Can you imagine a life where you never feel the sun on your back, never touch grass beneath your feet, and spend each day confined to a cage barely bigger than your own body? Sadly, for thousands of bears across Asia, this is their heartbreaking reality.
Known as bear bile farming, these beautiful creatures are imprisoned for decades in cramped, barren cages, where bile is painfully extracted from their gallbladders for use in traditional medicine. It’s a cruel, outdated practice — and it needs to end.
That’s why the legends at Phil Hoffmann Travel (PHT), in partnership with Animals Asia and Adventure World, have made it their mission to rescue these bears from suffering and to help support their journey to recovery and freedom.
Inspired by the incredible work of Animals Asia (an organisation dedicated to ending bear bile farming and rehabilitating its survivors), PHT proudly became the Bear Guardian of Twilight, a once-abused bear now living her best life in Animals Asia’s award-winning sanctuary in Vietnam.
Twilight’s story is one of heartbreak, but also hope. She spent more than 20 years locked away in a pitch-black cellar, rubbing her head raw on the bars of her cage from stress and despair. But thanks to Animals Asia and the $20,000 sponsorship from PHT, she was rescued and now roams freely, basks in the sunshine, and can even swing in a hammock if she pleases!
For the PHT team who visited Twilight earlier this year, the experience of meeting her was nothing short of magical…
“When we went to visit Twilight, we were told she probably wouldn’t come near us, but to our surprise, she just kept moving closer! There was a point, captured in the photo below, that I bent down over the side of the enclosure and whispered her name. She looked right up at me, at which point my heart just exploded. She came to the fence, pushed her nose through as far as she could, and even reached her paw out. She looked right into our eyes — into our souls actually. There was an unspoken transfer of emotion and love. I know she felt it… and it’s a moment I’ll remember for the rest of my life. She knew… she definitely knew!” says PHT’s General Manager, Michelle Ashcroft.
Twilight’s journey is just the beginning. PHT is now on a mission to rescue two more bears with heartbreaking pasts and hearts full of hope — Kindness and Mua.
Kindness was the last remaining bear on the final bile farm in Vietnam’s Ha Nam province. After nearly 20 years in a cage, she arrived at the sanctuary in terrible condition — suffering from infection, overgrown claws and painful spine and eye injuries. But today, thanks to the love and care of Animals Asia, she’s thriving! Playful, confident and full of personality, Kindness now spends her days with her bear besties, Leo and Bear, enjoying a life she never thought possible.
Mua’s story is equally gut-wrenching. Rescued from a notorious bile farm in Hanoi, he was severely underweight, starving and riddled with health issues, including an infected gallbladder and painful dental decay. But after expert treatment and round-the-clock care, Mua is recovering beautifully! He’s curious, determined and obsessed with food (and to his delight — there’s plenty of it now)!
Both Kindness and Mua are finally experiencing freedom, friendship and a world beyond the cage — but many bears are still suffering in silence.
So, how can we help save more bears?
At Phil Hoffmann Travel, every booking comes with the option to donate $5 (or more) towards this life-saving mission. Thanks to the generosity of their clients and community PHT is already halfway towards sponsoring their next bear!
To donate or learn more about Animals Asia’s work, visit Animals Asia or ask your Phil Hoffmann Travel consultant how you can help. Every contribution, big or small, will go towards giving these beautiful bears a second chance at life.
The Phil Hoffmann team believes in giving back — not just to the community, but to the planet and these darling creatures who don’t have a voice. Bile bears deserve a future of freedom and happiness, and PHT are proud to be a part of this journey. Bear hugs all ‘round!
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