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<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><b><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Dear Sir/Madam,<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><b><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222'>Today Education for Nature �
Vietnam (ENV) and volunteers from ENV�s Wildlife Protection Network carried out
a series of awareness activities in 15 major cities across the country on Vietnam
Bear Day to encourage the public to take action to bring an end to the cruel
and illegal bear bile business.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;background:white'><span
style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222'><img
width=494 height=329 id="Picture_x0020_26"
src="cid:image001.jpg@01D25AEE.41CE96A0"
alt="Ng�ời d�n Khu �� thị HH Linh ��m tham gia triển lãm.jpg"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white;font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#222222'> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white;font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#222222'>During events hosted at universities, in markets, parks, and at shopping
malls, thousands of people pledged on behalf of their family not to use bear
bile or products made from bears.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white;font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#222222'> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white;font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#222222'>�<i>Bear bile farming has been going on for too long,�</i><span
class=apple-converted-space> </span>said Nguyen Sy Bao Quoc, leader of the
Nghe An Club.<span class=apple-converted-space><i> </i></span><i>�We must
urgently bring an end to this practice before all the bears disappear from the
wild</i>.�<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white;font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#222222'> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white;font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#222222'>Over the last 10 years, the battle against the bear farming
industry in Vietnam has achieved significant milestones, thanks to the
collective efforts and hard work of the authorities, NGOs and members of the
public. Captive bear numbers have decreased dramatically from 4,300 in 2005 to
a little over 1,200 today while bear bile consumption has slumped 61% since
2009, according to ENV research [<a
href="http://envietnam.org/images/News_Resources/Publication/Analysis-of-change-in-bear-bile-use-2015.pdf"
target="_blank"><span style='color:#1155CC'>Link</span></a>].<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white;font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#222222'> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt;background:white;font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#222222'>In response to what many are calling a �dying industry�, many
bear farm owners have given up their bear bile business and dozens of bears
have been transferred to the government in this year. Earlier this month,
six bears were voluntarily turned over to the authorities in Dak Lak after the
owner expressed the desire to give up the bears he had been keeping for more
than a decade. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white;font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#222222'>�<i>The increase in the number of voluntary bear transfers is a
good indicator that bear owners understand that the business of keeping bears
for bile is coming to an end</i>,� said ENV Vice Director, Ms Nguyen Phuong
Dung. �<i>When no-one consumes bear bile, there will be no more bear farms, and
bears in the wild will no longer face the risk of capture to supply the bear
bile industry.�</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white;font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#222222'> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white;font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#222222'>On the occasion of Vietnam Bear Day, ENV joined famous MC, Mrs.
Hoai Anh to call upon the public to actively help expedite an end to bear bile
farming in Vietnam. In an ENV vlog Mrs. Hoai urged the public to be �Bear
Heroes� by choosing not to use bear bile and advising others to do the same [<a
href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtaYHwL1ZW8&t=6s">Link</a>]. Other
actions that the public can take include alerting local authorities or ENV�s
Wildlife Crime Hotline when they see bear bile or its products being
advertised, sold, or traded.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;background:white'><span
style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222'><img
border=0 width=464 height=252 id="Picture_x0020_27"
src="cid:image006.jpg@01D25AEE.CB7870B0" alt=ha-en.jpg><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222'> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white;font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#222222'>In November, Forest Protection Departments from each of the bear
farming hotspot provinces gathered in Hanoi for a workshop hosted by the
Department of Nature Conservation and the Coalition of NGOs, comprising of
World Animal Protection, Four Paws International, Four Paws Viet and ENV. The
workshop exchanged ideas to improve the effectiveness of law enforcement and</span><span
style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'> </span><span
style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>will<span
style='color:#222222'> lead to a roadmap to expedite the end of bear farming in
Vietnam.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white;font-variant-ligatures: normal;
font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;
word-spacing:0px'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#222222;background:yellow'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222'>Expressing pride in the
progress achieved to date, Ms. Dung cautioned that there is still a lot of work
to do to finish the job. However, Ms. Dung remains confident that with
the active engagement of the public and strengthened efforts of the government,
this cruel and illegal business will perish, securing a brighter future for
Vietnam�s wild bears.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:9.5pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><i><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222'>Best regards,</span></i><span
style='color:#222222'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222'>----------------</span></b><span
style='color:#222222'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222'>ENV Communication & Public
Awareness Department</span><span style='color:#222222'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222'>Education for Nature - Vietnam
(ENV)</span><span style='color:#222222'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222'>Address: Block 17T5, Room
1701, Hoang Dao Thuy str., Ha Noi</span><span style='color:#222222'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222'>Tel: 04 628 15424<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222'>Email:
Communication.env@gmail.com</span><span style='color:#222222'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222'>Website:</span><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#500050'> </span><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222'><a
href="http://www.envietnam.org/" target="_blank"><span style='color:#1155CC'>www.thiennhien.org</span></a> or <a
href="http://www.envietnam.org/" target="_blank"><span style='color:#1155CC'>www.envietnam.org</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#222222'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='background:white'><a
href="https://www.facebook.com/EducationforNatureVietnam"><span
style='text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=50 height=50
id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image003.jpg@01D25AEE.41CE96A0" alt=unnamed></span></a><a
href="https://twitter.com/edu4naturevn"><span style='text-decoration:none'><img
border=0 width=50 height=47 id="Picture_x0020_2"
src="cid:image004.jpg@01D25AEE.41CE96A0" alt="unnamed (1)"></span></a><a
href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0SMLDvU2WTumdT8XJbimzA"><span
style='text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=50 height=44
id="Picture_x0020_3" src="cid:image005.jpg@01D25AEE.41CE96A0" alt="unnamed (2)"></span></a><span
style='color:#222222'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
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