VIETNAM-ANIMAL-BEAR

This picture taken on June 23, 2015 shows Animals Asia staff checking a paw of a captive anesthetized moon bear during a health check after removing it from a cage at a private bear farm which was targeted by animal protection group Animals Asia during a four-day bear rescue operation in the district of Quang Yen in Vietnam's northeastern province of Quang Ninh. Freed from captivity in tiny metal cages, seven long-suffering Asiatic moon bears have been rescued on bile farms in northern Vietnam, as efforts to end the illegal trade are boosted. Bear bile farming is banned but it is legal to raise the animals as pets -- a loophole used by illicit Vietnamese farms to feed a regional demand for the digestive fluid, which is believed to possess healing properties in traditional Chinese medicine. AFP PHOTO / HOANG DINH Nam (Photo credit should read HOANG DINH NAM/AFP via Getty Images)