By Maggie Kim
Last month, QEEP UP founder Maggie Q traveled to Animals Asia’s Vietnam Bear Rescue Centre in Tam Dao National Park.
Maggie, who’s been a leading voice in the fight against bear bile trade, pledged her support to end bear bile farming. Said Maggie, “The task at hand is that Animals Asia and the government, hand in hand, need to bring about 600 bears to sanctuary by 2022. I’d like to announce that I have been invited to be the spokesperson for this campaign. And I’m honored to have accepted. Today is just the beginning. I pledge my support and intend to work closely with Animals Asia on this effort.”
While there, Maggie adopted Solo the bear, who had been caged for 14 years and exploited for her bile. Solo’s gall bladder was diseased and mutilated and she had an untreated gall stone. Thanks to Animals Asia, Solo had surgery to remove her gall bladder. She is now much more comfortable and exploring her safe new surroundings. Maggie gave her adopted bear a brand-new name to go with her brand-new life. “I’m choosing to name her Phoenix as an ambassador to every bear in the sanctuary and every one of the 600 that will be rescued by 2022, that they will rise from the ashes.”
Building more sanctuaries, training more bear carers and buying more medical equipment is incredibly costly. If you’d like to help Maggie end the cruelty of bear bile farming, please consider donating and helping more bears like Phoenix.
