Animal Party Cyprus, which has called for the immediate and permanent closure of Melios Zoo after one of its bears left its enclosure on Saturday, republished videos on Monday of two brown bears kept caged at Limassol Zoo before their transfer to a nature park near Budapest in 2004, saying the same story was being repeated.
The first video, from 1993, shows the bears in their cage at the zoo. The second, from 2004, shows the same bears walking in repeated circles in their confined space, even over their own excrement.
According to the party, the organisation ‘Kivotos’ played a decisive part in efforts to free the two bears, after hard-fought campaigns and interventions in Cyprus and Brussels. The bears were moved in 2004 with the help of WSPA, then an international organisation, at what the party described as a huge cost that, according to its information, was not covered by the state.
The party said the footage showed what captivity means for a wild animal, in this case for 30-odd years, and that the bears were finally moved to a place where they could live differently.
It said two brown bears, just five years old, were now once again at the centre of questions over the conditions in which wild animals are kept in captivity. It asked how many more times the same images would have to be seen before lessons were learnt, and how many times people would have to fight for what should be self-evident.
Bears, and any other animals, are not attractions but living creatures with needs, instincts and a right to living conditions that respect their nature, the party said.
Melios Zoo incident
Police said on Saturday, October 10, that the person responsible for a facility in the Kokkinotrimithia-Agioi Trimithias area of Nicosia district had reported that evening that a bear had escaped. The animal was later secured by the person responsible and returned to its enclosure. Paliometocho Community Council had earlier urged residents of the village and surrounding areas to take precautions.
Melios Zoo Park, near Paliometocho, said one of its two bears had temporarily left its enclosure outside visiting hours but had not gone beyond the park’s boundaries.
The Animal Party has called for the zoo’s immediate and permanent closure. It says the Court of Appeal upheld the owner’s conviction in May, confirming that the facility was operating illegally on a licence that expired in 2017. These claims have not been independently verified.
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