This Is Un-Bear-Able

[cabinetman]

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/man-jai...376x1200210085
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[cwithboat]

Ain't bureaucracy wonderful?

[footprintsinconc]

i cant believe that they would jail someone for that! the story itself tells of the persons intentions.

[Uncle Cracker]

Unfortunately, informed folks will tell you that, despite best intentions, attempts by laymen to domesticate wild animals is detrimental on many levels. Even the professionals who foster baby animals know that there are practical and ethical limits, and that contact with the animal must be under strictest guidelines, reduced as it matures, and ended completely as maturity approaches. A handler's (or his daughter's) personal feelings for the animal take a back seat to broader concerns of safety and well-being. A bear is not a plaything, a curiosity, a pet, or a family member. It is a wild animal, and must be treated as such. That's just the way it is.

[footprintsinconc]

that is fine, they can take the bear and slowly transfer it to another habitat is as needed. however, jailing the person for what he did with the intention his in mind, is too much.

[Uncle Cracker]

I can't dispute that the man meant the animal no harm, and I hate to see him jailed, but let's face it... If they do not enforce the wildlife protection laws, then who will abide by them? It has to start somewhere. It would be great to find an alternative punishment for this poor guy, but the law is important, and it was broken. As for this bear, it will always view humans as a place to get food. Releasing it back to the wild will probably never be possible.

[LCHIEN]

I agree with UC. Well thought out answer.

[ironhat]

Wouln't you like to see a 'punishment' for these violations be more in line with re-education through service and observation? I know, it sounds all warm, fuzzy and right, but there would have to be a new level of bureaucracy to mangage the program, meaning, more expense. And, heaven knows the sideshow that would unravel if someone were hurt. March in the attorneys. (If this sort of thing is as pervase in India as it is here - probably not). Still, non-violent criminals should be given the opportunity to return something to society, but, how?

[footprintsinconc]

where this act occurred, there is mass illiteracy. you want to fix the problem and not create new ones.

by jailing the person, you just broke a family of two. now do you what type of treatment that child is going to have? no not really. the orphanages in that area are most likely below adequate standards. this leads to scarring a child for no reason of her own. jailing is going to lead to bad sediments against the government and its going to leave a bad taste not just in his family but among his friends and family as well. so this solution for a non-violent crime creates a problem. those with criminal intent will always get away with the wrong in those countries because of the wide use of bribes, etc. so its only the people who are sincere to everything around them that are going to get the short end of the stick. people with money and status buy the law there not implement it.

i think most effective solution in a place like that, would be to educate the person and or the neighborhood. education is what is going to stop this type of problem among people who have good intentions, not jailing. conservation is primarily through education, the idea has to be taught in order to understand. its not like an ordinary act that happens in society on regular basis that one can say is good or bad. if majority of the poeple are illeterate, then the idea of conservation is not going to be known to them, and they will not realize what is wrong and right.

well, that what i think.

[pelligrini]

Jail time seems a bit harsh, especially being a single parent.

We still don't know the whole story either. He may have been given several opportunities to correct the matter. "Munda said that when wildlife officials first approached him he tried to return the bear to the forest but she found her way home." Was his arrest the second contact from the officials, or had it been an ongoing thing?