León's most famous bears will be moved to a sanctuary in Germany after 33 years in captivity.

León, Jul 11 (EFE).- León's most famous bears, Luna and Ponderoso, who have been kept at the city's Coto Escolar for more than 30 years and are considered the longest-lived specimens of their species in captivity, will be transferred to the German sanctuary of Gnadenhof Für Bären, located near the city of Munich.

A solution that has come after years of criticism from environmentalists and animal rights groups regarding the conditions in which the bears were kept, in a cage that has long failed to comply with animal welfare laws.

The debate over the animals, which over time have practically become the city's mascots, has been going on for a long time, and even a proposal to move them to Cabárceno Park in Cantabria came to nothing.

León City Council, the administration that manages the School Reserve, has acknowledged that the new regulations regarding the space for bears and the naturalization of the environment required by the regulations were impossible to comply with at the current location.

New house 2,000 kilometers from León

The Foundation for Advice and Action in Defense of Animals (FAADA) has taken on the task of coordinating the complicated transport of the plantigrades to Germany and has been responsible for finding the Gnadenhof Für Bären sanctuary, which already houses more than a dozen Central European bears.

The move will take place at the end of July and will cost the León City Council more than 6,000 euros.

A complicated journey due to the size of the animals and the length of the trip—more than 16 hours and over 2,000 kilometers from León—which is why specialists have recommended initially sedating the bears. They will then travel awake in a special temperature-controlled vehicle, with food provided during the journey.

Once they reach their final destination, Luna and Ponderoso will enjoy the company of 14 other members of their species in a 10-hectare natural setting where they will enjoy a second chance after years of captivity.

The situation suffered by the two Leonese bears has highlighted, according to the animal rights group PACMA, the conditions in which many animals are kept in various zoos and animal centers, as well as the lack of a suitable sanctuary in Spain for plantigrade bears.