7-Foot Animatronic Bear Voiced by Casey Affleck to Warn People Away From Three Bears General Store
For Immediate Release:
August 5, 2025
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
On Thursday, a group of PETA supporters accompanied by “Bernard”—a seven-foot-tall talking animatronic bear voiced by actor Casey Affleck—will kick off a weeklong tour of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg to warn kind people to steer clear of Three Bears General Store, where twin black bears Daisy and River are confined 24/7 to a barren concrete pit with no chance to be bears and are not allowed to roam, forage, hibernate, or engage in other natural behaviors.
PETA’s dynamic display will start near Three Bears before stopping at other locations around the area.
“Bears are their own people, not toys or other things, and they belong in the forest, not in a roadside hellhole where they can only pace in endless circles and beg for scraps from tourists,” says PETA Foundation Senior Director of Captive Wildlife Debbie Metzler. “PETA urges everyone to stay far away from Three Bears General Store and other attractions that confine animals to tiny, miserable pens or pits.”
When: Thursday, August 7, 12 noon
Where: At the intersection of Parkway and The Island Drive, Pigeon Forge
Bernard and his entourage will also visit 576 Parkway, Gatlinburg (directly across from the Gatlinburg Mass Transit Center); 2757 Parkway, Pigeon Forge (just a stone’s throw from Three Bears); and Patriot Park Pavilion at 186 Old Mill Ave., Pigeon Forge.
Why: Bears love to climb and explore, can travel more than 20 miles daily, and have been seen maneuvering tree stumps to gather out-of-reach food and using rocks as “exfoliators” to shed excess fur. But at Three Bears General Store—which has racked up a slew of violations of federal animal welfare laws—bears have food thrown at them by gawking visitors and are never able to touch grass or soft ground, dig dens, or explore nature. Roadside zoos take bears just like River and Daisy away from their distraught mothers as cubs and exploit them for attractions.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
