Update: PETA Protestors Cited for Having 7-Foot Talking Bear at Gatlinburg Park
For Immediate Release:
August 9, 2025
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
Earlier today, PETA supporters gathered at Freenotes Harmony Park in Gatlinburg as part of a weeklong tour warning kind people away from Three Bears General Store, where twin black bears Daisy and River are confined 24/7 to a barren concrete pit. During the protest, the police cited the group for having an “ornate object”—Bernard, the seven-foot-tall talking animatronic bear voiced by actor Casey Affleck—in the park. The animal allies pointed out to the officers that there is no ordinance prohibiting life-size mechanical bears from protesting at the park against cruelty to bears at the sleezy roadside zoo, but the police cited the protesters anyway and told them they would seize the property if they returned to Gatlinburg tomorrow.
“The real crime is imprisoning bears for life in a wretched concrete hole that’s nothing like the lush forests they call home,” says PETA President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is undeterred by today’s citation and will continue to shine a spotlight on the cruel conditions at Three Bears General Store until it agrees to send Daisy and River to a sanctuary where they can live in peace.”
The PETA members will continue the tour with Bernard tomorrow at Patriot Park Pavilion, 186 Old Mill Ave., Pigeon Forge, starting at 11 a.m.
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.
