Dancing bears are Sloth Bears that are poached from the wild and brutally mutilated and forced to 'dance' to entertain tourists. Bear cubs have their teeth and claws brutally removed and a red hot poker is then forced through their snouts, threading through a rope which is then constantly pulled to force the bear to rise on its back legs and therefore, mimic dancing in rhythm to a beating stick. It is illegal to keep any animal in captivity or to be used for entertainment purposes in India. Until IAR working in partnership with Indian NGO - Widlife SOS (WSOS) opened the first sanctuary in Agra Christmas Eve 2002 there were no where for these suffering animals to be placed. As an Appendix I endangered species there is an urgency to rescue and rehabilitate all the bears from this outlawed practice. Each Kalandar family is given 50,000 Rupees (£600) rehabilitation package, this Indian Govt backed shceme is enforced by the local Forestry and Police depts. In exchange for giving up their bear and signing a contract describing what alternative livlihood they will take-up to provide for their families. This innovative scheme has demonstrated tremendous success in the last six years with 500 Kalandar families now benefitting from earning a living from running a produce stall, welding or cloth weaving business or auto-rickshaw taxi service for example. We are also supporting kalandar children at school. £78,000 would provide rehabilitation packages for the Kalandar families still dancing bears to earn a living. Ongoing running costs for three existing sanctuaries for rescued bears are needed for those bears unable to be returned to the wild. Annual running costs are £500,000 for the current number of bears.