Caution: This film is not intended for sensitive viewers. There are about 100 brown bears living in very poor captive conditions across the Ukraine. Most of them are living in small cages next to restaurants, hotels or petrol stations. The bears are undernourished and ill. Many of them have to perform tricks to entertain tourists and to drink alcohol. Bears are the largest land-based-carnivores on earth – solitary animals who roam around huge areas in the wild. Many bears suffer from disorders, physical deformities, and behavioural issues caused by inappropriate long term care. They cannot be released. In Ukraine there has been a ban on private bear ownership since last year. But the Ukrainian authorities are faced with a serious problem: They cannot confiscate bears, because the know-how and equipment in order to treat and transport the animals is often missing. FOUR PAWS has been working on protecting bears for years and runs bear sanctuaries in Austria, Germany, and Bulgaria, where numerous rescued animals are being cared for. In an agreement of 3 February 2012, FOUR PAWS assured the Ukrainian Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of its commitment to not only help stray dogs, but also the abused bears. FOUR PAWS provides urgently required medicines, medical equipment and a mobile bear ambulance. The organisation’s wildlife experts examine the bears, prepare them for the transport, and bring them to the first Bear Care Centre Synevyr in the Ukraine, which was opened just a few months ago. There the bears are able to lead a life appropriate for their species in a huge compound where they can rediscover their instincts. Four bears have already been saved by FOUR PAWS and brought to the Bear Care Centre Synevyr. Others will follow. The video is the copyright of FOUR PAWS. The views expressed in the video are in no way representative of the views of HowzitMSN, Microsoft, or its affiliates.