Animals Asia has named Matt Sorum, the legendary Los Angeles-based drummer, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and Grammy Award-winning musician who has played with Guns N' Roses, The Cult and Velvet Revolver, as its newest Ambassador for the United States.

The move follows Matt contacting Animals Asia with an offer to help having been forwarded a YouTube clip, by a Twitter follower, of the plight of moon bears in bile farms in China and Vietnam. The video also showed the work Animals Asia has done towards ending bear bile farming.

That initial contact coincided with an already scheduled trip to the US by Animals Asia founder Jill Robinson who arranged to meet Matt and discuss how he could help.

Jill explained:

“From the moment Matt contacted us he continued to demonstrate a massive passion for our cause and he’s been consistently proactive in looking at ways he can assist us. His enthusiasm and vision for how he can help has been an incredible source of inspiration to us, right across the organisation.

“The high esteem in which we hold Matt is obviously mirrored by those in his own industry, as his influence has continued to open more doors for us and provided further opportunities to raise awareness and support for the work we do. As a result, we were delighted when he agreed to accept the Ambassador position.”

Matt added:

“Watching the Animals Asia movies was a shock and an education for me. I previously had no idea of the issue but felt compelled to do anything I could to help. I was inspired further when I met Jill, and when she later asked me to be a US Ambassador for Animals Asia I was honoured to accept. This is all about those of us in the west standing up, alongside those who inspire positive change in China. We must continue to grow the number of voices in opposition to this cruel, horrific industry.”

A trip to Animals Asia’s sanctuary in Chengdu, China is already planned for Matt later in the year, so he can see for himself the rescued bears on site as well as meet the staff who care for them.