Second phase of WSPA-WTI sloth bear campaign begins

Sambalpur (Orissa), December 28, 2009: Continuing their efforts to spread awareness on the plight of sloth bears to reduce illegal trade, the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and the World Society for the Protections of Animals (WSPA) began the second phase of their sloth bear campaign in Orissa on Saturday.  The campaign attempts to reduce trade in sloth bear cubs, and body parts, by educating and alerting people residing near sloth bear habitats through street plays and cultural programmes. 

“The first performance was held in Tarevada village, and was well received by the people there. We believe that as we reach out to more people, we will be able encourage them to help us in our fight against poachers and traders to nip the illegal trade in the bud,” said Rudra Prasad Mahapatra, Field Officer, WTI.

The campaign was initiated last year as part of the holistic Sloth Bear Conservation and Welfare Project, being implemented by WSPA and WTI. In addition to the campaign, the project facilitates rehabilitation of Kalandars who voluntarily give up sloth bear performances and surrender their bears to authorities. The project also assists enforcement agencies to control illegal trade.  Currently the campaign focuses on villages in Orissa particularly in Sambalpur district, that are known sources of sloth bear cubs and body parts.

“In this phase, we hope to reinforce the message of the campaign and to help us achieve our goal, we have enhanced the performances, the music, the costume, so that the campaign leaves a lasting impression on the minds of the viewers,” Mahapatra added.

Last month, a week-long training and workshop was organised for the artists involved in the campaign. Each artist was trained on appropriate delivery of dialogues and body movement to create a greater impact on the audience.

“In addition to improving the skills of the performers, the workshop looked at other ways to make the campaign livelier and more effective. The existing script of the streetplay was modified and music (based on popular folk songs) was added. The workshop was organised by Ramasis Tripathy, who is himself a seasoned streetplay artist,” said Indu Kumari, Programme Officer, WTI. “Logistics like costumes and musical instruments have a vital role in the campaign. So, the costumes were made more striking and diverse ethnic musical instruments was used,” Kumari added.