South Carolina US: Bear baiting in the 21st Century


I have written a fair amount online regarding animal welfare and animal cruelty. It has mainly been aboutdogs in the UK and animal issues inChina. I know that sadly crimes against animals are far too prevalent in all countries around the world. However, I was appalled to see on UK television news bear baiting in America, of all places.
The UK was guilty of bear baiting but it was outlawed here in the early 1800s. No doubt rogue bear baiting continued for some time but it would still have vanished ages ago.
America is a great country but like everywhere in the world it has its problems. Bear baiting should not still be one of them.
Associated Press image
Associated Press image

BEAR CRUELTY AROUND THE WORLD

The news reports claimed thatbear hunters are partially responsible for this "sport" or "training regime".
This treatment of bears in still legal in the state of South Carolina. It appears that bear hunters are using "bear baying" as they call it to train their dogs to hunt bears. The bears have their teeth and claws removed before being chained to the spot.

Declawing Tigers And Lions


The declawing of Tigers and Lions is and never has been an operation that has ever needed to be done. It cruel and unnecessary. It always has been and it always will be. The only time a claw should have to be removed is if it was damaged in some way and may actually injure the cat. Perhaps too if the cat was self mutilating, but even then claw clipping would be a preferable short term solution.
The decawing of domestic cats is illegal in much of the world and quite sensibly and humanely so. If a person is worried about their furniture then they should forego the idea of having a pet at all.
In my article on Craig Busch and Zion Wildlife Gardens I stated "Declawing is as barbaric and inhumane as it is unnecessary! There can only be one instance where such a procedure should be considered and that is if the animal was self-mutilating. Even then it would be after all other options had been explored, and explored twice over. Euthanasia would be a kinder and more considerate option than declawing. This in as much as euthanasia does not hurt and is quickly over but declawing is painful and lasts a lifetime". I stand by this.

Since I wrote it there has been numerous comments defending this particular series of declawings and/or trying to shift the blame. I continue to get these. As these comments are based on lack of information, misinformation and turning a blind eye to fact along with the failure to read the official investigation into the declawing I believed it necessary in the furtherance of knowledge to clarify the situation on big cat declawing.