Five Sisters is hoping to rehome a pair of Brown Bears who were rescued from a travelling circus in Germany. The bears are currently being held in France whilst the park tries to raise the £80,000 needed to buuld them an enclosure for them. Zoo vows to give bears necessities - Scotsman.com News
This is interesting and very ambitious for a collection that was , not so long ago, on the verge of possible closure? It is a nice little collection but bears may be beyond its scope as it only caters for a few small mammals at present. I wish them well in their efforts though.
It looks as though the bears could be back on the agenda. Scots zoo in £80k bid to save circus bears and build new sanctuary - The Daily Record
This would certainly be a very big step for the place but knowing the owner and some of his staff,I don't doubt that they will make it work,also I have seen the area of land they are planning on using for the enclosure,it will look very good and should also give the Bears plenty of chance to hide if they so wish!!
Well, a campaign of this nature worked extremely well for Yorkshire Wildlife Park, perhaps if this is successful it will develop into a model followed by many other collections wishing to expand, ethically, into larger species and raise their profile. I am in no way suggesting this is why they are doing it, only that it I feel it is worthwhile in more ways that one, and should be emulated by others.
This really would cement my observation/theory that the bears to zoos ratio increases as the region considered gets further north in the UK. i.e. south of Whipsnade, next to none, Edinburgh upwards, you're tripping over them.
The park now has a three month deadline to raise the remaining £60,000 needed for transporting the Bears from Belgium and the build costs of the enclosure Zoo appeals for help saving rescued bears | Edinburgh News | STV Local
£40,000 has now been raised. Half way there.... They are still hoping to have them by Christmas Zoo launches final bid to rescue circus trio before Christmas - Around the Capital - Scotsman.com
They will not be here by Christmas, more like March 2012 now. Zoo trio bearing up after rescue drive hit by delay - News - Scotsman.com
I believe it's three females not two Nisha. There arrival date is set (30th March). The Arrival Date! - Five Sisters Zoo | Get up close and personal at West Calder's premier wildlife attraction | The Latest News from the Zoo
Prehaps that's because when I originally started this thread (18 months ago) Five Sisters was attempting rehome two different Bears rather than the latest three they have managed to source.....
As I understand it the bears were not rescued from a travelling circus in Germany as this country has regulations for the accommodation of circuses bears and they would not be allowed to be continually housed in a lorry measuring just 10m square. I have tried to find out more details and it appears these were animals of a retired circus trainer who gave them up when he became too ill to care for them. Although it good news they are hopefully going to be re-homed in a purpose built exhibit.
That's as I understand the situation, the bear's owner/trainer now retired was unable to care for them any longer,he must have been fond of them though as he didn't just simply dispose of them when he retired, he continued to look after them until it became difficult for him to do so, good wishes to the bears in their new home, hope it all goes well.
An update from the newsletter reports that Five Sisters have reached £60,000 and need another £20,000 for completion. The bears journey will begin on the 28th March and they should arrive on the 30th if all goes well.
There really ought to be a law against people making unsubstantiated claims about "misery" and "mistreated" in order to raise money and to boost their own egos.
