The authorities sounded the alarm after a young man on a social networking site wrote that the three bears that are being raised at the pension “Bear Den” of Sociteni are not fed appropriately and are not given water, while the cages in which these are held are very small and dirty. The pension’s administration denies the accusations, saying the comment most probably was made by a malicious visitor.

The young man wrote that pieces of bread and forcemeat cabbage rolls are not food suitable for bears. The animals also seem to be sick. One of the bears shakes his head continuously. The visitors are exposed to dangers as the fence that isolates the animals can be easily bypassed by these.

Tudor Breahna, who answered the pension’s phone and said he was an investor in the pension, has told IPN that anyone is welcome to the pension to see that the bears are fine. The animals have stayed there for four-five years. They have no economic interest in investing in buying bears so as to later torture them. The accusations were most probably made by a malevolent visitor who remained dissatisfied with something.

Head of the State Ecological Inspectorate Valeriu Nani said he heard about this case and inspectors are to carry out an inspection there to see the conditions in which the bears are held. When the situation is examined on the spot, an approach will be made to the National Food Safety Agency, which is empowered to monitor the conditions in which animals are kept.

In the Republic of Moldova, the right to keep wild animals is possessed by persons who have a certificate of collector, which is issued by the Ministry of Environment.