When Katya the bear was younger, she was the star of the Big St. Petersburg State Circus, where she entertained thousands by riding around the ring on a motorcycle. In 1980, she appeared at the Russian Olympics. Now, this majestic creature is trapped in a small, rusty cage on a parked bus with dozens of other animals.

Katya and the other animals are rarely taken care of more than once a day. Trapped on a bus in the sweltering heat and freezing winters, they barely have enough space to move at all, let alone normally. According to MSNBC, Katya spends her hours jumping up and down in her cramped cage and trying to break the rusty metal bars with her cracking teeth.

Call on Russia's government to strengthen animal protection laws and free Katya and the other circus animals from their parking lot prison.

I am writing to urge you to take steps to free Katya the Russian Olympics bear and the dozens of other animals from their tiny cages on a parked bus in St. Petersburg.

[Your comments here]

The animals have barely any room to move, and are taken care of once a day at maximum. Katya in particular has begun obsessively chewing on the rusty metal bars of her cage.

Animals do not deserve to be kept in such squalid conditions. Please arrange for Katya and the rest of the circus animals to be taken to a sanctuary, and strengthen animal protection laws so that this situation never happens again.