In 2019, a horrifying incident at a circus in Russia made it clear just how cruel the treatment of wild animals in entertainment can be.

Yashka, a 600lb Russian bear, had spent years performing in the Anshlag Circus, carting around a wheelbarrow as part of the “Bow-legged and the Wheelbarrow” act. But that night, something inside him snapped.

Sick and old
It wasn’t the lights or the loud music. It wasn’t the crowds. What drove Yashka to attack his handler, Ruslan Solodyuk, was the fact that, as a massive apex predator, he had been reduced to nothing more than a circus act — performing tricks to entertain people, trapped in a small, unnatural environment.

Yashka viciously bit down on Solodyuk’s arm and wouldn’t let go, as circus workers kicked the bear and attempted to subdue the bear with an electric shocker.

Local media reported that the bear then made its way into the audience area, getting dangerously close to spectators.

The audience, initially unsure if this was part of the show, quickly realized the severity of the situation. People began running for the exits in panic. It was a disturbing scene, one that highlights the inherent cruelty of using wild animals for entertainment.

Disagreed with the circus administrators
According to Fox News, Solodyuk told the Russian news outlet Daily Storm that he was cooperating with the police after the attack and emphasized that he had never experienced anything like this in all his years working with Yashka. He attributed the incident to the bear’s irritation, explaining: