Rare bears ripped apart for sport

by Lisa Cardy

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THERE are only 300 Asiatic bears left in the wild and they are being torn to pieces by dogs for spectator 'sport' in rural areas of Pakistan. The country made bear baiting illegal two years ago, but has done little to enforce the ban claims the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA).

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The WSPA, a UK-based organisation, has recently spent �100,000 raised in the UK on building a sanctuary for housing up to 50 rescued bears in northwest Pakistan. The sanctuary was built in response to the Pakistani government's pleas for somewhere to house freed bears. But several months have passed since completion and still the sanctuary lies empty, because corrupt and bureaucracy-burdened authorities have failed to rescue any of the animals.

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Although the situation may seem very far away to us, the appalling practice was introduced to Pakistan when it was part of India by British colonisers 200 hundred years ago. Adult Asiatic bears are killed by specially trained dog, usually in front of their newborn cubs that are then sold on for 'fighting'.

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The bears are unable to put up a fight against the dogs, a ferocious cross between an English bull terrier and the Asiatic Kohat, as they're tied to a stake and have had their teeth and claws removed. The misery does not end quickly for the animals that usually suffer vicious bites to their muzzles and ears, rather than any fatal wounds, and they're simply put back in the ring, sometimes on the same day, still in agony.

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Despite its being banned in 1998, the WSPA says that feudal landlords hold up to 50, openly publicised, meetings each year while the Pakistani police routinely turn a blind eye to this depressing ritual and even attend the meetings as spectators.

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Pakistan says it needs more time to stamp out this barbaric 'sport'. It also claims that the sanctuary is a long way from the captive bears in the south and they have no means of transporting them.

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For further information on how you can help contact the WSPA on 020 7793 0540.

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Once again it seems Western organisations are trying to rescue animals in countries where they have little power and no understanding of local traditions. Should they stop trying to make changes in apparently hopeless situations and concentrate their efforts where they'll be most useful Join in this contentious debate here