caged bears in southeast europe abused as pets and tourist attractions
FOUR PAWS estimates that hundreds of bears are still kept in captivity in Europe, some of them in the most appalling conditions. In Southeast Europe in particular they are often held in cages that are far too small, badly structured and inadequately equipped. Not only circuses and private owners keep animals in conditions not suited to their species, many zoos and animal parks do not fulfil the minimum standards for keeping wildlife as set out in the EU Zoos Directive.
FOUR PAWS aims to permanently improve the situation of brown bears in countries like Albania, Serbia and Croatia.
Further activities for captive bears:
FOUR PAWS has already helped many bears in Southeast Europe, and rescued some of them from catastrophic conditions. So far FOUR PAWS successfully ended the cruel practice of keeping dancing bears in Bulgaria and Serbia, and the illegal private keeping of bears outside of restaurants in Kosovo. Furthermore, thanks to initiative of FOUR PAWS and other animal welfare organisations, the number of illegally kept bears in Albania decreased significantly. In the near future, we at FOUR PAWS want to widen our focus and help also bears in need in countries such as North Macedonia and Montenegro.
about 13,000
brown bears live in the wild in Southeast Europe
> 100
bears are being kept in captivity
< 8 m²
cage area for an adult bear
