site.btaJune 5, 2004: Europe's Biggest Dancing Bears Sanctuary Opens near Belitsa

On June 5, 2004, the Belitsa Dancing Bears Park was unveiled near the southwestern town of Belitsa. Now called the Belitsa Bear Sanctuary, it is the biggest dancing bears sanctuary in Europe and also a tourist attraction with thousands of Bulgarian and foreign visitors a year.

The park was established back in 2000 by the Four Paws global animal welfare organization jointly with France’s Brigitte Bardot Foundation to provide a sanctuary for the re-adaptation of bears forced to dance for entertainment. All registered dancing bears in Bulgaria have since been saved.

The official opening ceremony in 2004 was attended by Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg Gotha, MPs, diplomats, and some 300 guests from Bulgaria and abroad. The park encompasses an area of 120,000 sq m some 12 km away from Belitsa, a mountainous area that is a natural home to the brown bear, a protected species in Bulgaria. 

At present, Belitsa Bear Sanctuary is home to 15 bears, including rescues from Serbia, Albania, Romania, and North Macedonia.

Visitors are welcome every day from 12 to 5:30 p.m. in spring, summer, and autumn. In winter, the sanctuary is closed to prevent disturbances to hibernating bears.