News
The US’s ambassador for the International Animal Rescue works to save India's "dancing" bears
January 23, 2008, 12:10PM MT
By Charlene Arsenault
Story by Charlene Arsenault, Best Friends Network
Elephants weren't meant to ride bikes, bulls weren't meant to buck upon, birds aren't meant to be in a cage, and bears aren't here to "dance" for you.
International Animal Rescue aids wild and domestic animals with hands-on rescue and rehabilitation. Whenever possible, IAR returns the rehabilitated animals to the wild, and provides a sanctuary for those that cannot.
One of its ongoing initiatives is to free the “dancing” bears in India, opening a sanctuary in Angra, India in 2002, initially taking in six bears rescued from the streets. Since then, IAR and Indian partners Wildlife SOS have rescued 420 bears, more than half of which are at the Agra sanctuary (which is very close to the Taj Mahal). The Agra Bear Rescue Facility is managed by the Wildlife S.O.S. under the overall supervision of the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department. International Animal Rescue is committed to providing long-term funding for the running costs of the sanctuary.
Laurence Van Atten, who opened the first IAR office in the United States, has been focused on the issue since she decided to focus her studies on animal welfare at school in Scotland (it’s still not possible to get a degree in animal ethics and welfare in the U.S.), when she did her dissertation on India’s bears.
“It is estimated that there are still 400 dancing bears on the streets of India,” says Van Atten, “so together, the two charities have rescued just over half of them. Their aim now is to end the cruel practice completely by 2010. In five short years, the Agra Bear Rescue Facility has become the most successful bear sanctuary in the world.”
Last October, she held a fundraiser, displaying her framed photographs from India, as well as providing food and live music. All of the proceeds benefited the dancing bear campaign.
The goal of that particular night was to raise $1,000, which is what it costs to take a bear off of the streets of India. At the Black Diamond Café in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, they took in $1,300 in three hours. To honor a donor who rescues a bear from a life of torture, the rescuer is asked to name the bear; in January, “Diamond,” a three week old cub, was rescued from poachers and brought to the sanctuary.
We didn’t have that cub in mind at the time,” says Van Atten. “Actually, we didn’t think a bear would come in for quite some time because the sanctuary has reached capacity. There is a huge expansion project underway, but, when we heard about this cub being snatched up by poachers, there was no way we wouldn’t intervene.”
Van Atten says that although she still gets frustrated with humans’ treatment of animals, she tries to balance this frustration with hope, and remembering the lives she and others have saved. She also believes the end is near for the dancing bears. “There are not many animal welfare projects that you can see a light at the end of the tunnel,” says Van Atten, “and I can see the light.”
Starting with six frightened and traumatized bears that had been held on the end of a rope ever since birth, rescuers remember when the ropes were first removed that their reaction was bewilderment and fear. "Since those early days," says Alan Knight, CEO of IAR, "we have expanded the sanctuary and now we have more than 100 acres where bears can roam freely and leave behind the pain and trauma of their lives on the streets."
Read more about IAR, including the history of the dancing bears in India, and how you can help.
Photo submitted by IAR