Bear expert targets Japan campaign

[Guest guest]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/2757369.stm

 

Thursday, 13 February, 2003, 17:12 GMT

Bear expert targets Japan campaign

 

A wildlife expert from south Wales who set up the

first bear sanctuary in India is launching a new drive

to stop cruelty to bears in Japan.

 

Victor Watkins, 49, aims to end the bad conditions

that bears are forced to endure in captivity.

 

In India, Mr Watkins, who is originally from Merthyr

Tydfil, set up a shelter for animals which used to be

forced to perform on the streets as " dancing bears " .

 

The sanctuary, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh,

will hold between 40 and 50 animals.

 

But now Mr Watkins, who has helped stop the tradition

of bear dancing in Greece and Turkey, has set his

sights on Japan.

 

Mr Watkins, who is director of the World Society for

the Protection of Animals (WSPA), founded the Libearty

campaign to abolish cruelty to the animals.

 

" In Japan they have bear parks which are like zoos but

are so overcrowded, " he said.

 

Mr Watkins explained that he had been working with

animal charities since he left school in Merthyr.

 

" I have always liked wildlife and I have done a lot of

work with wild life for different causes, " he said.

 

" I've been part of campaigns with whales and

elephants, but I realised there was no big campaign

for bears, " he added.

 

Bear baiting

 

Mr Watkins explained how the mistreatment of bears was

taking place across the world.

 

" In China there are over 9,000 bears being held in

cages, " he said.

 

" They have a drain put into their gall bladder to

extract the bile every day.

 

" The bears can't move and they have to lie down all

the time.

 

" In Pakistan, they have bear baiting where wild bears

are caught to fight with dogs.

 

" I wanted to help set up the sanctuary in India

because bears are used for dancing.

 

" They use sloth bears, which they have to catch in the

wild when they are babies, and the mothers have to be

killed.

 

" For the rest of their lives they are dragged around

the streets to perform.

 

" To control the bears, they drill a hole through their

mouth to drag them around.

 

" The charity wants to change people's opinions about

bears particularly the opinion of tourists who pay for

the bears to dance, " he added.

 

Philip Lymbery, WSPA's director of communications,

said Libearty's work had been extremely worthwhile.

 

" The groundbreaking sanctuary building programme has

resulted in many bears being rescued from lives of

misery, " he said.

 

 

 

 

Send Flowers for Valentine's Day