A brown bear cub that was found at the entrance to the property Miljan Milickovic in the village of Blizna in Piper, it must be urgently relocated from that location and adequate accommodation must be found for that animal as soon as possible, where the bear could be prepared for its return to nature. If it is impossible to return it to its natural habitat, it should be given the chance to live in a special reserve, where it would be under the supervision of experts.
This, among other things, was told to "Vijesti" by international organizations Animal Survival International (ASI) and "Four Paws".
This match is, as far as the public is aware, the fourth cub of that type of wild animal in six years that ended up on the Milicković estate.
At the beginning of the month, ASI published information on its website that there is a bear cub in the village of Blizna, on the property of Milicković. The information was then confirmed to "Vijesti" by the Directorate for Food Safety, Veterinary and Phytosanitary Affairs (UBHVFP) and said that they were informed about it by the non-governmental organization "Animal Shelter and Recovery", of which Miličković is the founder.
As they said at the time, in the notice he stated "that on the night between July 30 and 31, a wooden improvised transporter with a brown bear cub with an estimated age of seven months was found at the entrance gate of the shelter, on a public area", that cub "found in good physical condition, with no visible signs of impairment of physical integrity, assuming that the animal was raised as a pet".
Milicković did not answer the questions of "Vijesti" regarding the bear cub.
The organizations ASI and "Four Paws" told "Vijesti" that if the cub is supervised by a professional and kept in conditions where interaction with people is almost excluded, the cub would have a chance to be released back into the wild after rehabilitation. .
"Which is the best option for that brown bear and the preservation of the population in general," they said.
They also reminded that a few years ago, two other cubs ended up in the same shelter and that, after being exposed to constant contact with people, those cubs lost the chance to be returned to nature.
Brundo, Maša, Ljubo
Two young brown bears, about 2,5 months old, were found in a den without a mother at the beginning of 2017, on the slopes of Pustog Lisac, near Nikšić.
The cubs, Brund and Maša, were then taken over by Miličković and taken care of at the estate in the village of Blizna, with the claim that they were on a program of feralization with him. According to photos published by Milicković and his visitors on social networks at the time, and reports published by numerous media, the cubs were exposed to constant contact with people - visitors fed them on pacifiers, petted them...
"Two young bears that were previously kept in the shelter in the village of Blizna were too exposed to human touch and thus completely lost the chance to return to their natural habitat, which was a tragic outcome for them and contrary to the agreement that was reached at the time with the special reserve that he eventually accepted them", said ASI and "Four Paws".
Thanks to the Center for the Protection and Study of Birds, Brundo and Maša were sent to a rehabilitation center in Greece as part of the program of that NGO for the conservation of large animals. According to ASI, their rehabilitation was not successful due to previous "inappropriate treatment during their stay in a private zoo".
In the same year that he took care of Brund and Maša, a third bear appeared at Milicković's house. Ljubo is today on a farm in the village of Blizna, and its origin has never been explained.
In each of those cases, the professional advice was to limit contact with the bears, so as not to jeopardize their chance to be returned to nature.
"If the new bear cannot be returned to the wild, it should be given the chance to live under the supervision of experts in a special reserve, where it will not be exposed to the public. Every day during which this match is not treated in the right way, reduces that possibility", they told "Vijesta" from ASI.
From "Four Paws" they add that, if Miličković or other people from his estate, without a plan and control, try to introduce a new bear into the territory where the older bear, six-year-old Ljubo, is now living, it could result in "severe injury or even the death of the young bear ".
Weeks without concrete action
"Young bears need professional care and handling, but this cub does not have daily supervision and no one checks on it on a daily basis, which should be the case. At the same time, experts offering help are not allowed access to the bear. The most worrying thing is that Milicković refuses access to the only expert on large animals in the country or 'Four Paws', as international experts. It is not ethical," said ASI.
One of the big game experts Aleksandar Perovic previously engaged in CZIP, now he is in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ASI says that the expected reaction of someone who finds an "abandoned" cub in front of the door would be to accept the cooperation and any help offered by experts, both from abroad and local ones.
"In order to create the right conditions for the care of the bear and enable all the necessary health checks to be started immediately and paperwork to be prepared, in order to move the animal to a special reserve," added ASI.
International animal protection organizations say that the state of Montenegro does not have harmonized procedures and regulations for similar cases.
"Four institutions - the EPA, the Ministry of Ecology, the Veterinary Administration and the Inspection - are involved in this case, and over three weeks since the cub 'appeared', there is no one to come up with a clear plan of action, no expert to monitor the bear's health condition, in the entire country there is no alternative for his accommodation, and for all that time of improper holding, that match loses its chance for a free life", said ASI and "Four Paws".
Letter to Abazović
Those organizations also addressed Dritan Abazović, as they state, "as a green prime minister" (GP URA), with an offer for, as they say, concrete help in this case. Abazović's office did not respond to "Vijesti"'s inquiry regarding the letter sent by the editorial office on August 15.
According to unofficial information, it was proposed to the Government to authorize CZIP, as an organization that has experts on large animals, to initiate and assist the further action of taking care of the mosque. ASI and "Four Paws", in addition to the expertise, offered financial assistance for the temporary accommodation of the animal until it is moved to a special reserve for bears in Europe.
The EPA initiated an inspection at the Directorate for Inspection Affairs, stating that the place where the bear is currently housed "is not a zoo, it does not have a work permit", and that "the procedure for revoking the permit for keeping a large number of animals is in progress. considering that during his many years of work, Miljan Miličković has not shown his willingness to act in accordance with the law, as well as that he does not have the capacity to take adequate care of animals". Unofficially, the EPA found housing for the brown bear cub.
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