In 2019, a horrific incident at a circus in Russia exposed the cruelty of using wild animals for entertainment. Yashka, a 600lb bear, had spent years performing in the Anshlag Circus.

But after years of mistreatment, the bear attacked his handler, Ruslan Solodyuk, during a performance.

The bear, old and sick, bit Solodyuk’s arm and eventually moved into the audience, causing panic.

The circus blamed flash photography for the attack, but the real issue was Yashka’s suffering and confinement. Despite the circus’s claims, no amount of flashing cameras should drive an animal to violence.

This incident underscores the cruelty of forcing wild animals to perform and serves as a reminder that animals deserve to live freely in their natural habitats, not as entertainment.

Yashka’s story is a call to stop supporting circuses that exploit animals for profit.