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Animal Charities On Track To Deft Sceptics By Stamping Out The Dancing Bear Trade. |
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INTERNATIONAL ANIMAL RESCUE, ENGLAND, Oct. 20 -/E-Wire/--
In defiance of sceptics who claimed the problem was too big for them to solve, two animal charities look set to make history by ending the tradition of 'dancing' bears in India. With backing from the Indian government, International Animal Rescue (IAR) and Wildlife SOS of India (WSOS) are confident of eradicating the cruel practice in the next five years.
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IAR and WSOS have rescued 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.
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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."
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Alan Knight, CEO of International Animal Rescue, says: "I'm not aware of any other group in the world that has been as successful as we are in rescuing and rehabilitating bears.
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"A survey to be published shortly has shown that there are still about 600 dancing bears in India. We have just signed and sealed a deal 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."
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International Animal Rescue is the funder of two sanctuaries in Agra near the Taj Mahal and in Bannerghatta near Bangalore. Both are managed by Wildlife SOS and they 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.
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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. Contact Info:
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Lis Key
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Communications Manager
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International Animal Rescue
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Telephone: +44.1825.767688
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Cell : +44.7957.824379
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E-mail: lis@iar.org.uk Website : International Animal Rescue
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