The sight of poorly fed and badly treated bears being forcedto dance on the streets of India is a thing of the past as a campaign to wipeout the practice has finally borne fruit, activists say. The tradition offorcing sloth bears to dance for entertainment dates back to the 13th century,when trainers belonging to the Muslim Kalandar tribe enjoyed royal patronageand performed before the rich and powerful. Descendants of the tribe fromcentral India had kept the tradition alive, buying bear cubs from poachers forabout 1,200 rupees and then hammering a heated iron rod through their sensitivesnouts. After removing the animal's teeth and claws, the bear trainer threadeda rope through its snout and then headed for the streets where onlookers wouldpay a few rupees for a show in which the bear would sway and jump around.
"It's taken us many years but all the tribesmen we keeptrack of have moved on to different livelihoods," Vivek Menon from thenon-profit Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), said on the sidelines of a bearconference in New Delhi recently. The World Society for the Protection ofAnimals (WSPA) and India-based Wildlife SOS, which runs sanctuaries for bears,have also declared an end to the practice in the last few months -- 40 yearsafter a government ban in 1972. The key, say the donation-funded groups, hasbeen bringing the Kalandars on board, providing them with money and incentivesto re-train in other professions. The success points the way for othercampaigns, such as the one to rid India of its snake charmers who can still bespotted illegally plying their trade, often with the snakes' mouths sewn shut."
One of the owners to give up was Mohammed Afsar Khan, a30-year-old father of three girls who used to work with his father and brothertravelling across central India with three bears in tow. He says he used toearn about 300 rupees a day until he gave up the job six years ago. "It'sa hard life. You can never settle in one place, your children can't go toschool, you end up feeling trapped. Then you are always worried about policeharassing you for bribes," he said. He handed over his bears to WildlifeTrust of India officers, who offered his family financial assistance and helpedhim and his younger brother learn driving skills. He used the funds to rent atractor and ferry bricks from kilns to construction sites in Chhattisgarhstate. Today, he owns his tractor and earns about 500 rupees a day.
The sloth bears suffer from malnutrition after being fedbread, lentils and milk for years, leading to an extremely reduced life span.In the last three decades, the number of sloth bears -- a species native toSouth Asia -- has fallen by at least 30 percent, according to the IUCN-SSC BearSpecialist Group (BSG). There are now less than 20,000 of them.
