WSPA battles bear-baiting
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, April 1993:
The World Society for the
Protection of Animals asks that letters
protesting bear-baiting be sent to the
Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,
2315 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington,
DC 20008-2802. Videotapes recently
obtained by WSPCA staff show how, as a
WSPCA press release explains, “the trained
bear is led to the center of a field and tied by
a 15-foot-rope to a peg in the ground. At the
judge’s signal, two dogs are unleashed to
attack. If the dogs can grasp the bear’s nose
in their teeth and flatten the bear in three min-
utes, the dogs win.” Otherwise, “the bear is
the winner. Bears generally win two out of
three fights. There are about 80 significant
bear-baiting events per season. On average,
10 bears fight in one event, and each bear
fights thrice with different pairs of dogs.
There are about 2,400 bear/dog fights per
year in these major events. The incidence of
bear-baiting on a smaller scale is unknown.”
Introduced by the British along with
pit bull terriers 200 years ago, bear-baiting
was banned in 1890, but enforcement is nil,
and the events are actually licensed and taxed
by various levels of local government.
