A rescued brown bear named Felix is beginning a new life in Austria after being saved from a concrete cage in Slovenia, where authorities had refused to help him be rehoused, despite more than three decades in captivity.
Felix is one of at last of five so-called "restaurant bears" kept for the amusement of guests in nightmare conditions in the EU country that has done nothing to assist rescue workers who want to rehouse them.
Sadly, two have died while waiting to be rescued, and while two others remain, there is fresh hope after Felix was finally freed to go to the Bear Sanctuary Arbesbach, a facility in the town of Arbesbach in the Austrian province of Lower Austria.
Animal welfare group Four Paws confirmed in May 2025 that the 34-year-old bear was transferred from Slovenia after a series of delays.
Felix is the oldest of the five bears held in tiny, barren cages across Slovenia, including one still held at a restaurant and another at a private zoo.
They have no access to veterinary care and live in concrete pens without enrichment.
Four Paws confirmed had tried to rescue all five animals since at least 2022, but only Felix and two others were still alive when one of the restaurants agreed to hand him over and Slovenian officials allowed the rescue to proceed.
Sadly another bear, Mascha, died several months ago, and a bear called Mitko was euthanised by a veterinarian that was called by his owner just days before an official inspection that could have led to his confiscation.
Four Paws accused Slovenian authorities of dragging their feet and blamed their inaction for Mitko's unnecessary death.
Eva Rosenberg, director of Four Paws Austria, said: "We were shocked, heartbroken – and incredibly angry because this death could have been prevented."
According to Four Paws, Mitko had been kept at the 'Tourist Farm Abram' in Nanos and was found to be in distress just before the inspection by the authorities was scheduled.
Four Paws said in a statement: "Exactly one day after Mitko's death, the ultimatum for the owner to change the completely inadequate conditions would have expired."
The group is now demanding the immediate confiscation or voluntary handover to a species appropriate sanctuary of the remaining two bears, named Mici, and Tim.
When last visited by Four Paws in 2023, the two were in obvious distress and suffered from parasites, painful dental issues from gnawing at cage bars, and open wounds from standing on concrete floors.
Video footage provided by the charity showed the animals confined in filthy, grey enclosures with no natural features and minimal stimulation.
In August 2024, Four Paws launched a petition calling on the Slovenian Ministry of Natural Resources and Spatial Planning to allow the rescue mission.
Despite backing from veterinarians and conservation experts across Europe, including in Poland and Croatia, the Slovenian authorities failed to act.
Veterinary professor Djuro Huber from the University of Zagreb said: "They are living miserable lives, kept as lifetime prisoners. Their welfare is limited to providing non-natural food."
Agnieszka Sergiel, a conservation biologist from the Polish Academy of Sciences, added: "The bears exhibit severe stereotypic behaviours. The inappropriate keeping accelerates the development of painful medical conditions."
Four Paws now urges the owners of the remaining two bears - Mici and Tim – to finally follow suit and give them a chance at a real life.
(MJ Leidig/newsX)