Rescued bears cleared for 5,500-mile Suffolk flight

ByLuke Dealat Jimmy's Farm & Wildlife Park and Alice Cunningham

Five moon bears which have spent decades living in cages in South Korea have been cleared by vets to be moved to Suffolk.

Jimmy's Farm & Wildlife Park near Ipswich and its charity Space for the Wild are working on the Bears Behind Bars campaign to transport the animals 5,500 miles (8,850km) to their new forever home.

The bears had been kept at one of South Korea's last bear bile farms – sites which have now been banned in the country.

Jimmy Doherty, founder of the Ipswich wildlife park, said the bears would soon be able to "finally feel real grass beneath their feet".

"I'll never forget meeting these bears for the first time," he said.

"After decades trapped in tiny cages, it was heartbreaking to see what they'd endured.

"But even then, you could see a spark in them that was worth fighting for."

At the end of last year, South Korea announced it would ban the breeding and possession of bears and the extraction of their bile.

The bile would be used in medicines while the bears themselves were often kept in poor conditions and spent their lives in small cages.

While the practice has been phased out, there are still believed to be about 200 bears living in cages at the former farms.

Of the five coming to Suffolk, one has been kept at a farm since 1998, according to the wildlife park.

The wildlife park has started to work on a reserve for the bears.

Park director Stevie Sheppard said there was still no timeline for the bears' arrival, as a campaign to raise money for the project continues.

"No moon bears have ever come to the UK from South Korea. This is a brand new corridor we're opening for them to find a new home," he explained.

"We're not too sure on the full timeframe. We need to raise the money.

"Once we've got the money we can get the bears here."

The campaign has raised more than £50,000 but is aiming for £200,000.

Sarah Dawson, chief operating officer for Space for the Wild, said the flights for the bears were expected to be expensive.

"It's a long way here from South Korea and they've had a very difficult life. We want to make sure they're as comfortable as possible on the flight here," she said.

"Plus the crates, plus people to look after them on the flights, veterinary care, even the forklift trucks to lift the crates up on to the plane are expensive, so it all adds up."

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