Five more bears rescued from bear baiting

Two bears were surrendered by their owners in exchange for alternative livelihoods. The bears, named Nahla (meaning ‘drink of water’) and Sukhi (meaning ‘happy’), were joined by three bears we rescued earlier this month. With the help of local police, our local partners in Pakistan daringly raided an illegal bear baiting event, during which three bears were rescued. 

A swift enforcement action led to the event being halted before any brutality could occur. The bear owners, along with three of the event organizers, were arrested.

The three bears that were rescued are:

• Pooh meaning ‘innocent’ who is a smaller ten year old who is unfortunately blind.
• Alex meaning ‘defender’ who is a very large and feisty ten year old.
• Diloo meaning ‘loved one’ who is a smaller eight year old.

At the moment, all five bears are in medical quarantine as they adjust to living together. They will join the other 28 bears at the sanctuary, also freed by compassionate supporters like you.

Baited bears rarely live beyond the age of eight, which is less than half their life expectancy in the wild. They often endure immense pain even before they fight, with their canine teeth broken, muzzles painfully pierced with nose rings and claws often removed. In a single bear baiting event, both bears and dogs are typically made to fight more than once.  

Since 1997, we have been working with local authorities in Pakistan to end bear baiting, a brutal and cruel sport in which bears are forced to battle-trained dogs.