AR-News: Bear-baiting is increasing in Pakistan, say activists

[jim robertson]

Bear-baiting is increasing in Pakistan, say activists



Friday, June 25, 2004
By Reuters

LONDON — The illegal sport of bear baiting is booming in Pakistan, but 
authorities are doing nothing to prevent it, animal activists said on 
Thursday.

The savaging of bears by packs of dogs at staged events has more than 
doubled over the past year, according to the World Society for the 
Protection of Animals (WSPA).

"Our attempts to get the authorities to take action have been met with 
indifference and sometimes resulted in threats and intimidation," Fakhar 
Abbas, WSPA's Project Manager in Pakistan told a news conference in London.

But a spokesman for the Pakistani High Commission in London denied official 
inaction.

"This is completely wrong. You used to see it all over the place, and now 
you don't," he said. "It still goes on, but in secret and in a few isolated 
rural areas. We have arrested quite a few people and rescued a number of the 
animals."

The WSPA — an umbrella organization of 449 wildlife organizations which 
operates in more than 116 countries — said its investigators had found more 
than 20 bear-baiting events in 2003, up from 10 the previous year. In one 
event alone, 12 tethered bears and hundreds of dogs were involved, the 
organization said.

"We place ourselves at great risk when exposing bear-baiting events, only to 
see our efforts deliberately sabotaged by tip-offs, bureaucratic barriers, 
and even staged confiscations after which bears mysteriously disappear 
without trace," Abbas said.

He accused local officials of sometimes organizing the events or providing 
security at them.

The organization estimated there may be fewer than 300 bears left in the 
wild in Pakistan, with adult bears hunted and killed so that their cubs can 
be sold into captivity.

Bear-baiting, once widespread in medieval Europe, was originally introduced 
to Pakistan by the British in colonial times. WSPA said Pakistan was the 
only country in the world today where bear-baiting is known to still take 
place.

Source: Reuters

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