One form of entertainment mired in animal cruelty is "dancing bears." The majority of the bears are raised in India, Russia, and Scandinavian countries. They are a popular attraction in Europe and some areas of the U.S.
From an article by the WSPA:
The report revealed that 60-70% of cubs taken from the wild die before they even begin their brutal training. Dehydration, starvation, and trauma are all reasons. Should the cub be lucky enough to live this long, a punishing regime of starvation and beating will begin to condition it to perform. The piercing of the cub's sensitive muzzle with a rope for control is the next ordeal. It is held down without anaesthetic while a crude iron needle is heated in a coal fire and plunged in with a group of men holding the squealing cub tight. The investigators also found that the site of the nose piercing was invariably infected in all of the 17 cases observed. "The cub would then have to suffer a second piercing before the first was healed, compounding his agony," explained Geete Seshamani. "The tug of this rope, along with an intense fear of the strike of a heavy stick, motivates the bear to lift its legs in turn and 'dance'." Before it is a year old, the bear's incisors and canine teeth will be wrenched out. Sold as lucky charms, these are valuable commodities. The toothless bear is unable to eat its natural diet, and the limited feeding of lentils and chapatis often leads to terminal intestinal disorders...For more of this article, click here.
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