BEARS IN ABUSIVE SITUATIONS

Warning: Some video footage on this page may contain images that are upsetting.

 

Animals through the ages have been treated badly, for one reason or another, in every country in the world.  There has always been a fascination with predators, animals that are very dangerous that have teeth and claws, and man has desired to control them.  Tigers, coyotes, lions, wolves, sharks, bears.  Some have been hunted to extinction in some places, people have been offered money and prizes for killing as many of them as they could, trapped and left to die a slow death, and if unlucky enough to have been captured, forced to endure agony and senseless misery at the hands of man. 

Abuse of animals is never acceptable. Today, in this modern world, when we can speak or text or email to anyone in the world and receive an answer instantaneously, with all of our vast intellect and knowledge about outer space, technology, and science, we still can't seem to understand what is wrong with torturing animals. 

Blood sports are alive and well in 2009.  Blood sports that people participated with in the ancient Roman Coliseum were not much different to what is going on today in many countries.

 

BEAR BAITING AS A SPECTATOR SPORT

'Bear baiting' is currently a popular sport in Pakistan.  It once was a common recreation in England and other countries where it has been banned since the 1850's.  Bear baiting for sport, in this sense, is when a bear is captured, or raised in captivity for this purpose, his teeth and / or claws are pulled out with no anesthetic, a ring is poked through his nose, he is chained to a post in the ground in an arena, and then dogs or other animals are urged to attack him.  Although cruelty to animals is against the law there and also against religious doctrine, it is still happening.  Through the work of WSPA (World Society for the Protection of Animals) the number of bears involved in baiting in Pakistan has decreased from 300 to 50.  The Kund Park Bear Sanctuary in Pakistan, established in 2001, is where rescued baited bears are taken, and given a better life.  Upon arrival, the bear is put in a private area away from other bears so that he can rest and recuperate.  Some of their wounds are extensive and horrific, as they have usually been rescued immediately after a bear baiting event.  They are checked over for injuries, infections, worms, and other physical problems, and given food, water, and medicine.  When they are better, after several weeks of monitoring and care, they are put into natural habitat.  The Kund Park Bear Sanctuary keeps these rescued bears indefinitely because bears with no teeth cannot fend for themselves in the wild; they can never be released to the wild again.  The three sub-species of bears that are used in the blood-sport of bear baiting in Pakistan are Himalayan Black Bear, Baluchistan Bear, and Himalayan Brown Bear.  All are threatened with over-hunting and loss of habitat.  The Baluchistan Bear is now thought to be extinct from the wild.  See also the BRC ("Bioresource Research Center") website at  for more information.  BRC is the organization that administers (and is the same as) Kund Park Bear Sanctuary.  Donations for BRC, Kund Park Bear Sanctuary, and WSPA are welcome.  See the BRC website to see how you can make suggestions for names for the newly rescued bears.

  This video shows a rescued bear at Kund Park Bear Sanctuary:

This video shows rescued bear cubs at Kund Park Bear Sanctuary:

To see other videos about bears living in abusive conditions,

go to YouTube or WSPA to see videos about them.

We have decided not to show these videos on our website.

as they carry images not suitable for younger viewers.

 

We do encourage adults to see the videos, however,

because without understanding that these conditions still exist today

these bears will continue to be tortured with no hope of a decent life.

Bear baiting has no place in a modern civilized world.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/1100555.stm

http://www.wspa-usa.org/pages/391_bear_baiting.cfm

http://www.wspaimages.org/respages/result.asp?NewSearch=True&hidCategorySearch=true&stories=05

http://www.pbrc.edu.pk/sanctuaryy.htm

 

 

USING CAPTIVE BEARS TO TRAIN BAYING DOGS

Another type of 'bear baiting' or 'bear baying' which is allowed in some states in America is the controversial practice of capturing wild black bears or using tame captive bears, and using these to train hunting dogs.  The bear is caught and put into a large fenced-in area, and then dogs are released into the enclosure.  The bear runs, but has nowhere to go to escape the dogs.  Some hunters there are currently allowed to keep wild bears in small enclosures so that they can help other people train their dogs for bear hunts. This controversial hunting dog training method is on the table for discussion this year in South Carolina, a state which already allows hunting dogs to be trained to hunt animals while chasing foxes and coyotes in fenced-in areas.  Some bears are kept all year in these fenced-in areas, to await the day the dogs come.  Some people feel that since the fenced-in area is as large as 200 acres in some cases, the bear isn't really caged.  Other people say the bear is caged since he cannot escape that area.  It is also believed that if wild bears are allowed to be held captive in these fenced enclosures, that the future may hold legal "canned hunts" where animals would be fenced on land and then killed in the enclosure for sport.

This type of bear baying or baiting, as in tying up a bear for dogs or people to torture it, was a common practice in merry old England and in other countries in other centuries.  It provided entertainment for an audience that enjoyed watching blood sports.  The bear's teeth and claws were pulled or filed down, and the bear was forced to endure hours of multiple fights per day. Bear baiting was banned by Parliament in England in 1835.  Although bear baying or baiting by dogs was legally banned in Pakistan in 1890, it still goes on there today.

