SWD gears up to rescue black bear

Bear baiting has been banned in province since 2015

KARACHI:

There are at least three black bears in the province being kept illegally, and the Sindh Wildlife Department (SWD) has been searching for them.

Earlier this week, the SWD managed to locate one of them.

In a video available with The Express Tribune, villagers, traced to a remote in Naushero Feroze district, can be seen cheering on as a chained bear is forced to fend himself against a large white dog bent on attacking him. The cruel game - bear baiting - has been banned in the province since February 2015.

"The bears are in the illegal possession of a local landlord," said an SWD official speaking to The Express Tribune.

Although his department immediately initiated efforts after managing to locate the bear depicted in the heart wrenching video, the official added that it seems difficult to get possession of them.

Bear baiting, as the name suggests, is a 'game' in which a bear is used as bait to rile up other animals, such as dogs.

The practice, dating back to colonial time, can be observed frequently in rural areas of the country. Spectators cheer on as two helpless animals are forced to battle - in the video that surfaced earlier this week, the bear has a ring pierced through his nose, is bound by a tight rope and is aimlessly throwing its paws to keep fend off the dog's attacks.

A crowd stands by cheering on the animals and calling for more vicious attacks. The provincial wildlife department, meanwhile, has been on a mission to free all bears being kept in captivity and make Sindh a bear-free province.

Sources within the department said that there only three bears, being illegally kept, left in the province.

Since the ban was enforced in 2015, most bears were rescued from captivity and sent to the National Bear Rehabilitation Sanctuary in Chakwal district near the federal capital.

"We have been in search of these bears for years," confirmed a senior SWD official. "But it is not easy to recover them."

Due to limited resources, wildlife officials have approached law enforcement agencies, including the Naushero Feroze district police, to provide support for their staff to rescue the trapped bear. The department has thus far managed to identify the landlord in question - he is known among the locals as Bhutto Rajpar, and is famous for bear baiting.

"Our teams are on it and will rescue the bears very soon," said SWD Chief Conservator Javed Ahmed Mahar. But, he added, it would be very difficult to recover the animals without the support of the local police.

In July this year the provincial assembly passed the Sindh Wildlife Protection, Preservation, Conservation and Management Act, repealing the weaker Sindh Wildlife Protection Ordinance 1972, and increased the ambit of protection for wild animals and birds in the province for the first time since.

Among other prohibitions and provisions, it gave the SWD staff status of the police and expanded coverage to even those wild animals that enter the province via trans-boundary migration or as a result of human activity.

However, the wildlife department is still pressed for resources, the officials claim. With regards to the three known bears that are still being kept captive in Sindh, the officials said that the bear is in the possession of some nomadic families who have the support of the influential landlord. They have narrowed down the location to Padidan area in Naushero Feroze district.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, a senior SWD official shared that the department fears resistance by the nomadic owners of the bears.

"The gypsy women usually start fighting, and create a law and order situation during such raids," he said.

According to the law passed last summer, the owner may get a jail sentence or be penalised with a fine up to Rs250,000. The person keeping the bear captive may also be subjected to both - jail time and the fine.

"But we compensate the owners in case they are poor," said Mahar. Earlier this year, for instance, a bear named Sobharo was rescued in Tando Adam district from a nomadic family. According to Mahar, the SWD provided the family with a cargo motorcycle at the time.

Sources in the SWD maintain that in Sindh there are only three bears being kept captive whereas in Punjab there are over a 100 such cases.

"There is no bear baiting [permissible] in Sindh," said Mahar. "We will conduct immediate raids and rescue the animal without any delay if someone points out the location."

Referring to the three bears, he said he believes that those three are the last ones left to be rescued. Following their recovery, he added, the SWD will declare Sindh free from bears.