Bear's Rescue Sparks Push for Stronger National Safeguards

Hundreds of Bears Are Suffering in Squalid Roadside Zoos Because of USDA's Inaction—Including in Gwinnett County

For Immediate Release:
September 25, 2012

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Lilburn, Ga. -- Last month, PETA enlisted FedEx to launch "Bear Force One" to send a bear, once living in a sleazy roadside zoo in North Carolina, to his sanctuary home in the rolling hills of California. Now, the group has submitted a petition to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) requesting that the agency implement specific regulations for the treatment of bears held in captivity by exhibitors, dealers, and research facilities, including the notoriously cruel Yellow River Game Ranch in Lilburn.

According to recent reports, a black bear at Yellow River was heard crying out in distress and is being prevented from eating by other bears. Reports also indicate that bear cubs have been injured or killed because Yellow River forces incompatible animals to live together. PETA's recommended regulations—developed in consultation with bear experts—include providing bears with naturalistic habitats, dens to nest and hibernate in, pools or other water sources to bathe in, and sufficient space for foraging and exploration.

"Currently, the USDA allows people to keep bears in concrete pits and to force bears to depend on dog food and scraps of bread tossed into their cages, denying them any semblance of a natural or enjoyable life," says PETA Foundation Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Delcianna Winders. "The bears at Yellow River are barely surviving in a squalid prison because the USDA has failed to address their needs."

Studies show that bears are just as complex and intelligent as primates are, but current federal regulations don't address the special needs of bears, which means that hundreds of roadside zoos—the majority of USDA licensees with captive bears—keep the animals in small barren cages or concrete pits that give them no opportunity to engage in natural behavior. Many of these bears spend the majority of their waking hours pacing, biting their cages, and head-butting—all signs of mental anguish.

PETA's petition to the USDA is available here. For more information, please visit PETA.org.