CIRCUS bears across Russia face daily torment from their handlers including being whipped, electrocuted and force-fed BOOZE to entertain visitors.
Cubs are often snatched from their mothers in the wild before getting beaten into submission for the public’s entertainment – with some turning depressed and snapping in savage attacks.
Russia has been under fire for decades from angry animal rights activists over their treatment of bears in a huge number of despicable circus shows.
Shocking reports from regions such as Crimea have shown the wild beasts being piled with booze and unhealthy snacks until they’re forced to perform for hundreds of people.
As well as being led around on tight leashes by money-hungry trainers during the dangerous show.
They can also be subjected to electrocution and made to stand on burning metal as part of their rigorous, non-consensual training regiment.
When the final curtain falls they are slammed inside tiny cages and often left alone for hours with no food or company.
It’s believed the treatment of these animal circus performers has led to a huge rise in bear maulings.
Performances have seen bears savage trainers in front of screaming children after living a life of agony with joint pain.
A roller skating circus bear stopped mid performance to maul its trainer in front of shocked kids, earlier this year.
Another crazed beast was seen going wild in the Russian circus ring, attacking a man as children and parents fled the tent.
Just a month before, a brown bear attacked a ringmaster after being forced to perform tricks at another cruel Russian circus.
Wildlife experts have slammed the practice of circus bears for decades describing it as “outdated” and “unchanged for hundreds of years”.
The horrific exploitation in circuses in particular has lead to incredible suffering for bears across the globe but especially in Russia where it is rife with animal abuse.
Life for circus bears and other wild animals is miserable inside and outside of the circus ring
Sophie Nazeri
Bears are also often made to dance on command, wearing ridiculous outfits and standing on their hind legs – leading to a range of health issues.
Often this goes on until the bears become depressed – leading to some fatal and grisly ends.
Dr Jan Schmidt-Burbach, Global Head of Wildlife and Animal Welfare Research at World Animal Protection, told The Sun: “Keeping bears in captivity leads to severe cruelty.
“The limited space in cages, poor nutrition, lack of adequate veterinary care, constant stress through forced interactions and punishment if they don’t comply, are just some aspects of the life of a circus bear.”
One of the most distributing circus clips saw the promoters set up a bear boxing match.
They put gloves and shorts on a pair of animals before ordering them to punch, paw and clinch each other as hundreds watched on.
Sophie Nazeri, Humane Society International’s Wild Animals senior coordinator also spoke to The Sun on her grave concerns for animal welfare at these so called entertainment shows.
She said: “Sadly, in many parts of the world bears as well as other wild animals such as lions, tigers, dolphins, orcas, zebras and camels are still exploited for entertainment.
“Confined for hours on end in barren transport cages when not performing, often eating, sleeping, pacing, urinating and defecating in the same small space, sometimes even chained up.
“Life for circus bears and other wild animals is miserable inside and outside of the circus ring.”
In the past, circuses have also been known to try and entertain audiences by making bears eat and drink human things.
Some of the worst items include booze and overly sugary snacks.
For wild animals, these substances can be lethal in large, continuous doses resulting in serious issues.
Dr Jan described these actions as “absolutely unacceptable”.
He also warned high sugary snacks and an unhealthy diet overall may make animals less predictable, lead to addictions and cause serious health complications over time.
There are also concerns over zoonotic diseases that bears can carry on them which can easily be passed on to humans looking at them in captivity.
Sophie says the toughest part of knowing the abuse these animals go through is not only the physical but also the mental pain.
She continued: “During training the animals are often bullied and intimidated into performing tricks with the use of violent and inhumane methods such as whips and electric prods.
“Or they’re denied food for periods of time to make them more compliant.
“And when performing, bears and other wild animals are subjected to frightening loud noises, flashing lights and noisy crowds, while being forced to perform repetitive, demeaning and physically unnatural stunts such as riding a bicycle or balancing on a ball.”
MOST animals are not performing tricks for humans willingly.
So bear trainers are forced to take sick measures to ensure their money-making mammals are keeping to the script.
One of the most common methods is through beating the bear – whipping, electrocuting and poking are all used.
Sophie Nazeri, Humane Society International’s Wild Animals senior coordinator told The Sun: “Beatings and other negative training methods start at a young age.
“All in an effort to bully them into submission and compliance.
“Without cruel training methods, these animals would never perform such confusing and unnatural tricks, and you can sometimes see the signs of that fear-based conditioning when they perform in the ring.”
Another inhumane method involves only letting the animal eat once they’ve reached their trainer’s high expectations.
The animals are trained to perform so they get fed and are often made to starve until they learn.
Bears trapped in circus environments in particular are subjected to being chained up, leashed and muzzled during shows and made to perform unnatural and unhealthy stunts.
Making a bear walk upright on its hind legs, seeing them trot along a balance beam and even riding a unicycle or motorbike can all be damaging to the bear’s health.
Animals are often overworked during these shows as well, performing multiple times a day and hundreds of times in a year.
This can lead to immense pressure being applied on their bodies and minds.
Sophie added: “There are times when bears and other wild animals finally break under the stress of what they are being subjected to.
