A bear-leader was historically a man who led bears about the country.[ clarification needed ] In the Middle Ages and the Tudor period, these animals were chiefly used in the blood sport of bear-baiting and were led from village to village. Performing bears were also common; their keepers were generally Frenchmen or Italians. [1]
Later, the phrase bear-leader came colloquially to mean a tutor or guardian, who escorted any young man of rank or wealth on his travels. [2]
Until well into the 1990s, Roma, like the Ursari from various Balkan countries and Turkey carried out this activity. It was then gradually banned by animal rights activists [3] <ref>.
