In October 2016, during a trip to Romania, Richard and Sara had the pleasure of visiting the Libearty Bear Sanctuary in Zarnesti.
“We were happy to see how well the bears were being looked after by enthusiastic and dedicated staff and to hear about how the bears had been rescued from previous pain and misery. Both of our working lives have been dedicated to people deprived of their liberty and it was shocking to see that some of these huge creatures had been kept in cages smaller than prison cells for people“, wrote Sara and Richard Branch.
There was a further resonance for them as, fifteen years previously, whilst travelling in Eastern Europe, they had been shocked to come across bears still being kept in poor conditions, for example chained in castle moats.
“We have always had an affinity with bears and a highlight in our life together was seeing Black Bears in the wild in British Columbia. Whilst the bears at Zarnesti can’t, because of their previous circumstances, return to the wild, they are given care and space in as much of a natural environment as possible. We also loved the fact that the sanctuary rescued wolves and dogs too, as our three beloved dogs have all been rescue dogs“, wrote our two supporters.
When they visited in 2016 they had just became engaged after 20 years of living together! So, they decided at the end of the visit to ask for donations to the sanctuary from their wedding guests instead of gifts, “as we already had everything we could possibly need“.
Their wedding last year was a very happy occasion and Richard, in his speech referred to their visit to the bears and the good work that was being done in Romania. “Our guests were very generous and in total we raised £1500 which we were delighted to send on to the sanctuary to help in their work“, said Richard.
Thus, they may become an example for all the animal lovers who do not only declare their love, but also do extraordinary things to prove it.
Although English, they now live in France and Sara works for the International Committee of the Red Cross based in Geneva. Richard is a retired Civil Servant and now spends much time walking their dog – Phantom, in the mountains where they live.
