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The Dancing Bear in India has a long tradition and was a popular form of entertainment for many years but today it is a dying occupation with no future and this has to be recognised by the Kalandars. It involves barbaric modes of capture and cruel methods of training and controlling an animal that was never meant to be domesticated. The demand for Sloth Bear Cubs for the Dancing Bear Trade is definitely reducing the population of Sloth Bears in the wild as well as contributing to the growing problem of aggressive man-bear encounters in areas of heavy poaching.

Over a single season Kalandars could buy and trade over 115 bear cubs to be trained for dancing or for selling and to replace those lost in the previous year to illness, old age and accidents. This in turn implies a large number of adult breeding female sloth bears have been disturbed or killed in order to obtain these cubs. It is a depletion of wildlife resources India cannot afford.

The methods of training the bear cub are inhumane and lead to prolonged agony over 12 months for the young cub. The vicious practice of nose piercing, the trauma of nail clipping and dietary deprivation, and the use of a stick and rope to inflict pain on the animal during training cannot be condoned. The stress and pain the dancing bear endures on the road amidst traffic and pollution when danced in cities and towns, is condemnable. When young children see the bear dance in markets, at fairs and festivals, they often tease and poke the animal, seeing it as an object of fun and entertainment. The dignity and beauty the animal has in the wild is lost, and the child is educated instead in insensitivity and a lack of concern for the wildlife around him.

The study indicated that the Indian public still has to be educated in the cruelties involved in bear capturing. The superstitions regarding the exorcising powers of the bear, the belief that a claw or a hair can stave off danger has to be educated out of the Indian mind. A growing percentage of urban audiences dislike watching this shambling, large bear being made a clown of, in the Indian market or along the Indian roads, but are unaware of the cruelties involved. Villagers and tribals settled near the forested areas are indifferent to the consequences of bear cub poaching and regard the Sloth bear as either “vermin” that destroys their crops; or as a “competitor” for forest resources such as honey; or a dangerous “problem” to be encountered when they enter the forest surreptitiously.

The Wildlife Protection Act clearly states that the capture, transportation and selling or buying of a Schedule I animal is forbidden. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act clearly condemns the training methods as cruel and inhumane. Utilising both these laws the tradition of the Dancing Bear of India should be phased out and the trade urgently needs to be stopped at its source i.e. the forest itself where the animal is first hunted and caught.




	Conclusion	Contents

	The Dancing Bear in India has a long tradition and was a popular form of entertainment for many years but today it is a dying occupation with no future and this has to be recognised by the Kalandars. It involves barbaric modes of capture and cruel methods of training and controlling an animal that was never meant to be domesticated. The demand for Sloth Bear Cubs for the Dancing Bear Trade is definitely reducing the population of Sloth Bears in the wild as well as contributing to the growing problem of aggressive man-bear encounters in areas of heavy poaching. Over a single season Kalandars could buy and trade over 115 bear cubs to be trained for dancing or for selling and to replace those lost in the previous year to illness, old age and accidents. This in turn implies a large number of adult breeding female sloth bears have been disturbed or killed in order to obtain these cubs. It is a depletion of wildlife resources India cannot afford. The methods of training the bear cub are inhumane and lead to prolonged agony over 12 months for the young cub. The vicious practice of nose piercing, the trauma of nail clipping and dietary deprivation, and the use of a stick and rope to inflict pain on the animal during training cannot be condoned. The stress and pain the dancing bear endures on the road amidst traffic and pollution when danced in cities and towns, is condemnable. When young children see the bear dance in markets, at fairs and festivals, they often tease and poke the animal, seeing it as an object of fun and entertainment. The dignity and beauty the animal has in the wild is lost, and the child is educated instead in insensitivity and a lack of concern for the wildlife around him. The study indicated that the Indian public still has to be educated in the cruelties involved in bear capturing. The superstitions regarding the exorcising powers of the bear, the belief that a claw or a hair can stave off danger has to be educated out of the Indian mind. A growing percentage of urban audiences dislike watching this shambling, large bear being made a clown of, in the Indian market or along the Indian roads, but are unaware of the cruelties involved. Villagers and tribals settled near the forested areas are indifferent to the consequences of bear cub poaching and regard the Sloth bear as either “vermin” that destroys their crops; or as a “competitor” for forest resources such as honey; or a dangerous “problem” to be encountered when they enter the forest surreptitiously. The Wildlife Protection Act clearly states that the capture, transportation and selling or buying of a Schedule I animal is forbidden. The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act clearly condemns the training methods as cruel and inhumane. Utilising both these laws the tradition of the Dancing Bear of India should be phased out and the trade urgently needs to be stopped at its source i.e. the forest itself where the animal is first hunted and caught.

	The investigators also concluded there has been a steady decline in the numbers of bears being owned and danced by the Kalandars. The reasons were several. The increasing pace of life and variety of entertainment available, (Television, radio, cinema ), has made the dancing bear lose its entertainment value. The rising costs of maintaining this large animal has also discouraged many Kalandar families from pursuing this trade. The introduction of stringent amendments to the Wildlife Laws which prevented the renewal of licenses to dance bears and prevented the acquisition of new cubs has opened the way to increased harassment from the forest officials and police officers. The Kalandar is thus ready to accept any alternate professions that guarantee a livelihood. The investigators concluded the Kalandars (under 30 age group) would like another safer and securer mode of earning a living. The older Kalandars are still fiercely attached to their traditions and suggested a “theatre” be founded for the Kalandar arts where they could use the bears in their possession to “stage shows”. However the Kalandar youth largely unemployed (age group 18 - 25) had already taken their decision and were neither dancing bears nor monkeys. The Kalandar community is open to any programme for rehabilitation provided they have faith in the organization or authority running the programme. About 48 million forest dwellers live in India, within or in the vicinity of forests, forests that represent a means of survival and livelihood to them. (Mark Poffenberger and KC Malhotra, “Population and forest resource dependency”) Poffenberger and Malhotra emphasize the tribals resentment at being denied access to reserved forests and that this resentment increases should a wild animal (eg the Sloth Bear) harm them or their crops. The investigators however do not find a correlation between this resentment and the active poaching of not only bear cubs but other wildlife as a means of sustenance. Utilisation of forest resources for survival by tribals, unfortunately, often becomes unregulated or unsustainable exploitation of forest resources.
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