Feature/WildLife
A Bear Story
Illegal trade in wildlife has not been given high priority by countries in South Asia. Governments need to join forces to strengthen wildlife conservation.
Animal rights and animal welfare are movements that are continuously developing, especially in the 21st century, with many celebrities and respected scholars joining and supporting them worldwide. This has added to their credibility and more countries are taking steps to pass laws that protect the rights of animals. The situation regarding adverse living conditions of animals are even worse in the third world countries. With the lack of resources and awareness, we often see animals being tortured and ill-treated in the name of entertainment.
As the awareness of animal rights is increasing in South Asia, we now have various animal rights and welfare NGOs operating in the region. They are working specifically to free animals like bears, monkeys, etc. from captivity as they are being used for entertainment purposes in circuses or are being used by individuals. Even though there are many organizations working day and night to improve the living conditions of animals, there are still various rules and regulations that hinder the process.
In October 2019, a sloth bear from Siraha, Nepal was rescued by an Indian animal welfare charity. Little Dhutharu, the one-year-old male sloth bear was rescued after news about the life of a bear tamer in Siraha, who made a living by making the little bear dance for an audience as he wandered around the southeastern district each day, was published. When Sneha Shrestha, who runs an animal welfare charity, saw the news all she could think about was the suffering of the poor animal. The very next day her team arrived in Nepal and rescued the bear.
Sloth bears are found in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. According to the Convention, on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora Secretariat, sloth bears are listed as “vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List. Their trade is banned and they are among endangered species. Despite that, due to the lack of education and awareness, sloth bears are still being used by bear tamers to earn living. They are kept in captivity and live in very bad conditions.
As times have been changing for animal rights and welfare many NGOs have started working on this but there is still room to lay down proper rules and regulations regarding the rights and jurisdiction of these NGOs. When Sneha’s team rescued little Dhutharu, they had to hand him over to the Nepali government because NGOs are not authorized to rescue wild animals. While handing Dhutharu over, the NGO made a request to transfer him to a wildlife recovery center in India as Nepal does not have such a facility. Despite this request, it has been 6 months and the little bear is still in Nepal.
India has better facilities as compared to Nepal for animals in zoos and wildlife centers. Little Dhutharu is still languishing inside a small cage in Nepal’s only zoo in Kathmandu. Repeated requests for his transfer to India have been ignored by Nepali authorities on the ground that he is the property of Nepal. But, because of his poor living conditions, the bear is still suffering and living a painful life, which makes the rescue effort by Sneha’s NGO redundant.
The debate around the nationality of the bear has exposed the poorly formed laws regarding the safety and conversion of wildlife, even though Nepal has already sent two dancing bears to India in the last decade on the same grounds. The NGO has argued that the government of Nepal should not make this an issue of nationality but think about the welfare of the animal in question. The counter argument that the Nepali authorities’ present is that one of the previously transferred bears died in an Indian zoo in 2018 due to poor living conditions. This makes the whole ordeal of transferring the animal useless if the animals have to live in the same conditions in India.
The issue has underscored the need for making the animal welfare situation in the region more transparent. Better laws need to be formulated regarding the rescue and transfer of such animals to countries with better living conditions. States need to work together to end the animals’ miseries. Every country should set up wildlife centers. If that is not possible, laws should be developed so that quicker and easier transfer of wild animals can be made to countries with better facilities.
The writer has an abiding interest in international relations. She has a Masters degree in the subject from the National Defence University, Islamabad and can be reached at labbaba1808@gmail.com |
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