Press release: Animal charities on course to defy sceptics by ending the dancing bear trade in India.

[Guest guest]

ANIMAL CHARITIES ON COURSE TO DEFY SCEPTICS AND MAKE HISTORY IN INDIA

 

by ending the dancing bear trade.

 

 

 

19 October 2006 - In defiance of sceptics who claimed the problem was too

big for them to solve, two animal rescue charities look set to make history

by ending the tradition of 'dancing' bears in India. With backing from the

Indian government, Wildlife SOS of India (WSOS) and International Animal

Rescue (IAR) from the UK and are confident they can eradicate the cruel

practice within the next five years.

 

 

 

WSOS and IAR have rescued an amazing 300 bears from the streets in the last

four years and rehabilitated them in sanctuaries in the north and south of

India. They have just removed the last bears from the tourist routes around

Agra, home of the famous Taj Mahal, and the historic city of Fatehpur Sikri.

This represents a huge milestone in the campaign to end the practice for

good.

 

 

 

The two charities have even received a special award from the Indian

government for their achievement. Forest Minister Mr Virendra Singh said

" The Indian government is proud to be working with a team of people who

really do deliver on their promises. Together we have found a solution to

the problem of the illegal dancing bear trade that not only relieves animal

suffering, it also provides a bright future for the Kalandar nomads who

traditionally have relied on 'dancing' bears to support their families.

This is a real win-win situation. "

 

 

 

Kartick Satyanarayan, Co-Founder of Wildlife SOS, says: " Initially the

challenge appeared gigantic, but now we can say with confidence that thanks

to the support of the Indian Government and our international partners in

the UK, France and Australia, we have come a long way in eradicating the

brutal practice of Dancing Bears in large parts of India. The Indian

Government can definitely blow its own trumpet to raise awareness of the

success of the project and encourage people to support it. "

 

 

 

" We now have the experience, the expertise and the infrastructure to step up

the campaign and rescue more and more bears. A survey to be published

shortly has shown that there are still about 600 dancing bears in India. We

have started work on a huge new area of land in Agra to expand the sanctuary

which means we have everything in place to banish bears from the streets

within the next five years. "

 

 

 

International Animal Rescue is the sole UK funder of the Bear Sanctuaries in

India - one in Agra (near the Taj Mahal), a second one in Bannerghatta near

Bangalore, a third one in Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) and a transit facility in

Hyderabad. The sanctuaries are managed by Wildlife SOS and have been

developed as centres of excellence for the rehabilitation of endangered

sloth bears. Pioneering dental work has been carried out on the rescued

bears which have had their teeth broken off with hammers by their handlers

to make them easier to control. The team even fitted a gold crown on one

bear to save its tooth.

 

 

 

The charities are also launching radio telemetry projects to study the

complex problem of man bear conflict that is on the rise in some states in

India.

 

 

 

IAR and WSOS have recruited UK celebrities Bill Bailey and Jo Brand to raise

the profile of their work. At the end of September TV vet Scott Miller from

" This Morning " television also visited the sanctuaries and took part in the

dental work and the radio telemetry project.

 

 

 

Ends.

 

 

 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, STILLS AND FOOTAGE, CONTACT:

 

Kartick Satyanarayan, Wildlife SOS: Tel: +91 9810 114563

 

karticksatyanarayan

 

www.wildlifesos.com <http://www.wildlifesos.com/>

 

 

 

Lis Key, International Animal Rescue: Tel: +44 1825 767688/+44 7957 824379

 

lis

 

www.iar.org.uk <http://www.iar.org.uk/>

 

 

 

 

 

EDITOR'S NOTE:

 

 

 

Indian dancing bears are sloth bears that poachers have snatched from the

wild as tiny cubs, usually by killing their mother. Sloth bears are listed

on Appendix 1 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species

(CITES) and all international trade in them is prohibited. As well as being

poached for the dancing bear trade, bear parts are thought to have healing

properties and bears are highly prized for use in traditional medicines.

 

 

 

A captured sloth bear is trained with terrible cruelty to become a dancing

bear. Its claws are ripped out and its teeth broken off with a hammer to

make it easier for its handler to control. Worst of all, a red hot poker is

pushed up through its nose and out through the top of its snout. A rope is

threaded through the open wound. When the handler raises the rope above his

head, the bear stands up on its hind legs to escape the pain, making it

appear as though it is dancin

 

 

 

 

 

Lis Key

 

Communications Manager

 

International Animal Rescue (IAR)

 

www.iar.org.uk

 

Tel: +44 1825 767688

 

Mobile: +44 7957 824379

 

 

 

 

 

Dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of suffering animals worldwide

 

 

 

<http://www.iar.org.uk/> www.iar.org.uk

 

International Animal Rescue, Lime House, Regency Close, Uckfield, East

Sussex TN22 1DS

 

United Kingdom

 

Tel: +44 (0) 1825 767688 Fax: +44 (0) 1825 768012

 

Registered UK charity number 802132

 

 

 

 

 

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