KATHMANDU: Nepali authorities have rescued the country´s last known ?dancing bears?, officials said Sunday, ending the medieval tradition of abuse of the beasts for entertainment.
The Himalayan nation banned performing bears back in 1973 but the illegal practice ? a traditional occupation for some street performer communities ? lingered on in parts of its southern region. Police and animal charities said they spent more than a year hunting the captors of the sloth bears before they were traced to the Rautahat district near the border with India on Tuesday. ?We received information that they were in our area and managed to rescue the bears,? district police chief Yagya Binod Pokharel told AFP.Dancing bears are captured and bought as cubs and taught to dance on their hind legs. Their snouts are pierced with a heated rod so they can be controlled by the tug of a rope or chain. Animal activists said the rescued bears ? 19-year-old male Rangila and Sridevi, a 17-year-old female ? showed signs of trauma such as cowering, pacing and paw-sucking.
12-25-2017, 05:04 AM
Nepal?s last known dancing bears rescued
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