Home / Arts and Entertainment / Rick Wakeman Plays for Rescued Bears in Vietnam
Rick Wakeman Plays for Rescued Bears in Vietnam
24 Sep
Summary
- Musician Rick Wakeman performed piano for 150 rescued bears.
- The concert aims to raise awareness for bears still caged for bile extraction.
- Vietnam recently banned but still houses bears on bile farms.
Musician Rick Wakeman recently performed a piano concert at Animals Asia's bear sanctuary in Vietnam's Tam Dao national park. The audience comprised 150 rescued bears, some of whom had never experienced grass before. Wakeman wrote new compositions for the event, hoping the melodic music would soothe the rescued animals.
The concert was organized to highlight the cruel conditions of moon bears kept in cages for bile extraction, a practice used in traditional Chinese medicine. Although Vietnam has banned bile farming, approximately 125 bears remain in captivity on former bile farms, with an estimated four dying each month.
Wakeman, a longtime supporter of animal welfare, expressed his dismay at the treatment of these animals. He hopes the performance will urge the Vietnamese government to release the remaining caged bears to sanctuaries like the one he visited, where they can receive proper care and rehabilitation.
