To date, we and other animal welfare and environment protection NGOs have been able to free over 20 Albanian bears from cruel conditions in captivity and transfer them to wild animal sanctuaries in Greece, Italy, Germany, Bulgaria and Kosovo. But around 20 more brown bears are estimated to be enduring imprisonment in appalling conditions. FOUR PAWS is doing all it can in order to free them!

On 15 November 2017, we submitted a total 424,691 signatures to the Albanian government. The goal of the petition, initiated in August 2016, was to encourage the Minister to strengthen efforts to strictly implement existing legislation on the protection of Albanian bears and to ban the keeping of bears in cruel conditions. Although a ban has been drafted, no concrete decisions have yet been taken. When FOUR PAWS handed over the petition, the Minister ensured us that the Ministry would press ahead with changes to legislation as well as the construction of a sanctuary in Albania in the coming months. We will continue our efforts to help Albania's saddest bears!