Choosing what to watch night after night the flicking through the endless

searching is a nightmare we want to help you on our brand new podcast off the

telly we share what we've been watching

Cladie Aide.

Load to games, loads of fun, loads of screaming.

Lovely. Off the telly with me Joanna Paige.

And me, Natalie Cassidy, so your evenings can be a little less

searching and a lot more auction listen on BBC sounds you're listening to the

witness history podcast from the BBC World Service with me for Hanahever.

Today I'm taking you back to 1998 when brown bears were made a protected species in Bulgaria,

ending the centuries-old tradition of dancing bears.

In the heart of the Bulgarian capital Sophia's commercial and political centre, a site from medieval times. A 14-month-old brown bear. She's

muzzled and chained by rings through her nose and upper lip to her master.

Dancing bears as a spectacle were commonplace across Europe,

but the tradition faded out by the end of the 16th century,

except in the Balkans.

Families, mostly from the Gypsy or Roma community, continued to earn a living through performing

bears, but the techniques used were extremely cruel and the Bulgarian government decided to act.

The challenge then was to find the bear's new homes.

In 1998, they announced very clear that Brown Bear are protected pieces, but to protect them,

where to put them. So dancing bear bark was a long-term solution where

animal could stay their life and to be a pension place where the bears are retired.

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