Abstract 185 – Ending a centuries-old tradition of bear keeping in Czech castles

Eva Filipczykova, Bernd Nonnenmacher, Christopher Schmidt, Žaneta Křišťanová,
Aleš Vorel, Koen Cuyten

The state of Czech Republic currently keeps seven bears at four castle moats (the castles of
Český Krumlov, Konopiště, Náchod, and Točník), i.e. a tradition going back more than 500 years.
Bears in some of these moats live in very limiting conditions. Tourists, both international and
Czech, have been reporting a worrying state of the bears especially in moats of two castles, the
Český Krumlov Castle and the Konopiště Castle. The Český Krumlov Castle has a moat of about
850 m2, composed mostly of concrete, and inhabiting three brown bears. The Konopiště Castle
possesses a moat of about 150 m2 with one Asiatic black bear. Bears at these moats display
signs of stress, such as bear pacing, display of stereotypic behavior and obesity. Since 2015,
various international and local organizations have put pressure on the National Heritage
Institute (NPÚ), a Czech state institution responsible for the management of these castles, to
cease bear keeping in castle moats. In 2021, two NGO’s, Stiftung für Bären (Foundation for
Bears) and Bears in Mind, formed a coalition and started actively working towards a plan to end
the suffering of the castle bears in the Czech Republic. In early 2023, Stiftung für Bären started
a petition specifically addressing Český Krumlov Castle and UNESCO, which was signed almost
150,000 times. In June 2023, the coalition visited the Czech castle bears and had meetings with
stakeholders, such as the management of the Český Krumlov Castle, the NPÚ, and the local
NGO Obraz – Animal Defenders. The meeting with the Deputy Director of the NPÚ was
successful and we agreed on further steps aiming at gradually moving bears from all the Czech
castle moats to close-to-nature sanctuaries. The further steps include signing a Memorandum
of Understanding between the coalition and NPÚ, running a public education campaign, and
performing a social survey on general public opinion about this project and effectiveness of the
campaign.