Kvitka has spent most of her life in a cage. The 8-year-old bear has spent the past six years at this “station.” And before that, she lived in another place like this in Eneyko. When she’s allowed outside of her cage, she’s used for a practice called “bear baiting.”
“She was used for dogfights and bear/dog training at the baiting station. The current manager of the station confirmed this when our team initially visited the station,” Claire LaFrance, communications director at Four Paws International, told The dodo. “According to the manager, around 30 dogs are kept at the baiting station ([our] team could hear them barking), also badgers and boars. Selected dogs are sent for baiting contests from time to time to various regions of Ukraine.”