Employees of the international animal charity Four Paws with the assistance of Ukrainian authorities confiscated a 6-month-old cub from illegal bear traders in the northwest of Ukraine, animal charity activists told RIA Novosti on Friday.
According to Nicolas Entrup, employees of the Ukrainian zoo in Lutsk took the cub, Nastya, away from her mother and illegally sold it to animal traders. The new owners of the cub put her in a small cage and offered photo opportunities with Nastya.
The poor living conditions of the cub after she was removed from her mother forced zoo defenders to organize a special operation to save Nastya. According to Entrup, local authorities provided all the necessary help.
“The cub is in stress, she has been underfed, has intestinal and stomach problems. Nevertheless her physical state is quite stable and our vets will mange to provide all necessary medical help,” Amir Khalil, head of the project, said.
He added that the specialists plan to return the cub to her mother in a few days but could not say how long the process of the adaptation would take.
“Lutsk Zoo cannot provide good living conditions for bears. In any case, Four Paws will decide where to move the animals. At the moment we have an idea of resettling them to one of the nature reserves in Ukraine, but this decision has not been finalized yet,” Entrup said.
Zoo defenders say that these kinds of cases are not rare in Ukraine.
“The value of such an illegal transaction is no more than 60 euros. We urge the Ukrainian government to take measures to tighten the law on illegal trade of animals and strengthen the control for the protection of animals,” Khalil said.
