AR-News: Dancing bear freed from chains

[jim robertson]

Dancing bear freed from chains
Monday, June 28, 2004 Posted: 10:41 AM EDT (1441 GMT)


SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) -- Charlie on Monday was free to be an average bear 
after 12 years of ursine hell.

His nose ring and chains removed, the 280 kilogram (617-pound) brown bear 
spent a full day on four paws -- nothing unusual for most of his kind, but 
paradise for an animal forced to "dance" from morning till dawn, come rain 
or shine.

Instead of the log he was chained to at nights, Charlie's new home is a 
12-hectare (30-acre) mountainous park located 180 kilometers (110 miles) 
south of Sofia.

The park -- the largest of its kind in Europe -- was set up by the Four Paws 
Foundation with the financial help of the animal protection fund run by 
former French actress Brigitte Bardot.

Charlie joined 13 other former dancing bears earlier freed of their chains 
and shipped to their sanctuary in the Rila Mountain in southern Bulgaria.

Earlier this year, animal rights activists -- moved by the plight of the 
brown bears that were forced to dance on the streets to amuse tourists and 
provide their Gypsy owners with an income -- launched a campaign to free the 
furry giants.

Because the practice is illegal, the bears could have simply been taken from 
their owners. Instead, the Four Paws Foundation decided to pay for the 
animals' freedom through small grants to help the Gypsy families set up new 
businesses.

"I sold him for some 5,600 leva (US$3,500 euro2,850)," Charlie's owner, 
Georgi Georgiev, told reporters, after he handed the bear's chain to Dr. 
Amir Khalil, president of the Bulgarian chapter of the Austria-based 
foundation.

In return, Georgiev -- who inherited his first animal from his father -- 
signed a declaration never to force a bear to dance again.

The deal done, the mighty animal was put to sleep and its nose ring and 
chains were removed. Charlie -- accustomed to a daily "treat" of a beer or 
two, in his former owner's words -- went to sleep only after the third dose 
of the special drug.

"Charlie ... will no longer be a slave," the project's spokesman, Krasimir 
Nikolov said.

The animals' dancing was the result of a cruel technique -- the bear owner 
pulled a ring attached to the bear's nose, causing it such pain that it 
shuffled around in a dance-like manner.

Leashed on a 2-meter (yard) long chain all the time, Charlie "was fed only a 
loaf of bread or two a day," Nikolov said.

The foundation is collecting donations so 10 other dancing bears can be 
moved to the park soon. For now, those bears are living with their owners, 
although they are no longer dancing. The bears have been fitted with a 
special chip to allow their easy identification.

Charlie joins 13 other former dancing bears earlier freed of their chains 
and is shipped to sanctuary in southern Bulgaria.


Copyright 2004 The Associated Press.
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