FEW WORDS ABOUT “LIBEARTY”
The European brown bear is a strictly protected species under The Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (the Berne Convention). Romania ratified the Berne Convention in 1993, but only in 2005 the ownership of the bears taken from the wild, was made illegal in Romania. In 2005 WSPA (the World Society for the Protection of Animals), joined AMP to build the “Libearty” Sanctuary and to put an end forever, to the practice of keeping bears in illegal and inadequate captive conditions in Romania.
Created in the memory of Maya (you can read her story below), today the “Libearty” Sanctuary is home to 57 European brown bears and one Asiatic black bear, all of them have been rescued from a cruel life of abuse in captivity. Recognised by many captive bear specialists as probably the best bear sanctuary in the world, it consists of 69 hectares of lush forests, streams and pools, graciously provided by the City of Zărnești, located at the foot of the Carpathian Mountains near Brașov, Romania. Most of the bears were rescued from a miserable life in tiny cages providing “entertainment” to restaurants, hotels, factories, petrol stations, circuses, and even monasteries. Several bears also came to the sanctuary after Romania’s EU accession led to the permanent phasing out of some of the worst zoos in the country. The “Libearty” Sanctuary is also proud to host Betsy, a rescued bear from Texas who came to us through the intervention of Houston SPCA (USA).
Each bear has his/her own dramatic story. We hope that you will enjoy meeting them not only through this website, but hopefully you will also come and visit them at the sanctuary. Please be informed that this sanctuary was created for the bears and that it is not a zoo.Visits can be made, only by appointments. (see below).
