PETA Calls For Khabib To Stop Wrestling With Chained Bears
Before Khabib Nurmagomedov earned a spot in the UFC, he was wrestling bears as a child. This is something that the animal rights activists at PETA are strongly against.
As Khabib Nurmagomedov was working his way through the UFC’s rankings, it became clear that he did not have a normal childhood. As a result of growing up in the financially struggling region of Dagestan, things were never easy. However, it took a video surfacing, of a young Khabib wrestling a chained up bear cub, to make people realize how unique he was.
Since that, Khabib has gone on to do great things in the UFC, like beating Dustin Poirier to have a record of 28-0. Subsequently, he no longer wrestles bears, but wrestles 155lb men instead. Nevertheless, Elisa Allen, the Director of PETA UK, seems to have only just discovered this old footage. Speaking with Business Insider, she explained her disgust with this behavior.
This was her lengthy statement on the issue, and her feelings on Khabib:
“PETA encourages the UFC to evaluate its relationship with Mr. Nurmagomedov until he shows a clear change in attitude and a commitment to showing animals the respect that they deserve.
Wrestling with a chained bear is loathsome behavior that shows an utter lack of respect for and consideration of who these animals are. In the wild, bears roam across vast territories, foraging, swimming, digging in the dirt, climbing trees, searching for a mate, and expressing other essential, natural types of behavior.
Those used in Russia for ‘boxing,’ ‘dancing,’ or other archaic forms of entertainment are typically torn from their mothers as cubs, chained, caged, muzzled, beaten, and deprived of everything that’s meaningful to them. PETA urges Mr. Nurmagomedov to stick to wrestling with willing human opponents.”
This is not the first time that PETA has chosen to speak up against some UFC fighters. Clearly, animal rights is a very important issue. Nonetheless, it is a bit strange that they chose now to go after Khabib Nurmagomedov and the actions of his childhood.
