KARACHI: International animal rights organization FOUR PAWS said on Wednesday it had rescued a three-year-old female dancing bear from abuse in eastern Pakistan and relocated her to the country’s capital city where she is undergoing treatment.
The development takes place days after FOUR PAWS and local authorities rescued a seven-year-old black bear ‘Rocky’ after finding out that he had been kept illegally in Punjab province and abused in 35 fights. Local authorities had intervened to move him to a safer facility.
FOUR PAWS said it came to know about Sunny during a meeting with the adviser to the prime minister of change and environment, who received information about the successful confiscation of a female bear that had been abused as a dancing bear.
“The FOUR PAWS experts lost no time and made the 400-kilometer journey to Jhang district to provide urgent help for three-year-old dancing bear Sunny together with a team from the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB),” the animal welfare organization said in a press release.
This handout photo, released by the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board on March 4, 2025, shows officials from Vienna-based FOUR PAWS and IWMB treat the rescued bear, ‘Sunny,’ at the wildlife facility in Islamabad. (Photo courtesy: IWMB/Handout)
FOUR PAWS said it arrived in Jhang after facing a challenging night-time journey through many villages with “bad road conditions” during heavy rains and thunderstorms.
It said after 15 hours the team arrived at the location where Sunny was kept, provided her first aid, and set about returning to Islamabad to bring the bear to the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) Rescue and Rehabilitation Center.
FOUR PAWS veterinarian Dr. Amir Khalil said the team would conduct a thorough veterinary assessment of the bear.
This handout photo, released by the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board on March 4, 2025, shows IWMB team members treat the rescued bear, ‘Sunny,’ at the wildlife facility in Islamabad. (Photo courtesy: IWMB/Handout)
“We saw that her teeth had been removed, which is a cruel practice that left her defenseless,” Dr. Khalil said in a statement. “She is emaciated and in an anxious mental state but we will make sure she gets all the care she urgently needs.”
Dr. Khalil provided an update on the rescued bear Rocky, saying that he was recovering “very well” and is eating and drinking and adjusting to his new environment. The veterinarian said Rocky will stay in quarantine for the next few days until his new enclosure is finalized.
“We’ve also given him painkillers and antibiotics to support his recovery,” Dr. Khalil said. “The rescues of Rocky and Sunny are another successful collaboration effort between FOUR PAWS, IWMB, and the Pakistani authorities.”
Pakistan has a troubled history with animal welfare. Last December, an elephant died at a safari park less than two weeks after being reunited with her sister. It was the latest tragedy to affect elephants in captivity in Pakistan.
In 2020, a pair of sick and badly neglected dancing Himalayan brown bears left a notorious zoo in Islamabad for a sanctuary in Jordan.
