A massive let down - Anonymous employee Animals Asia Employee Review

After 3 years of working with Animals Asia in Vietnam, I started seriously questioning AAF’s international “experts” on animal husbandry and their understanding of the country they had been in for over 20 years. The animal welfare at Tam Dao Bear Sanctuary was terrible compare to the budget they have. The bears looked extremely bored, and most were seriously obese from overeating and a lack of stimulations. Just look at the photos on their Facebook page — the outdoor enclosures clearly lack the complexity that bears need. Compare it to other bear sanctuary in the country (Free the Bear in Cat Tien and Four Paws in Ninh Binh), you'll know what I'm talking about. Even worse, their new bear sanctuary in Bach Ma National Park was built after they cleared hectares of forest within the park. On top of that, local staff were paid around 5 to 8 times less than the foreign "experts", despite working longer hours. I wouldn't have minded the pay gap if those “experts” were actually good at their jobs — but they were shockingly bad, and it was obvious in the work they shamelessly advertised on their Facebook page.