Closely linked with traveling shows and individual entertainers it seems that the majority of dancing bear trainers were Romany people from eastern Europe and Asia. By the fifteenth century the practice was far less common in western Europe, although there were still dancing bears in Britain in the late nineteenth century (the practice was outlawed in 1911). Historyĭuring the Middle Ages dancing bears were a common and popular form of street entertainment throughout Europe and Asia. However, the practice also continues in a number of other Asian and European countries and as recently as 2007 a public outcry ensued following the use of dancing bears by street entertainers in Spain. By 2010 this figure is believed to have fallen to 10 to 15 bears in India and Nepal. A survey sponsored by the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) in 1995 put the number of dancing bears in India at 1,200. Thanks to hard work by a number of animal charities working with governments, dancing bears may hopefully soon be a thing of the past.

Dancing sloth bear & handler (2006) (Rhealopez 168 – Creative Commons Licence) Introduction

Dancing bear bonus vol 2