makes!
“I can hardly believe my eyes actually.
“My gosh – I can’t believe this is the same bear.”
Jill explains that Dawn was previously in “the most despicable condition” and “skinny and skeletal”, and that their team of vets had come to the conclusion that she had ‘learned helplessness’.
After months of rehabilitation, Jill described her recovery as “almost indescribable”.
She says that the bear is now first out of her den in the mornings, is “curious and bright” and has even made a friend called Midnight.
A spokesperson for the charity said: “It’s been a whole 12 months since Animals Asia broke Dawn free from the cage she’d been confined to for over 20 years, since she was a tiny, orphaned cub.
“This week, Jill returned to our Vietnam sanctuary to visit Dawn, having not seen her for a long time.
“And her reaction is just priceless!
“Thank you to every one of you who enabled us to break Dawn free, who sent love and light through her darkest days, and cheered her on as she slowly started to realise she was finally free.”
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