Dancing bears to be removed from India’s streets by 2010

22/12/2008 12:29:23 UK charity designates 2009 as ‘The Year of The Bear'

A UK charity that has rescued 500 dancing bears from the streets of India has named 2009 as its Year of the Bear. The 500th bear - brought in over Christmas - signalled a major milestone in its campaign to cut free all the dancing bears in the country and provide them with a safe haven for the rest of their lives. International Animal Rescue believes that 2009 will be the year in which the practice of dancing bears in India is ended for good.

Says Alan Knight OBE, Chief Executive of International Animal Rescue: "We are well on the way to ending the trade in dancing bears in India altogether. By nominating 2009 as International Animal Rescue's Year of the Bear we aim to give a new impetus to the campaign and rescue all the remaining bears off the streets. We are launching a new bear adoption programme which will enable our supporters to sponsor individual bears in our sanctuaries and follow their progress back to health. We're also planning some fundraising events and hope to enlist the support of our patrons to ensure they are a real success. Comedians Jo Brand and Bill Bailey have been incredibly supportive of our work in the past and we're hoping they can spare the time to help us out again during our Year of the Bear.

Sanctuary opened in 2002
The first six bears were rescued on Christmas Eve 2002 when the sanctuary in Agra opened its doors. Since then International Animal Rescue in the UK has worked with main partners Wildlife SOS in India, as well as Free the Bears Australia and One Voice France to rescue and rehabilitate adult bears and cubs that were poached from the wild and destined for a life on the streets. The charities believe there are now only 120 dancing bears still awaiting rescue.

World's largest sloth bear sanctuary
Alan Knight continues: "We have come a long way since Christmas Eve 2002. From humble beginnings five years ago the Agra sanctuary has grown into the largest rescue facility for sloth bears in the world and a centre of excellence for the rescue and rehabilitation of captive bears. We have also opened a second sanctuary in Bannerghatta which cares for bears rescued in the south of India and a more temporary holding centre in Bhopal in central India."

Dancing bears suffer terrible cruelty during their lives on the streets, resulting in lasting physical and psychological damage. The charity's Christmas appeal, supported by Bill Bailey, highlighted the plight of those bears that have gone blind as a result of malnutrition or brutal beatings to the head. International Animal Rescue raised funds to provide additional environmental enrichment for them to stimulate their other senses and ward off boredom and depression.

The two charities have already identified a number of bears in the more remote villages in India still waiting to be rescued. The majority are in poor condition and in need of medical care. They will be rescued as soon as new night dens have been built for them at the sanctuaries.

Alan Knight concludes: "It's hard to be patient when we know animals are suffering. But we are more determined than ever to rescue all the remaining bears, and 2009 is the year in which we intend to do it.

"This Christmas we celebrated our success so far, but we can never forget the bears still in need of our help. By 2010 I hope we'll be having a huge celebration because all the dancing bears in India are safely in our care."

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