Tourists Are Shocked By What Is Happening In Belovezhskaya Pushcha
- 11.09.2026, 8:39
The condition of the animals is angering visitors.
Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park is considered the pride of Belarus. It is a protected forest and the oldest national park in Europe, covering an area of more than 150,000 hectares. It features a relict forest, Santa Claus’s estate, and wildlife enclosures where visitors can see bison, deer, wolves, and other animals up close. However, tourists who have visited the park recently have been shocked by what is happening there.
One of the first to raise this issue was a user on the social network Threads with the username az.pshv. She said she has lived in Brest for seven years, but this was her first visit to Belovezhskaya Pushcha—and the reality fell short of her expectations. Among her complaints were an admission fee even for walking trails, discrepancies between the actual operating hours and those advertised (the café and restroom closed earlier than indicated), as well as the condition of the animals: according to her, the wolves in the enclosures are plagued by parasites—their ears are covered with fly larvae and are bald in places.
The post did not go unnoticed—residents of Belarus and other countries began sharing their own experiences of visiting the park.
User valianna complained about the conditions in which the bear was kept: a cramped cage without branches or fresh water, which, in her opinion, negatively affects the animal’s mental state.
cherry8_poppers compared what she saw to the Minsk Zoo, noting that, despite widespread criticism of the zoo, the bear there has a larger enclosure—complete with toys, shelter, and a pool.
veronika.slabko admitted that the condition of the animals in the enclosures had brought her to tears as far back as last year.
yulkazheigalo also described the enclosures as “painful”: according to her, a large animal is kept in a cage unsuitable for life and walks in circles all day long.
mashka.dudenko, who visited the park this summer, said that during the heatwave, the bison had no way to shelter from the sun, the donkey had untrimmed hooves, which made it difficult for him to move, and the bears’ behavior indicated psychological instability. At the same time, she said, the entire area is crammed with paid walkways, while the animal enclosures are in a state of disrepair.