I AM writing to alert readers to the appalling conditions endured by hundreds of bears in Japan's "bear parks".
Confined in concrete prison-like enclosures, similar to the old bear pits of Mediaeval Europe, the bears are starved during the day so that they will dance and amuse visitors by begging for food. Many are injured fighting for the food and there are frequent deaths.
I am asking readers to write to the Japanese Embassy, 101-104 Piccadilly, London, urging reform and/or to join the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), who are campaigning to close down the worst parks and improve conditions in the rest. Their address is 2 Langley Lane, London SW8 1TJ.
SARA LEE, Bury Old Road, Whitefield.
Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
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