The man who keeps Ljubo, a brown bear we have been fighting to relocate to a specialist sanctuary for almost a year, has this week acquired a new bear cub. The man – keeper of the six-year-old Ljubo in Montenegro – claims the cub was left on the doorstep of his unlicensed “zoo”.

Incredibly, Montenegrin authorities did not investigate the circumstances but walked away. We CANNOT allow another bear to SUFFER the same fate as poor Ljubo. We need you to stand with us TODAY. We need you to fight for both bears.

We discovered this disgrace yesterday and are in urgent talks with local and international authorities to have the cub immediately removed from the illegal zoo. We know that if this does not happen right away, the cub will be subjected to the same fate as our tragic Ljubo: a cruel caged existence as a living exhibit for tourists – stressed, depressed and utterly hopeless.

Authorities are assuring us they will act, but they said the same thing about Ljubo, and it was only because of our work that Ljubo has been given a larger enclosure, and the fight to move Ljubo to a sanctuary continues while authorities drag their heels.

What makes this situation even worse is an assessment of the cub by Montenegro’s veterinary inspectorate says the animal is already habituated to humans. At just six months old, it shows no fear or aggression towards people, and it seems likely that the infant has already been used for entertainment purposes. This means the bear will never be able to be released into the wild – his fate was sealed by the cruel people who stole and caged him. The best that can happen is that he and Ljubo can be moved to a recognized bear sanctuary.

The cub – robbed of its natural life in the wild – will need to live at a bear sanctuary for the rest of its life.

Please, help us secure safe, temporary shelter for the cub until we can find it a permanent sanctuary away from exploitative people.

We must continue exerting pressure on the authorities to ensure the cub is moved right away. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of Montenegro has confirmed to our lawyers that it has made an agency decision to remove the cub, and it is working with an international bear sanctuary to expedite the cub’s removal and relocation. BUT, the Montenegrin government Inspectorate is the one in charge of actually moving the bear, and in the past, and TODAY, they have refused to act, claiming there is no other place available.

Do NOT let this baby bear be consigned to the same fate as Ljubo!

What is going on at this “zoo” in Montenegro is illegal, inhumane, and goes against international standards and Montenegrin laws. It is a place where 13 animals died under mysterious circumstances in a single day last year, but yet no official investigations have been completed. It is a place of cruelty, suffering and death for wild animals, and as animal lovers we cannot and will not stand for it. We know you will not stand for it either.

This cub needs you. Your donation right now will help us to urgently fund a temporary shelter with a spacious, appropriate enclosure while it is prepared for travel, and its relocation to a specialist sanctuary for a permanent home, a process that will take six months. We must fight to remove the cub, and we must do it FAST – and we must be primed and ready the moment it is possible. Your donation will enable exactly this.