Iran: Rage Over Video of Tortured Bear Cubs

It all started when the Iranian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals published a video showing “hunters” in Samirom in the Isfahan province killing a brown bear and torturing her cubs as a game before the camera. They tore off the belly of one cub and threw around the poor creature while it was still alive.

The film created a wave of rage and sadness among many Iranians, and a Facebook page was created calling on Iranian authorities to punish the hunters. More than 1,900 people have joined. A comment on the page says that Samirom's MP (member of parliament) Behrouz Jafari claimed that the description of events were, “exaggerated to give a negative image of Islamic Republic's environmental situation.” The Facebook group supporter asks:

“Why do you just want to run away from your responsibility and try to politicise everything.”

News reports said two of the “hunters” were arrested. One is named Hamzeh Ali Ansari, and happens to work for the Ministry of Education, and has personal ties to Samirom's MP.

Pashmak writes:

This film shows the endless cruelty of human beings to animals… They killed the bear and tore off the cubs’ belly and videotaped themselves… It is good that they made the film because it helped lead to their arrest… Hamzeh Ali Ansari, a teacher, is the main criminal who has already 100 times violated laws but has good ties with Behrouz Jafari, Samirom's MP.

Iranian blogger, Kamalia asks in a post about the bears, “What was their sin to be killed like this?” The blogger also mentions the political ties of one “hunter”.

Another blogger, Joosh writes:

After 32 years living under the violence of the Islamic Republic, the Iranian nation has become addicted to death… It can not recognise the difference between good and bad… Today, I am ashamed of being an Iranian.

7 comments

  • Ok this is very cruel, but i am fed up now. what’s happening here? you people point out all such ruthless acts and cruelty in the developing countries but i wonder why you don’t make hue and cry when American’s play with human lives in Iraq, when Israel bombs and rips apart Arabs dining in their homes and i assume that you people are more sentimental for animals then i wonder why no one bothers when American hunters upload a video on YouTube,
    There are mallards and gad-wills sitting in a field and a hunter places his Repeater’s barrel just few centimeter away from one poor creature; and fires….:( now should i mourn for those cubs or should i mourn for these god damn double standards or should i mourn for this well informed, dumb, blind world that is like a potter’s dog which follows any caravan that passes by……..

    • Todd

      Don’t dilute your important message by attempting to draw an unfair comparison to war and the torture of these bears. This behaviour is wrong in Iran, and it is wrong in any country. What’s to be seen is how will the Iranian authorities deal with this — transparently or not? In the western countries, small fish have more rights that small children…..

  • Hopefully the outrage shown by many Iranians is strong enough to definitevely end such cruelty. Although this post saddened me deeply, the reaction towards the video was encouraging.
    “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated”-Gandhi

  • Candi guy

    The creature known as man is the most ruthless being in the animal kingdom. Humans are quick to pick up a weapon in the the name of God, country and the almighty dollar. The hundreds of Indian tribes in America were hunted down, slaughterd and almost completly destroyed as a people, by European Protestants in the name of spreading the “morality” of christianity. Thats just one example of the many instances of genocide and ethnic cleansing that has occured around the globe. If this is the way humans treat each other, is anyone really suprised by how these men treated the poor bears in this video.

  • kati

    Hi
    I can’t say anything. I can’t dare to watch the film. But when I heard about I feel pity for myself cause I’m iraninan. The only things now I feel in my haert are deep anger & hate.
    But I implore you do something (I don know what), this wasn’t the first time in Iran & it won’t be the last time!
    Do something …

  • […] year in Iran, a brown bear and her cubs were tortured and killed on camera as a game by “hunters” in Samirom, Isfahan. It shocked many Iranians from […]

  • […] taon-dasa tao Iran, orsa volontsôkôlà sy ny zanany kely niharan’ny herisetra sy novonoina no hita tamin’ny kamerà, izay tahaka ireny lalao “mpihaza” ao Samirom, Isfahan ireny. […]

Join the conversation

Authors, please log in »

Guidelines

  • All comments are reviewed by a moderator. Do not submit your comment more than once or it may be identified as spam.
  • Please treat others with respect. Comments containing hate speech, obscenity, and personal attacks will not be approved.