Man escaped fine for his bear not shitting in the woods as law only applies to dogs

A Russian man who was fined when his bear pooed outside a newsagents and he left the mess on the floor escaped having to pay when he pointed out that the law only applied to dogs. Robert Biryukov was walking his bear cub down Lomonosov Avenue in the capital Moscow when the bear stopped to relieve itself.

He said: "It had been snowing so I suppose it was a bit more obvious than usual, and I didnt have a bag with me when suddenly shop owner came out and started shouting. Then two policemen who were walking nearby came over and got involved, and told me I had to clean it up. When I pointed out I didn't have a bag, they tried to fine me."
But when the 27-year-old pointed out that law only applied to dogs, police officers let him off with a warning. He agreed to come back later and clean up the mess with a shovel. He said: "I have trained my bear to do all sorts of tricks as he is really smart, but I can't seem to train him not to do his business in inappropriate places."

He added that with the heavy snowfalls recently the bear would normally be asleep, but because it was staying in a warm room, it was sluggish and slow but still refusing to go into a winter sleep. He said: "He is completely safe and well trained apart from one small issue of where exactly he is allowed to relieve himself. I voluntarily keep him on a lead and make him wear a muzzle, but to be honest it is not really necessary but it makes people less nervous. But although he is pretty tall when he stands up he is still really only a baby."