Tourists Aren’t the Only Ones Trapped at This Sad Tennessee Attraction
Because Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, is packed with outdated attractions that confine animals, PETA has named it America’s Capital of Captive-Animal Misery.
The suffering isn’t limited to the bears wasting away in a concrete pit at Three Bears General Store (once known as the Three Bears Gift Shop). At nearby Gatorland, a crocodilian is trapped in a cramped indoor enclosure, reduced to a gimmick for selling souvenirs. Down the road, Parrot Mountain holds parrots and other birds captive and supplies them as photo props and living decorations to local businesses, hotels, and tourist traps.
Just 20 minutes away in Gatlinburg, bears Peanut, Holly, Chief, and BJ are confined to mostly concrete enclosures at Ober Mountain, deprived of the forests, streams, and freedom that are essential to their well-being.
On the main tourist strip in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, the Three Bears General Store keeps bears in a pit made entirely of concrete “rocks,” a log or two, and one small pool. Bears have suffered in this tourist trap for decades. Even after the place burned down in 2008, it was business as usual after the owner rebuilt.
In nature, bears are active, spending their time exploring diverse terrain, foraging for a wide variety of foods, and digging in soft earth, brush, and leaves. Surrounded by four solid walls, every day is the same as the one before for the bears at Three Bears General Store. They have a very poor quality of life.
PETA has waged a sustained campaign against this roadside zoo for years. We’ve filed numerous complaints with federal and state authorities, submitted letters to the editor, profiled the facility as one of the worst in our publications, and organized public protests.
We’ve named Three Bears General Store as one of PETA’s “Deadly Destinations” and even “honored” it with our Grinch of the Year award, underscoring its long record of putting profit ahead of animal welfare. We have a longstanding offer to help transfer the bears to accredited sanctuaries.
After hearing from PETA and tens of thousands of supporters, travel and fashion brand Vera Bradley stopped selling its products to Three Bears General Store, and PETA’s talking, 7-foot-tall, animatronic bear, voiced by Oscar-winning actor Casey Affleck, paid another visit to the store to urge tourists to turn their back on the cruel roadside zoo. Public opposition continues to grow.
What You Can Do
Never visit a roadside zoo or anywhere else that treats animals like props. Please ask the owners of Three Bears General Store to close the pit and send bears River, Daisy, and Dolly to an accredited sanctuary.
