All this talk about bear hunting reminded me of an incident I experienced back in the '80's in the DDR (German Democratic Republic) before the wall came down.

I was visiting friends in Babelsberg, a Berlin suburb where the German film industry was once located. My friends lived across the street from the former Ufa studio, which produced most of the pre-war classic German films. He was a veterinarian and she was an official in the agricultural department. A noticable indication of their privileged status was the fact that they owned a Volvo station wagon, an unheard of luxury in those days.

At any rate, we were sitting in their living room and I happened to notice a large, well prepared bear skin hanging on the wall. I commented on it and asked the husband how he happened to be allowed to hunt it. There was an embarassed silence, and finally he admitted that the bear had belonged to a travelling circus and he had been called to treat it when it had gotten ill. When it died, he asked for and was given the hide in lieu of his professional fee.

At least he had the good grace to be embarassed about it.