The Last Dance looks at how the barbaric practice of dancing bears worked and how a coalition of animal charities set about bringing it to an end and rescuing every bear off the streets of India. The book exposes the terrible suffering the bears endured to make them dance. Compelling photos show bears being surrendered and the ropes being cut to set them free. The book describes the process of negotiation with the Kalandar gypsies and explains how they were persuaded to give up their bears and accept alternative livelihood training. The three groups share the belief that animal welfare and human welfare go hand in hand and so wanted to ensure that the people’s needs were also met. No bears were bought — their lives were traded in exchange for training the Kalandar gypsies in another profession. Royalties from the sale of this book will go towards the IAR charity based at Uckfield, West Sussex, who need funds to help care for the 600 surviving bears safely cared for in three sanctuaries across India.
