Libearty meant to Romania more than just animal rescue. It’s not just a sanctuary, but also a place that opens eyes and changes mentalities. In people, the sanctuary has imposed the “animal rights” – a silent “revolution” comparable to obtaining the “right to vote” in a society. In 10 years, AMP managed to change the perception of people, and now, animals are not “just animals” but “beings”. They should be treated with dignity and respect, and where possible, with affection and freedom.
Now it seems unreal, but 10 years ago it was quite normal to take a walk in Sinaia and take pictures with Max, the bear tied in chains near the palace of the Romanian kings. If you went to the sea-side, it was a must to take pictures with the bear, monkey or lion. There was no Facebook or selfie, but only pictures “in a minute” that you used to show to your friends in cardboard albums. And your children? You used to urge them to pull the donkey by the ears or to ride the slaughtered pig for Ignat (an Orthodox celebration in which peasants used to kill their fattened pigs for the holiday season). That is how Romanians used to think before Libearty, regardless of culture, social status or professional training.
The most surprising case, is that of Max – the blind bear tied in chains near the Peleș Castle in Sinaia. After a dangerous action, where the AMP rescuers were guarded by the gendarmes, the bear was finally confiscated by the Environmental Guard. The illegal owner, a Bear Tamer who worked in a circus, threatened to do justice with his knife. newspapers of that time headlined that “The bear from Peles was “arrested” by the authorities”. Nobody realized back then, that poor Max, the beaten, blinded and hungry bear had been “liberated”. It wasn’t obvious that the bear was actually “arrested” by the trainer who used him to serve him for so many years in the sun and with a chain around his neck.
For the moment there were some Romanians who regretted that these bears were rescued. Others have speculated obscure interests following the rescue action. The conspiracies attributed to the sanctuary sometimes became hilarious: hunters that make safari, bears collected for lard. Only after the sanctuary was open to the public, people began to understand why the bears were “arrested”, why the cage is not an option for them and what can we do for the bears to walk freely in the forest. Now they see the once-captive bears walking free in the meadows and forest of the Libearty sanctuary. They see the bears climbing trees and playing with each other in the water pools and they realize that these animals were one imprisoned for our entertainment and now they have been freed to live their own lives in a natural habitat.
After 10 years of Libearty, things have changed. People are posting pictures of their cats or dogs on Facebook, and most of the captive animals are living in more humane conditions. The illegal animal owners are rare. Today, if a bear is tormented, the animal lovers make referrals, they write petitions, gather signatures and call “Millions of Friends”. Libearty has moved the time ahead!
