Nepal authorities rule out returning rescued sloth bear to India citing unverified nationality

Wildlife authorities in Nepal have ruled against returning a rescued sloth bear to its home in India, citing the animal's unverified nationality.

Animal rights centre Sneha's Care rescued Dhutharu, the one-year-old sloth bear, from an animal tamer in Nepal's southeatern Siraha district six month ago.

Speaking to PTI, activist Sneha Shrestha said, "After reading on the newspaper that a little bear (Dhutharu) was being made to perform tricks for his trapper, I decided to go with my team to Siraha to rescue the animal from torture."

Dhutharu was handed over to the government with the request that he be transported to a wildlife recovery centre in India as Nepal does not have such a facility. Private organisation like Sneha's Care are not authorised to keep under their care rescued wild animals.

 

Six months on, the animal is languishing inside a small cage in Nepal's only zoo in Kathmandu.

The government officials have dismissed repeated calls by Shrestha and other activists for sending the bear to India.

"The debate surrounding Dhutharu's fate exposes the government's poor preparedness to deal with trans-boundary wildlife conservation, which has become a recurring issue for Nepali authorities," a wildlife expert pointed out.

Sloth bears (Melursus ursinus) are found in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. They are listed as vulnerable species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's wildlife conservation list.

Shrestha said there is precedence for Nepal handing over animals to India -- once in 2010 and again in 2018.

However, Chief of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Gopal Prakash Bhattarai said, "In the Rangila case (2018), the rescuers had documents that showed the bear came to the Nepali side from India. In Dhutharu's case they do not have any such evidence. Hence, we do not entertain requests for repatriation."

Niraj Gautam, who was involved in the two cases when animals returned to India, said such animals are made to perform tricks, dances -- a form of cruelty.

"Even if a Nepali makes them perform, it is influenced by Indians. Mostly, such animals are rescued near the open border so the animals must belong to India," said Gautam.

Gautam explained the practice of 'dancing bears' is alien to Nepal and that it exists only in the southern plains that border India, where the practice has been made illegal now.

Shrestha said Dhutharu cannot survive in a small cage and it should be transferred to a well-facilitated sanctuary.

"The ultimate goal of a progressive sanctuary is rehabilitation and returning the animal to a healthy state of being."

Shrestha said talks are on with Nepal's Forest and Environment Minister Shakti Basnet on Dhutharu's well-being and that he is positive regarding the matter.

I am preparing documents to prove that the animal belongs to India and I hope that it will soon be repatriated, she told PTI.