Another form of bear baying is the practice of using a captive bear as an aid to training hunting dogs, when the bear is tied to a stake and the dogs are urged to continually surround and bark at the bear.  This is very unpleasant for the bear and causes extreme stress.  Although, theoretically, the dogs are not urged to attack the bear, it does happen on a regular basis, and the bear is helpless to defend itself.  In some cases, the bear is put into a cage, with the dogs attacking the cage. The state of South Carolina has had this topic on the table for years, with heated discussions on both sides.  As of this writing, bear baying is still legal and in practice in that state.

 

FORCING BEARS TO DANCE AND DO TRICKS

Forcing captive bears to dance for entertainment originated in the Balkan Mountains in southeastern Europe centuries ago. Today there are people still abusing bears in this way in south Asia, the Middle East and other places, including Bulgaria, Siberia, and India.  Most of Europe had dancing bears until most of it ended in the 15th century. There are currently nearly 1,200 dancing bears in India, used by people to earn money through this street entertainment.  WPSA is involved with solving this problem, as the elimination of dancing bears will ultimately leave a segment of the population with no resources.  Dancing bears have been exploited by people in many countries for many centuries. When the bear is about a year old, holes are punctured through the bear's cheek, and a rope with a knot on the end is immediately inserted through the two holes.  When the rope is pulled on from the top, the bear stands up and does what it is told to do.  Poor living condition and diet, combined with being forced to stand on its hind legs for long periods of time, contribute to many physical and emotional problems for the bears.  Today, beginning in the 1990's, organizations such as WSPA are rescuing these dancing bears, and making it possible for them to have healthier and happier lives.

To see videos of WSPA rescues of dancing bears

and other videos of dancing bears, go to YouTube and type that in.

We have decided not to show these videos on our website.

as they carry images not suitable for younger viewers.

 

We do encourage adults to see the videos, however,

because without understanding that these conditions still exist today

these bears will continue to be tortured with no hope of a decent life.

Dancing bears in many parts of the world deserve a life

without pain and fear and constant stress.

 

 

BEAR BILE FARMING

 

Supporting the Asian bear bile market for this substance used in traditional Chinese medicines, many of the bears in the U.S. are now killed for their gall bladders, since Asian bears are dwindling in numbers.  Bears are kept in horrid conditions in small cages their whole lives, with pipes and tubes protruding from their bellies, where the bile their bodies make drips out into containers.  It is a lucrative trade, gaining a lot of money to the poachers who take and sell the bladders or the people who farm the bile. It is estimated that over 12,000 bears are suffering on bile farms today.  To read details about this practice, see the links below.

To see videos of bear bile farms and farmed bear rescues

go to YouTube and type that in.

We have decided not to show these videos on our website.

as they carry images not suitable for younger viewers.

 

We do encourage adults to see the videos, however,

because without understanding that these conditions still exist today

these bears will continue to be tortured with no hope of a decent life,

and our own black bears in the United States will

continue to be poached/killed for their gall bladders and paws

for the black market trade.

 

 

 

PDF: From Cage to Consumer

http://bearbilefacts.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bile_bear

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/oct/11/animalwelfare.world

http://www.aapn.org/endangered.html#Bile%20Bears

http://www.chinese-embassy.org.uk/eng/xw/t231011.htm

http://www.moonbears.org/

http://www.traffic.org/seizures/2009/3/28/south-korean-charged-with-illegally-importing-bear-bile-to-u.html

http://www.hsus.org/wildlife/issues_facing_wildlife/wildlife_trade/the_unbearable_trade_in_bear_parts_and_bile/

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/EH20Ae03.html

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20227061.400-bear-tapping-a-bile-business.html

http://www.wspa-usa.org/download/100_us_report42.pdf

CNN: http://archives.cnn.com/2001/TECH/science/04/30/japan.bears/

http://www.wspa-usa.org/pages/2726_crime_doesn_t_pay_wildlife_hotline_targets_bear_bile.cfm

http://www.gov.ns.ca/natr/wildlife/lgmams/beargalls.htm

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bearbile28-2009mar28,0,4159790.story

 

 

 

BEARS ARE RESCUED FROM POOR CAPTIVE SITUATIONS

Many times, bears are held in roadside zoos where the owners cannot care for them properly.  Sometimes bears are rescued from small zoos, from circuses, from abusive situations, or confiscated by officials from people who thought they could raise and own a bear at home. See also: http://www.covebear.com/BlackBearsInCaptivity.htm

This video shows a multiple-captive-bear rescue in Ohio,

by The Wild Animal Sanctuary near Denver, Colorado -

these bears lived on cement and dirt their whole lives,

they now have a natural habitat and grass for the first time:

 

ILLEGAL TRADE IN BEAR BODY PARTS

See our page on this website for details about illegal traffic of bear body parts at http://www.covebear.com/BlackBearTrade.htm.