Bear's Rescue Sparks Push for Stronger National Safeguards

Hundreds of Bears Suffer in Squalid Roadside Zoos Because of USDA's Inaction—Including in Cherokee

For Immediate Release:
September 25, 2012

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Cherokee, N.C. -- 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, which would include three bear exhibits in Cherokee: Cherokee Bear Zoo, Chief Saunooke Bear Park, and Santa's Land. Studies show that bears are just as complex and intelligent as primates are, but current federal regulations don't address the needs of bears. Experts agree that pacing, circling, head-tossing, and cage-biting—abnormal actions that are common among the bears at Cherokee's three facilities—are signs of suffering caused by inhumane conditions of captivity.

Cherokee's bear exhibits have been cited by the USDA for failure to offer veterinary care to sick, suffering, and emaciated animals; filthy, unsanitary, and foul-smelling conditions; failure to supply food and water to hungry and thirsty animals; unsafe handling; and other violations. Chief Saunooke Bear Park was recently formally charged with 14 violations. Although an important step, the charges fail to address a fundamental problem: the fact that the bears spend their lives in barren, sensory-deprived concrete pits. PETA's recommended regulations—developed in consultation with bear experts—include prohibiting exhibitors from keeping bears in pits and providing bears with naturalistic habitats, dens to nest and hibernate in, 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 them 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 Cherokee's parks are barely surviving in squalid prisons because the USDA has failed to address their needs."

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