GSPSA has decided to provide financial assistance to the 'Zoological Centre' for the survival and well-being of Bear Cubs.

GSPSA provided financial assistance to the NNLE "Zoological Center" for the survival of the bear cubs and their well-being.

On February 23, 2021, Teimuraz Tsikoridze, Chairman of the “Georgian Society for the Protection and Safety of Animals” - GSPSA, and Soso Jikurishvili, Founder of the NNLE “Zoological Center”, signed an agreement on the issuance, receipt, and use of a grant. Under the agreement, GSPSA, as a donor organization, provided targeted financial assistance of GEL 5,000 to the NNLE “Zoological Center” for the construction of an aviary for 150.00 sq.m. It was the first time the Zoological Center received such targeted funding to save the bears.

On February 3, 2021, two bear cubs, not older than 3 months, were found by the local population in the Sabaduri forest on the territory of Mtskheta municipality. Bears do not naturally inhabit the forest of Sabaduri. The discovery of these cubs without their bear mother confirms that a bear mother had been killed by a poacher in another area while the cubs were abducted. Apparently, the poacher could not sell the decapitated cubs and, in order to cover the evidence, let them go to the "Bear shelter" in the Sabaduri forest.

The founder of the "Zoological Center" took the cubs to the shelter, but it became necessary to arrange an appropriate area for the cubs, an aviary, and a nest. Since the “Bears Shelter” has only limited and volatile funding raised by donations, GSPSA  decided to provide financial assistance to the partner organization to house and rescue these cubs. Unfortunately, the cubs will have to spend their whole lives in captivity in the shelter.

It should be noted that on August 5, 2018, in Tskhvarichamia, Mtskheta district, in the bear shelter in Sabaduri forest, a memorandum was signed by the chairman of the Georgian Society for the Protection and Safety of Animals and the founder of the Zoological Center (Bear Shelter).

The situation for wildlife in terms of protection from poachers in Georgia is very vulnerable. Several wild animals, including the brown bear, are listed on the Georgian Red List as a result of poaching.  Every year, more than 100,000 hunters apply for hunting licenses in Georgia, but the number of poachers exceeds that of licensed hunters. It is unfortunate that brown bears are being killed and the high frequency of illegal killing permanently impacts the Georgian brown bear. Although the law is strict regarding the killing of red-listed animals, the enforcement agencies lack the capacity to ensure the law is enforced and the perpetrator punished.

It is especially outrageous when poachers kill a bear mother and take the cubs either for sale, or to give as a gift, or for illegal captivity. Dozens of such cases have been recorded over the past years.

By the end of March, the GSPSA-funded Zoological Center will set up a protected area for bear cubs and other young bears in the Sabaduri Forest Bear Shelter.

In order to help the residents of the shelter, you can make a donation to the bank accounts of both the Zoological Center and the Georgian Society for the Protection and Survival of Animals:

Please indicate the purpose: "To help bears"

1. Receiving Bank: JSC Bank of Georgia
   Receiving Bank Code: BAGAGE22
   Recipient Name: A (A) IP. "Zoological Center" (Bear Shelter)
   Identification code: 436038226
   Account number: GE05BG0000000037320500

2. Currency: GEL, EUR, USD, GBP, DKK, CNF
   Beneficiary Bank: JSC Bank of Georgia
   Receiving Bank Code: BAGAGE22
   Recipient Name: Georgian Society for Animal Protection and Safety of Animals
   Identification code: 205171847
   Account Number: GE94BG000000016624800

Or you can use other transfer methods:

DONATE

  ზოოლოგიური ცენტრი Bears Sanctuary in Georgia