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30. 06. 12. - 12:00

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30. 06. 12. - 12:00

Baby bear tortured to entertain Euro 2012 tourists

Michael Leidig

These heartbreaking pictures in which a bear cub is torn away from his mother and shoved screaming into a tiny box which is then nailed shut have been released to start a campaign to have the two reunited by an Austrian animal charity.

The baby bear Nastasia is seen screaming in terror as she is taken away by a photographer who has been using her to make pictures of tourists in Euro 2012 country Ukraine.

The campaigners from Vier Pfoten (Four paws) released the video and want support to pressurise the zoo in Lutsk to reunite mother and four-month-old cub. While the youngster is screaming, the mother bear is shown racing around the cage and throwing herself at the metal mesh in a bid to get back to her cub.

The cub is then pushed down into a wooden box still shrieking - and it is nailed shut with a wire cover.

Four Paws spokesperson for Ukraine Dr. Amir Khalil said: "The pictures were shot in May this year and they were the most shocking I have seen in my time covering this region. A baby bear in the wild usually spends two years with its mother. Taking it away so young would leave the tiny bear traumatised.

"In addition being used as a tourist attraction represents a lifetime in torment for the baby bear. The sale of baby bears to private individuals is supposed to be illegal in the Ukraine."

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