WSPA and partners rescue bear cubs from a future of cruelty

EMBARGOED UNTIL 22 January, 2011: Orissa, India:  The World Society for Protection of Animals(WSPA) and its local member society, Wildlife Trust of India, (WTI), together with police, have saved two sloth bear cubs from a cruel life of bear ‘dancing’, in an undercover operation.

 The operation, conducted in recent hours, in the east Indian state of Orissa, resulted in the confiscation of the two cubs and the arrest of two traders attempting to sell them into the illegal trade of so-called bear ‘dancing’. This illegal process sees small sloth bears, poached as cubs, subjected to a lifetime of physical and mental stress, with the animals required to ‘dance’ on command.

 The bears are controlled via a piercing through the nose where a rope is then passed through the raw wound and used as a form of leash. The bears are then used for ‘dancing’, movement induced by fear of a beating by their ‘owners’, usually poor Kalandars, and are subject to malnutrition and mistreatment.  

“Thanks to the collaboration of WSPA and WTI with Orissa Forest State Department and local intelligence networks, we are preventing further bear cubs from being introduced into the cruel practice of bear ‘dancing” says WSPA’s Neil D’Cruze. “We aim to ensure that the decline in bear ‘dancing’ is permanent. In this case, thankfully, these beautiful creatures have been spared a life of cruelty, and there are a range of facilities within India where such sloth bears can be cared for, such as the Agra bear sanctuary.” (see footnote 2)

 This seizure of bear cubs is the first in two years anywhere in India, where bear ‘dancing’ has been in steady decline and is believed to be close to eradication. However, it shows that there continue to be new sources in the trading of sloth bears for the practice.

 WSPA has been campaigning to end the cruel practice of bear ‘dancing’ in India, its sole stronghold, since 1996, when around 2,000 sloth bears were engaged in the practice. Together with WTI and the Orissa Forest Department, WSPA has ensured that no bears have been removed from the wild in the industry’s epicentre, Orissa’s Sambalpur district, since 2008 (see footnote 3). It is thought that less than 30 bears still ‘dance’ across India today, in rural areas and bordering Nepal. 

WSPA and WTI believe that this new seizure in Orissa’s Keonjhar district marks the attempt of a new smuggling route out of Orissa and into Bihar state, following the clampdown in Sambalpur. The two cubs were confiscated in the town of Juhupura under the supervision of the Superintendent of Keonjhar Police, Avinash Kumar, based on undercover information provided by WSPA and WTI.  The sloth cubs, about two-months-old, were reportedly taken about three weeks ago from nearby forests.

“With this seizure, it is clear that bear traders are now looking for alternatives,” says Ashok Kumar, Vice-chairman, WTI. “Areas like Keonjhar that are located near state boundaries and have sloth bears in the wild should be monitored to curb this trade. Our team has found that traders from villages in eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are scouting these potential trade areas and placing their ‘orders’ for bear cubs with the tribal communities. Stopping these trade instigators is the major challenge to sloth bear conservation today.”

Bear ‘dancing’ has been illegal in India since 1972, but a lack of enforcement has allowed it to continue. WSPA first began working on this issue in 1996. In 2004, WSPA teamed up with WTI in a five-year project to eradicate ‘dancing’ bears in India and the associated poaching, resulting in today’s low incidence of such events.

WSPA and WTI run the Sloth Bear Conservation and Welfare Project to assist Forest Departments in various states including Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Chhattisgarh. The project deploys a holistic approach by rehabilitating Kalandars who are engaged in bear ‘dancing’ for reasons of tradition and extreme poverty, spreading awareness through campaigns, trade control, strengthening protection in sloth bear habitats, as well as intelligence gathering.

The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) is the world’s largest alliance of animal welfare organisations, currently representing more than 1000 member societies in over 150 countries. WSPA strives to create a world where animal welfare matters and animal cruelty ends. WSPA brings about change at both grassroots and governmental levels to benefit animals and has consultative status at the Council of Europe and the United Nations.

Notes for Editors:

 1.    Images of the sloth bear cubs are attached with the press release. Images must be accredited to WTI. PAL anamorphic footage and H.264 footage are available at:

http://wspa.ftpuk.net

USERNAME: bearpress

PASSWORD: press

1. Agra bear sanctuary was started in 2000, after WSPA and NGO Wildlife SOS (WSOS) lobbied the Indian

government to get land donated for the purpose of building India’s first bear sanctuary.  The WSPA-funded sanctuary was completed in 2002, and then handed over to WSOS to own and manage.  WSPA also brought in several international NGOs to support WSOS in the ongoing work of rescuing dancing bears and managing the sanctuary.

3.   Prior to 2008, traders visited Sambalpur for bear cubs that were subsequently sold to Kalandars. In 2008, WSPA and WTI helped forestry authorities to create Village Protection Committees in Sambalpur to protect bear dens around villages in sloth bear habitats. Comprising local villagers, the committees have identified and are monitoring the dens and areas around them to prevent poaching of cubs. WSPA and WTI staff have also been assisting forestry authorities to identify and monitor bear dens to prevent poaching of the cubs.

1. Sloth bears are listed as ‘vulnerable’ by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

For interviews please contact:

 In India, Sheren Shrestha, Chief Communications Officer at WTI +91 (0) 9990930530 sheren@wti.org.in

or Jose Louis, Officer-in-Charge for Enforcement Assistance and Law, WTI +91 (0) 9745003075 jose@wti.org.in

In London, Neil D’Cruze, WSPA Indian Dancing Bear Programme Manager +44 (0) 781 441407 NeilDCruz@wspa-international.org