Sun shines again: Bear rescued after being locked up for seven years

Life of hell ends for sunbear in rescue by Sarawak Forestry Corporation.

MIRI: The sun bear that was locked up in miserable conditions at a house in Kuching for the past seven years has been rescued.

Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) enforcement teams carried out the rescue at 4pm on Wednesday (Sept 25).

SFC chief executive officer Zolkipli Mohamad Aton told The Star the good news.

"Yes, we have rescued the sun bear. Our enforcement team went to the house with an order to rescue it, after the owner refused to surrender it.

"We are taking the sun bear to the Matang Wildlife Sanctuary now for rehabilitation.

"The public uproar concerning the plight of the sun bear after it was highlighted was overwhelming," he said, added that the owner's license to keep the animal, issued by the Sarawak Forest Department, was also revoked.

Zolkipli also issued a stern warning that wildlife should be left in their natural habitat and not to be captured or hunted.

The endangered animal was discovered caged under cruel conditions at a house in Demak Laut, Kuching recently, prompting calls from nature lovers and wildlife societies to rescue the sun bear from its plight.