PETA WANTS OSHA ACTION AGAINST BEAR KEEPER SAM MAZZOLA FOR ENDANGERING WORKERS' LIVES

Former Exhibitor Still Allows Direct Contact Between Bears and Humans Even After Man Was Fatally Mauled

For Immediate Release:
October 18, 2010

Contact:
Lisa Wathne 757-622-7382

 

Toledo, Ohio — This morning, the PETA Foundation's general counsel sent a 13-page letter on behalf of PETA to Jule Hovi, director of the Toledo Area Office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), urging her to cite former animal exhibitor Sam Mazzola for failure to protect employees from recognized hazards and also asking her to take immediate action to prevent future attacks at Mazzola's Columbia Station compound. PETA's request follows the August 20 death of Brent Kandra, who was killed by a 400- to 500-pound bear. Mazzola repeatedly allowed Kandra to come into direct physical contact with the bear despite knowing the dangers. PETA is also asking OSHA to require that Mazzola—who has a long history of allowing direct physical contact between dangerous animals and employees—install "shift cages," which would eliminate direct contact when cages are cleaned or when animals are moved or fed. 

"Confined to cramped cages and denied everything that's natural and important to them, including any semblance of a life, these bears become ticking time bombs," says PETA Director Debbie Leahy. "Mazzola must be held accountable for repeatedly putting his workers at risk." 

The following are just some of the points covered in PETA's complaint: 

• Federal law requires Mazzola to furnish employees with a workplace free from hazards that are "likely to cause death or serious physical harm." Kandra's death could have been prevented had Mazzola used a protected-contact system, including barriers and shift cages. Protected contact is standard practice in captive-bear husbandry.
• As a result of direct contact with animals, Mazzola himself required 2,000 stitches after a bear attack, and another employee of Mazzola's stated that he had been bitten by every animal in Mazzola's facility.

Despite Kandra's death, Mazzola has publicly refused to provide additional safeguards to protect himself and his employees. 

PETA's letter to OSHA is available upon request. For more information, please visit PETA.org.