![]() The bear is vaccinated against rabies, leptospirosis and infectious canine hepatitis. The sanctuary is fully equipped to treat and rehabilitate rescued bears with a state of the art veterinary surgery, allowing accurate diagnosis of injuries and ailments for swift and efficient treatment. The veterinary team also undertakes advanced research and disease management and provides specialised geriatric care for its population of ageing sloth bears.Įach rescued bear undergoes a 90-day quarantine period during which he or she is given a complete health check and treated for any diseases, wounds and parasites. Many other species of wildlife also choose to make the facility’s forest habitat their home. The socialisation areas have freshwater bathing pools, purpose-built dens, feeding and resting areas, as well as climbing frames and other types of environmental enrichment. The sanctuary provides a beautiful natural forest habitat where the bears roam freely after a period of quarantine and rehabilitation. The facility is situated on land within the government-owned Sur Sarovar Bird Sanctuary, under the overall supervision of the Uttar Pradesh Forestry Department. The largest sloth bear rescue facility in the world, it is run by our Indian partners Wildlife SOS and their expert team of vets and keepers, with funding from IAR to cover the considerable running costs and care of the bears. The Agra Bear Rescue Facility (ABRF) lies a few kilometres north of the famous Taj Mahal in India. We will continue to support Wildlife SOS in their efforts to track down the smugglers and cut these bears free. Since the rescue of the last dancing bear in India, investigations have shown that some bears have been smuggled across the border into Nepal by their Kalandar handlers and continue to suffer cruelty and abuse. They are given regular medical and dental checks and enjoy a range of environmental enrichment to keep them mentally and physically active. We work hard to keep the bears healthy and happy. The bears have plenty of trees to climb in the free-roaming forest and bathing pools where they can play and cool down in the heat of the day. We aim to give them not only food and shelter but an environment which is as close as possible to life in the wild. SLOTH BEAR FREEWe are committed to providing the rescued bears with a safe haven where they can live free from fear and pain for the rest of their lives. The majority are housed in Agra, others at a second sanctuary in Bannerghatta near Bangalore in the south and a small number at a third centre in Bhopal, central India. From then on the project went from strength to strength, becoming so successful that by the end of 2009 we had rescued all the dancing bears from the streets of India. In 2002 we helped our partners Wildlife SOS (WSOS) complete the construction of the Agra Bear Rescue Facility, enabling us to rescue the first six bears on 24 December 2002. The survivors of this cruel trade live in sanctuaries in India where they receive loving care and enjoy a peaceful and pain-free retirement. Working with our Indian partners Wildlife SOS (WSOS) we rescued more than 620 dancing bears and in 2009 together we rescued the very last one off the streets. The practice of dancing bears was made illegal in India in 1972. The rope would be tugged and yanked to make the bear ‘dance’ and for many bears over the years, a life at the end of a rope was all they knew. A coarse rope would then be threaded through the open wound. Without administering any anaesthetic, a red hot iron rod would be driven through the muzzle of the bear cub which was usually only about six months old. Through underground trading as many as 200 cubs a year would end up in the hands of the Kalandars. Mother bears were killed so that poachers could take and sell their cubs to perpetuate this barbaric practice. Then, over the centuries, as the kingdoms in India disappeared, the dancing bears became cheap roadside entertainment for villagers and tourists who paid to watch them ‘perform.’ In reality the bears were reacting to excruciating pain. A nomadic tribe known as the Kalandars would ‘dance’ the bears for the emperors during the Mughal era. For more than 400 years sloth bears in India were exploited as dancing bears. ![]()
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