Crime to prime-time for mistreated Bosnian bear

By Ranko Cukovic

PRIJEDOR, Bosnia (Reuters) - A Bosnian bear who fell into the hands of mobsters and almost died from starvation and solitude travels to a French sanctuary this week for a life of luxury with two female companions.

When Miljen's mother was killed by hunters in 2000, the cub was sold to a crime boss keen to emulate famous Balkan criminals who see keeping wild animals as proof of machismo.

When the gangster was jailed in 2005 for running a trafficking and prostitution ring, Miljen was left to the mercy of neighbours, who could only afford to feed him bread.

He weighed just 70 kg by the time a Serbian film-maker saw him while shooting footage in the area.

The French animal protection group Respectons and Bosnian counterpart Noa started a bureaucratic marathon to get the bear to the sanctuary in Normandy.

"The case of this bear is without precedent," Noa president Dragomir Mijic told Reuters. "He will enter the European Union as a special case."

Because Bosnia has not signed an international convention on animal transport, Miljen almost found himself in the same quagmire as his human compatriots, who have to fill in endless forms and queue for hours to apply for often-denied EU visas.

Finally his saviours were told they could move him only if medical tests proved he was in good health. Locals in Prijedor chipped in, and it took three months of intensive feeding to get the animal to 200 kg and have the blood tests.