Fashion designer and renowned activist Dame Vivienne Westwood joined forces this week with the Welsh, Grammy Award Winning songstress Duffy to celebrate a powerful and moving National Geographic documentary about the work of International Animal Rescue to save orangutans in Borneo from the devastating impact of deforestation.
The music and fashion world joined forces this week to celebrate the work of International Animal Rescue (IAR), in a documentary scheduled to air on Nat Geo WILD on 23 June, 8pm, which follows a team from UK charity International Animal Rescue’s Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre in Indonesia as they work to save the lives and build a future for nearly 70 orangutans.
The one-hour special demonstrates the hours of patient coaching and care the baby orangutans receive from IAR’s team of vets, volunteers and babysitters to set them on the road to freedom.
“ORANGUTAN RESCUE: BACK TO THE WILD” shows how the orphaned babies are taken to the forest every day to build up their strength and develop the skills they would have been taught by their mothers in the wild. They attend one of two classes: Baby School for the very young ones who must learn what a forest is and how to climb a tree. Once they’ve made the grade, they move onto Forest School, an advanced class where they learn to be more independent, finding food for themselves and building nests to sleep in at night.
Alan Knight OBE, Chief Executive of International Animal Rescue, said: “We are delighted that Duffy and Vivienne show such an interest in animal welfare – and we hope this will help us raise awareness of our work and encourage people to join in our efforts to protect endangered species”.
Guests of the evening hosted by Vivienne and Duffy were particularly moved by a short speech by IAR Trustee and veterinary dental specialist Lisa Milella. For the past ten years Lisa has given up her time to visit IAR’s projects and perform dental surgery on many of the rescued animals. However, she was recently diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease and is no longer able to practice as a vet. Instead she has launched an appeal for funds to help the charity continue its work for years to come: https://www.justgiving.com/Lisa-Milella-100/