Dancing bears freed

The last three "dancing bears" in Bulgaria have been freed. Although the cruel and painful practice of forcing bears to "dance" was outlawed in Bulgaria 13 years ago, some people had illegally continued the practice.
Although the last three "dancing bears" could have been freed by a police raid, animal activists bought the animals' release, with the undisclosed amount of payment to go toward helping the animals' former owners to open new, legitimate businesses.
The three bears -- Mima, Misho and Svetla -- will live the rest of their lives on a bear sanctuary on Mount Rila operated by the Four Paws Foundation.