England fans’ shock as they witness dancing bears being tormented at World Cup

[Ulquiorra]

ENGLAND fans have been shocked by the sight of dancing bears at a Russian circus being tormented at a World Cup “family fun” event.

Three Lions supporters who arrived early in the city went to the Samara State Circus expecting to see acrobats.

But they were horrified by the sight of five brown bears being forced to beg on pedestals, blow trumpets, ride horses and balance on balls rolled around the arena.

Several England supporters walked out after being distressed by the sight of the animals being mistreated.

Camels were forced to parade around the ring by handlers as Russian in the crowd bayed and cheered.

The circus was advertised as a “family fun” event on a sight emblazoned with official FIFA World Cup logos alongside Samara’s Zoo and a children’s puppet theatre.

A Leeds fan who went to one of the shows, who asked not to be identified said: "I saw what was pitched as a family fun event on what looked like a FIFA website as the Samara State Circus which was probably 80% children with accompanying adults.

“It started off mainly with acrobatics and then there were other animals such as camels and dogs.

“But when the bears came out I started to feel uncomfortable because it was clear that this was not a natural environment for them.

“They had been trained to do things like catch flowers, or roll on a ball and there was one on the back of a horse.

“After what we felt was a number of disturbing acts for a bear to be involved in, we left as we felt it was a show that we were no longer interested in watching.

“I was very surprised to see that this was listed as something fun to
do when we were in town 48 hours before the England game."