TV farmer Jimmy Doherty flies five moon bears 5,500 miles to Suffolk after rescuing them from South Korean bile farm

From the Newshound archive · first published 19 September 2026.

Five Asiatic black bears — Bara, Rumi, Saebit, Yong-gi and Huimang — have arrived at Jimmy's Farm and Wildlife Park near Ipswich after spending more than two decades confined in small cages at one of South Korea's last bile farms. TV farmer and Space for the Wild patron Jimmy Doherty spearheaded the rescue alongside the Korean Animal Welfare Association. The bears now live in Moon Bear Islands, a purpose-built woodland reserve with trees, running water and pools. Their transfer marks the first time moon bears have moved from South Korea's bile trade to the UK.

Bara had been at the farm since 1998, meaning she was in captivity for close to thirty years.

South Korea formally outlawed the bear bile industry on 1 January 2026, leaving around 200 bears with no provision for their future.

Doherty said: 'I saw the cages they had lived in and made them a promise — today, that promise has become a reality.'