“That’s when they can lash out at their trainer or even the watching public. ”
An extremely concerning study by Animal Advocacy and Protection found that 89 per cent of all exotic animals rescued from European circuses suffer from at least one form of mental or physical trauma.
Almost half of the animals had visible injuries with more than a quarter showing abnormal behaviour – including self-harm.
Bears are often captured as cubs from the Himalayas, the Middle East and the jungles of the Indian sub-continent by sellers.
Usually hunters will slaughter the cub’s mother first before swooping in to snatch the heartbroken kids.
It sends out a deeply disturbing messaging to our children too that use of force and fear and deprivation is an acceptable way to treat animals
Sophie Nazeri
They are then trained up to dance, perform tricks and ultimately become a spectacle.
For many experts, another huge problem with the circus industry is how much it influences children into being cruel to animals.
Dr Jan said: “It leads to an entirely false representation of bears to the audience – often children – who will experience bears as funny performers submitting to the will of their trainers.
“Rather than highly complex, intelligent and sentient predators that play a critical role in our ecosystems.”
As Sophie echoed his thoughts saying: “It sends out a deeply disturbing messaging to our children too that use of force and fear and deprivation is an acceptable way to treat animals.”
Bears kept in travelling circuses in many parts of the world, particularly in Russia, can often snap after years of abuse.
They can savagely flip out, attack and even kill their trainers or other circus performers.
In some horrifying ordeals, audience members have even been pounced on.
Earlier this year, a roller skating circus bear stopped mid performance to maul its trainer in front of shocked kids.
The humiliated animal struck its cruel trainer as they performed beneath a big top in Russia as spectators screamed in terror.
Shocking audience video footage shows trainer Oleg Krasov forcing Dzhema to sit in a chair before forcefully grabbing her fur.
But as Krasov contemptuously turns his back on Dzhem, she sees an opportunity to get her revenge by charging at him and shoving him to the floor.
The powerful bear lands a flurry of massive blows with her front paws as parents rush their screaming children from the arena.
Bears have repeatedly mauled and attacked their handlers either during performances or outside
Dr Jan Schmidt-Burbach
In August 2022, a circus bear savaged a trainer in front of screaming children after living a life of agony with joint pain.
The crazed beast was seen going wild in the Russian circus ring, attacking the man as children and parents fled the tent.
Just a month before, a brown bear attacked a ringmaster after being forced to perform tricks at another cruel Russian circus.
The raging bear suddenly became agitated and lunged at the circus performer during a show packed with kids and their parents in the city of Blagoveshchensk.
Dr Jan said: “Bears have repeatedly mauled and attacked their handlers either during performances or outside.
“They can escape from their cages or during performances and pose a risk to visitors.”
Despite Russia being one of the worst abusers of wild animals, the rest of the world isn’t exempt.
In the US, nearly 160 dangerous incidents involving big cats, bears, elephants and primates used in travelling shows have occurred since 1990.
Ten adults have died, 136 injured and another 73 kids have been left hurt.
Across the globe, countries including Belgium, Costa Rica, England, India, Mexico, and many states in the US have all seen these worrying stats and chose to ban the use of wild animals in circus shows.
MAKING bears perform for gleeful onlookers has been a sickening trend since the Middle Ages.
Performing bears were a common form of entertainment in Europe and Asia centuries ago and in some parts of the world such as Siberia they remain a popular attraction.
Shows would often feature bears in travelling circuses doing stunts and tricks with bikes, balls and balancing beams or ropes.
By the twentieth century some countries began banning bears from performing but the majority of nations still saw it as a form of entertainment.
Creating a ‘dancing’ bear would usually draw enough attention to a show that hundreds would come out to watch meaning very quickly trainers were developing new methods to quickly achieve the illusion.
One of the worst methods was making a bear stand directly on a scolding metal walkway in training so it was forced to move its paws up and down.
A song would be played in the background during the learning process until the animal learnt that the tune meant they had to quickly move their feet to avoid getting burnt.
From the moment the bears were dragged into the circus they would subjected to hard training and typically be subdued by scared humans by having their teeth removed, claws cut and a metal ring inserted into its nose.
This nose ring would be used alongside a rope which would get put through the hole so the bears could be yanked around by their faces.
Thankfully today these rings are rarely seen.
However, the bear is still made to wear a rope often placed around their throats.
The experts say these legislation’s have all stemmed from the work of ordinary people refusing to support these shows and applying pressure on legislators to act and make a change.
Dr Jan pleaded with tourists to not line the pockets of a cruel bear owner by simply saying: “Don’t go!
“People need to understand that they don’t need a wild animal to suffer in order to be entertained.”
Sophie added: “Animals do not exist for human amusement and suffer tremendously to fuel this cruel industry.”
“Don’t support the abuse of these animals by paying for a ticket and effectively paying for their torment or watching and spreading videos of such acts on social media.
“We the public hold enormous power, and animals are relying on us to make compassionate choices.”
Other examples of bear abuse at the hands of Russian citizens saw polar bears being forced to “dance on ice” and play musical instruments.
As another brown bear was made to sit like a human in a truck as its owner stuck a vuvuzela in its mouth after a Russia won a game at the 2018 World Cup.
