A Vuvuzela-Playing Bear Marks Latest Cruel Exploitation & Unnecessary Harm Of Animals During The World Cup 2018

Photos from the Herald Chronicle

For months, innocent and defenseless animals have been set up to be the biggest losers of this year’s World Cup.

As previously reported by WAN, outrage ensued as the highly-controversial practice of culling stray dogs prior to events such as the recent Olympics in Sochi and then in anticipation of the World Cup has long been a contentious topic with most of the local authorities guarantees to spare the animals falling flat.

At the time of the first kick-off on June 14^th, only three of the eleven host Russians cities, had appropriate shelters in place to temporarily house and care for the displaced animals. Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Nizhny Novgorod have shelters for abandoned animals while another one in Kaliningrad is reportedly being built.

“Two to three months ago it was said that the dogs were to be captured, sterilized, housed and released after the World Cup,” Yelena Ivanova-Verchovskaya, a deputy director of a group based in the Moscow Public Chamber, which monitors the regulation of the number of stray dogs in the Russian capital, recently told DW. ”But the problem has existed for decades and cannot be solved in such a short time. “

Then last week, WAN shared the heart-breaking news that elephants were exploited in a “friendly” game in Thailand that was somehow supposed to discourage students from gambling during the World Cup.

What?

Most recently, footage was captured of a vuvuzela-playing circus bear being exploited in a pathetic promotional stunt following the World Cup host nation’s victory over Saudi Arabia.

Reportedly filmed in Moscow, the bear is believed to be Tim, the same animal that was forced in April to perform tricks at a soccer match between Mashuk–KMV and Angushta in Pyatigorsk and was filmed last year riding in a motorcycle sidecar.

In the wake of the video showing a total disregard for the bear’s well-being, PETA Germany sent a letter urging Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin to identify the bear’s owner, confiscate the animal, and ensure his or her transfer to a reputable sanctuary.

“The cruel and degrading sight of a bear being forced to play a musical instrument shouldn’t be what the world associates with Moscow and the World Cup,” PETA Foundation Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Brittany Peet said in a statement.

The organization also noted that in nature, bears are physically active for up to 18 hours a day and spend their time digging, climbing, running, and swimming across vast home ranges. Bears used in performances are carted around in cramped cages, and trainers typically whip, beat, and otherwise torment them to teach them to obey out of fear.

It’s also dangerous to take these animals onto a public street because, among other things, bears can run up to 40 miles per hour, faster than any human.

Those who have been denied everything that’s natural and important to them have also been known to lash out in frustration by biting, mauling, or otherwise attacking handlers and members of the public.

This is deplorable.

As PETA Germany stated, animals that are confiscated and retired must be transferred to a “reputable sanctuary where he or she would be able to live in peace, not as a prop.