Its quite a pathetic thing that people enjopy watching such a brutal and cruel event and call it a sport.
Bear-baiting is an absolutely disgusting practice.
There are 2 species of bear in Pakistan - black and the larger brown. The main victim of bear baiting is the smaller black bear which was once so widespread that it was recorded from around Khanpur just on the northern side of the Margalla hills north and east to Muree, Galiyat and most od the forests of Swat, Hazara, Chitral, Kashmir, neighbouring forests of Gilgit and Astor. It occured historically in the hills of Malakand, Sawabi, probably the Cherat Range, the Tribal Belt and south to the Hingol range in Balochistan.
Now it is extinct in most of its range - a few bears maybe found in Ayubia National Park in the Galiyat, some survive in the Kaghan and Upper Swat forests. They are extict in other areas of NWFP and occur sparsely in the tribal belt. In balochistan they occur in small pockets ofthe vast province.
Footloose, NOS, The News International
Despite a ban on bear baiting in Pakistan, the sport continues to flourish
By Mohammad Niaz
The tribe of Kalandar (darvesh) thrives on bear baiting. After buying bears from traders, who buy the animal from the nomadic grazers, the Kalandars are often accused of inflicting invasive injuries on the bear: they extract incisors and canines and pierce their muzzle with a nose ring as a device to control them. Once this is done, the animals are trained to dance. But the training itself is gruesome – cubs are made to stand on hot metal surface and are repeatedly beaten. The bear learns to dance in an attempt to avoid pain. Mostly cubs are preferred as they can be controlled and trained to dance with relative ease. The poachers often kill the mother bear protecting her cub.
Kalandars not only rear the bears under unhygienic conditions but also keep them under nourished. Interestingly, every bear is assigned a named.
The persecution of bear cubs for use in bear baiting and for street dancing is threatening the bear population in Pakistan. Hundreds of bear cubs are reportedly captured every year for this purpose. Bears are listed as vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. They are endangered due to habitat degradation, killing of bears in defence of livestock and crop, and for bear parts being used in traditional medicines.
Pakistan’s geographical location helps sustain two species of bears – black and brown bear. There are two recognised sub-species of black bear, the Himalayan black bear and Balochistan black bear. The brown bear and the Himalayan black bear inhabit high mountain region of NWFP, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and other northern areas. Himalayan black bear is confined to Himalayan moist and dry temperate forest and adjoining sub-alpine scrub. The brown bear lives in drier sub-alpine and alpine meadows of the cold desert region – the highest concentration is found on the Deosai plains. Balochistan black bear has a limited presence in Balochistan.
The capture of bear cubs is prohibited at provincial level through the North West Frontier Province Protection, Preservation, Conservation, and Management Act (1975); the Punjab Wildlife Protection, Preservation, Conservation and Management Act (1974); and the Sindh Wildlife Protection Ordinance (1972). Bear baiting is illegal under section 3 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1890, which makes cruelty to animals punishable with imprisonment and fine or both as the case may be. There is also legal coverage for harassing an animal under the Pakistan Penal Code 1860 (section 429). But the existing enactment is ineffective at large.
Originating from England, bear baiting became popular in the 16th century and was introduced to the sub-continent in the colonial era. With the arrival of British, bull terriers were brought along and the gypsies were incited to use their bears for fighting the dogs, thus promoting a new sport in the rural areas of the region. The new sport was supported by the feudal landlords of Punjab and Sindh to earn favours of the British rulers. It soon became their hobby, and a popular event held in winter and spring. The event is regularly organised in modern days as well, and is attended by thousands of spectators that gather to witness the brutal fight of trained dogs with tethered and clawless bear in an arena. After several rounds of fighting if the bear remains upright it is declared victorious, though severe injuries are inflicted on both the dog and the bear.
To rescue the animal from cruelty, the international animal welfare organisations became very active in late 1980s, and launched a campaign to protect the animal from such savagery. Ultimately, the Pakistan government took notice of the issue and imposed a ban on bear baiting in early 1990s.
Being cautious of these facts, the NWFP Wildlife Department with assistance of World Society for Protection of Animals (WSPA) worked for establishing the first ever bear centre sanctuary of Pakistan at Kund in NWFP where bears confiscated from bear baiting events and poachers could be housed for treatment and rehabilitation. Established in 2001, spread over 12 acres near the confluence of River Indus and River Kabul in NWFP, Kund Sanctuary in Nowshera provides semi-natural conditions in captive ex-situ conservation setting to such crippled bears under proper medicare and nutritious feed.
Managed by the Pakistan Bioresource Research Centre, the Kund Sanctuary currently houses 24 bears. It also serves as a nucleus to disseminate conservation education and awareness among masses. Another similar bear sanctuary is being established at Kalar Kahar in Punjab.
The conservation of bears faces other problems too, such as limited funds, strict laws, rules and penalties. More importantly, Kalandars must be provided with other livelihood options than bear baiting; after all, bears are our national asset and some species are specific to Pakistan only.
