He219
06-24-2004, 04:00 PM
http://wwwi.*******.com/images/2004-06-24T181023Z_01_PKN006D_RTRIDSP_2_PAKISTAN-BEARS.jpg
http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20040624/i/r3077237738.jpg
An undated World Society for the Protection of Animals handout pictures released on June 24, 2004, claims to show a black bear fighting with two dogs in an illegal bear-baiting event in the Punjab Province, Pakistan. 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 WSPA.
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Bear-baiting increasing in Pakistan (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L24531498.htm)
25 June 2004
LONDON: The illegal sport of bear baiting is booming in Pakistan but authorities are doing nothing to prevent it, animal activists said yesterday.
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 organisation of 449 wildlife organisations 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 organisation 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 organising the events or providing security at them.
The organisation 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.
http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/rids/20040624/i/r3077237738.jpg
An undated World Society for the Protection of Animals handout pictures released on June 24, 2004, claims to show a black bear fighting with two dogs in an illegal bear-baiting event in the Punjab Province, Pakistan. 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 WSPA.
:(
Bear-baiting increasing in Pakistan (http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L24531498.htm)
25 June 2004
LONDON: The illegal sport of bear baiting is booming in Pakistan but authorities are doing nothing to prevent it, animal activists said yesterday.
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 organisation of 449 wildlife organisations 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 organisation 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 organising the events or providing security at them.
The organisation 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.