Bear necessities
Known to most as the everloyal Mrs Patmore, doyenne of the kitchen at Downton Abbey, actress Lesley Nicol has a side that might surprise her fictional employers – she saves wild bears.
The charity, Animals Asia, works towards bringing an end to bear-bile farming in China and Vietnam (more than 10,000 bears are kept on farms in China and milked regularly for their bile, which is used in traditional medicine). After seeing a tweet by the actor Peter Egan, who is the UK ambassador for the charity, Lesley decided to try and help.
‘You can’t get involved in everything, it’s just not possible, there are too many sad stories. But there is something about Animals Asia that just captured my heart,’ said Lesley. As a result, last year she travelled to the charity’s rescue centre in Chengdu, China.
Despite the fact that there is a wide availability of effective and affordable herbal and synthetic alternatives to bear bile, the cruel practice continues.
Many bears in China are put into cages as cubs and never released, with some caged for up to 30 years. The conditions they are kept in invariably lead to diseases that kill them. Since its foundation in 1998, Animals Asia has worked with the Chinese government to bring an end to the trade in both China and Vietnam.
The scene that greeted Lesley on her first visit to the sanctuary was heartbreaking, she says. ‘Jill [founder and CEO, Jill Robinson MBE] came in and said, I’m really sorry but we’ve had one of our bears in the local hospital for two weeks because her back legs had given up. We’ve discussed this at length and realised that the kind thing to do is to put her to sleep.’
Lesley was asked to read a poem at the funeral, which took place later that day. ‘They are determined to give each bear the dignity of a funeral, and they read a poem in Chinese and then the Western staff asked me if I would read it in English… When you go to those places you simply have to fit in with what’s happening.’
It has had life-changing consequences for her. ‘I don’t want to be a name on a piece of paper, if I commit to something then I want to help.’
One bonus of all that slaving over a hot stove at Downton Abbey is that she is immediately recognisable in China. A plus for the charity and pleasantly surprising for her. ‘I didn’t expect people to know who I was,’ she admits. ‘Downton is everywhere, all over the world, in the most unlikely places. It’s very nice.’
Animals Asia: 01579-347148, www.animalsasia.org
The charity, Animals Asia, works towards bringing an end to bear-bile farming in China and Vietnam (more than 10,000 bears are kept on farms in China and milked regularly for their bile, which is used in traditional medicine). After seeing a tweet by the actor Peter Egan, who is the UK ambassador for the charity, Lesley decided to try and help.
‘You can’t get involved in everything, it’s just not possible, there are too many sad stories. But there is something about Animals Asia that just captured my heart,’ said Lesley. As a result, last year she travelled to the charity’s rescue centre in Chengdu, China.
Despite the fact that there is a wide availability of effective and affordable herbal and synthetic alternatives to bear bile, the cruel practice continues.
Many bears in China are put into cages as cubs and never released, with some caged for up to 30 years. The conditions they are kept in invariably lead to diseases that kill them. Since its foundation in 1998, Animals Asia has worked with the Chinese government to bring an end to the trade in both China and Vietnam.
The scene that greeted Lesley on her first visit to the sanctuary was heartbreaking, she says. ‘Jill [founder and CEO, Jill Robinson MBE] came in and said, I’m really sorry but we’ve had one of our bears in the local hospital for two weeks because her back legs had given up. We’ve discussed this at length and realised that the kind thing to do is to put her to sleep.’
Lesley was asked to read a poem at the funeral, which took place later that day. ‘They are determined to give each bear the dignity of a funeral, and they read a poem in Chinese and then the Western staff asked me if I would read it in English… When you go to those places you simply have to fit in with what’s happening.’
It has had life-changing consequences for her. ‘I don’t want to be a name on a piece of paper, if I commit to something then I want to help.’
One bonus of all that slaving over a hot stove at Downton Abbey is that she is immediately recognisable in China. A plus for the charity and pleasantly surprising for her. ‘I didn’t expect people to know who I was,’ she admits. ‘Downton is everywhere, all over the world, in the most unlikely places. It’s very nice.’
Animals Asia: 01579-347148, www.animalsasia.org
ANIMALS ASIA
- Animals Asia was founded by Jill Robinson MBE in 1998.
- It is the first Western animal welfare charity to have entered into an agreement – in 2000 – to collaborate with the Chinese government.
- Forty-three bear farms have been closed in China and Animals Asia has rescued 285 bears.
- In 2005 Animals Asia signed a similar agreement with the Vietnamese government and was allowed to open a sanctuary near Tam Dao National Park, outside Hanoi, for 200 bears. To date, 118 bears have been rescued there.
- Bears can live for up to 30 years (their whole lifespan) incarcerated in cages where they cannot turn around.
- There are more than 10,000 bears still held on bile farms in China and 2,400 in Vietnam.
- Twenty of China’s mainland provinces have signed a pledge to become or remain bear-farm free.
- Last year, Jill Robinson was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award by Burgess Wetnose Animal Rescue Awards and the International Rescue Award in the ITV British Animal Honours.