It all started with good intentions.
In February, a man looked into his front yard and saw a tiny brown ball of fur.
“Originally the man thought he had found a puppy,” Four Paws International, an animal rescue and advocacy organization, wrote in a press release provided.
But something about this “puppy” seemed a little strange. His noises weren’t quite right, and his claws appeared to be a little too sharp.
When examined more closely, the animal was identified as a brown bear,
The authorities were on their way to supposedly bring the bear cub back to the forest and reunite him with his mom — at least, that’s what they said.
But something shocking happened.
The rangers of Kosovo’s Sharr Mountains National Park, where the cub’s mother lives, decided to keep the cub in a basement, even though it is illegal to keep bears as pets.
“The cub is still being kept by the national park management in the basement of a restaurant which belongs to a ranger,” Four Paws reported this week. “The cub has little chance to move and rarely sees daylight.”
A member of Four Paws even filmed undercover footage showing where the bear cub is being kept, in wooden crate in a dark basement.
A neighboring bear sanctuary would be the ideal place for the displaced youngster to go; there, he could grow up in safety and among other bears. However, the administration is presently refusing to release the cub.
The government’s disregard for its own regulations is surprising, according to Carsten Hertwig, a bear specialist with Four Paws.
Every second that goes by without this young bear receiving the care he requires is a moment lost, which is why Four Paws is urging people to speak up in his defense.
“We have … launched a worldwide protest,” Hertwig said. “Every day the bear has to spend in the dark and filthy basement is one day too many.”
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