Montenegrin bears quarreled with animal rights activists

The Montenegrin village of Blizna, as if smeared with honey, attracts homeless bear cubs. In 2017, villagers discovered a pair of orphaned two-month-old bears nearby in the mountains. A resident of Blizna, Mr. Milickovic, sheltered orphans in his homestead, and founded the non-governmental organization "Shelter and Restoration of Animals". The cubs were given the nicknames Brund and Masha, looked after them, and also held events as part of the feral program.

A few months later, the grown cubs were transferred to a rehabilitation center in Greece to be returned to the wild. However, the event was not crowned with success: the clumsy pets did not want to live without the constant care and help of people. Employees of the Greek center blamed their past curators for this. According to the Greeks, bears were in constant contact with humans from early childhood, which deprived them of the chance to return to the wild.

But in the same 2017, another furry inhabitant settled in the Milichkovich estate: an emaciated bear cub was found at the gates of the shelter. Mr. Milichkovich was leaving the poor fellow. He became so attached to his savior that he stayed to live in his estate. Because of the affectionate nature and cheerful disposition, the bear was given the name Lyubo. Today, Ljubo is preparing to accept another member of the bear family into his company: unknown people left a seven-month-old brown bear at the shelter. The foundling looked quite well-groomed and not shy. Animal Shelter and Recovery staff concluded that the cub was kept at home and informed the Office of Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary (UBHVFP) about this.

Having heard about the new pet in the village of Blizna, animal rights activists from the international organizations Animal Survival International (ASI) and FOUR PAWS sounded the alarm. According to experts from these respected structures, the brown bear cub needs to be removed from the village and suitable housing for the animal should be found as soon as possible, where the bear could be prepared for returning to the wild. Experts from FOUR PAWS accuse the employees of the Milickovic shelter of unprofessionalism and unwillingness to allow international specialists in the field of veterinary medicine and rehabilitation to the animal. In addition, the cohabitation of a six-year-old Lyubo and a seven-month-old foundling is dangerous for the latter and can lead to serious injury or even death of a young bear.

International animal rights activists splashed out their claims and disagreements on the pages of the local press and even turned to the Prime Minister of Montenegro, Dritan Abazovich, for help. Perhaps the intervention of a member of the government will resolve the situation, because so far in Montenegro there are no clear laws regarding wild animal shelters.