now they'll only dance IF and WHEN THEY want to!

it's wonderful news! now if only we can get ALL of the animals out of ALL of the circuses. they don't belong there. tigers, lions, elephants, chimps, orangutans and on and on. they are NOT treated well - no matter what you read. bring your kids to cirque de soleil instead. wonderful entertainment and NO animals

Animal rights activists buy freedom for Bulgaria's last 3 dancing bears

VESELIN TOSHKOV Associated Press Writer
(AP) - SOFIA, Bulgaria-Bulgaria's last three dancing bears are being sent to a mountain sanctuary after activists bought their freedom Friday in an effort to stamp out the centuries-old tradition which has survived in the Balkans despite being outlawed.
The trio - 8-year-old Mima, Misho, 19, and Svetla, 17 - will join another 20 brown bears in their new home on Mount Rila, a 12-hectare (30-acre) sanctuary 180 kilometers (110 miles) south of Sofia partly funded by a foundation run by former French actress Brigitte Bardot............

four paws

bear photo: four paws

gypsy photo: A member of Bulgaria's Stanev gypsy family and owners of dancing bears is seen in the village of Getsovo some 400km (250 miles) east of the Bulgarian capital Sofia, Friday, June, 15, 2007. The last three of Bulgaria's famed dancing bears have now stepped down from the floor. Animal rights activists bought on Friday the animals their freedom by giving small grants to the people in the eastern village of Getsovo who exploited them. 'The three bears dubbed Misho, Svetla and Mima will not dance on hot surfaces anymore. (AP Photo/Petar Petrov)

i happened to see this on nightline the other night

and it was NOT pretty. lots of pet owners were (literally) forced to abandon their animals. there were even pet rescue workers from other states that were PREVENTED from helping. as if effing up helping the people of the gulf coast wasn't enough...

Cops sued for mass pet murders during Katrina

David Edwards and Muriel Kane

ABC's Nightline described on Monday how, in the days following Hurricane Katrina, police killed many stranded pets that had been left behind by their owners. Residents of St. Bernard Parish have since claimed they were forced to leave behind their dogs, which were then wantonly killed by sheriff's deputies. The dog owners have filed a class action lawsuit, asserting their pets were executed in three schools that were supposed to serve as shelters.........