The Russian police have found and interrogated the owner of the car, which was spotted carrying a bear with a Russian flag through the Russian capital on the opening day of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. According to the Russian media outlet Lenta, the investigators imposed a fine on the driver for not having car insurance.
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The video, which depicts the animal sitting upright, blowing a vuvuzela and later making a gesture with its paws that some have considered offensive and anti-Semitic, went viral worldwide after a journalist working at the 2018 FIFA World Cup posted it on Twitter.
The clip has enraged animal lovers and activists, who considered the stunt cruel and complained to the police. Animal activists from PETA also slammed the show as "inhumane and utterly out of touch" in their comment to The Independent.
"Bears are not willing performers, so Russian circuses and other lousy acts take [them] from their mothers as babies and then train them using beating, electric shocks, cigarette burns, and food deprivation to make them perform belittling, stupid tricks, which make no sense to them," stated the activists.Many Twitter users echoed this stance, lambasting the act online.
On the contrary, many considered this World Cup tribute funny, applauding it and posting numerous ROFL emojis online.