Unbearable: Animal rescuers call for urgent release of blind Armenian bear

UK charity chiefs and their Armenian partners are calling for the urgent release of an elderly blind bear that has spent its entire life behind bars.

Nelson the brown bear has lived in a small filthy cage ever since he was a cub, and is given very little food and water, according to locals, sometimes going for days without being fed.

International Animal Rescue (IAR) bosses are calling on the Armenian government to force Armen Tadevosyan — the bear’s captor — to surrender the bear to IAR’s partners in Armenia, FPWC (Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets).

Call for government to allow a rescue

In 2017 the two groups launched The Great Bear rescue which aims to save all the caged bears in Armenia. So far the coalition has rescued 30 bears but believes there may be as many as 50 still in need of help.

Alan Knight, Chief Executive of IAR, said:

“This poor bear has served a 30 year life sentence behind bars. He has suffered the mental and physical torture of a lifetime locked up in a small, barren cage with nothing to amuse or distract him.

“He has paced round and round for so long that he has worn a track on the floor. His teeth are broken from gnawing on the bars of the cage. And about two years ago, the poor animal went blind. He is in pain from arthritis and now also lives in darkness. The bear’s life sentence must not be allowed to become a death sentence.”

Urging officials to intervene, he added:

“We’re calling on the Armenian government to show clemency to this bear by allowing us to rescue him while there is still time. His ‘owner’ claims to love the bear but loving an animal means taking proper care of it and feeding it, not letting it live in squalor and neglect.”

The world’s saddest bear

Ruben Khachatryan, Founder and Director of FPWC, added:

“We urgently need the government’s go ahead to rescue this poor old bear so that it can spend its remaining years in our care. Shame on the man who has allowed him to live for 30 years in such a shocking state. He must surely be the world’s saddest bear, to have lived in pain and darkness for such a very long time.”

Outlining his charity’s plans for the animal’s future, he continued:

“With the government’s support, we can move this bear to our Wildlife Rescue Centre where our rescued bears are well cared for and learn to enjoy life after years of misery. Our vet will treat his ailments and we can even find out whether his sight could be restored.”

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