Life-size Animatronic Bear to Plead With Tourists This Weekend: ‘Never Visit Roadside Zoos!’
For Immediate Release:
August 5, 2026
Contact:
Nicole Perreira 202-483-7382
What: “Bear Pits Are Prisons!” That’s the message tourists in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg will hear this weekend when they come face-to-face with PETA’s talking, 7-foot-tall, animatronic bear, Bernard, voiced by Oscar-winning actor Casey Affleck. Bernard is embarking on a three-day tour, warning everyone to never visit cruel roadside attractions—including Three Bears General Store, where bears are confined 24/7 to a barren concrete pit, and many have died; and Ober Mountain, where bears are hidden away in private holdings when they’re not forced to spend time in a mostly concrete enclosure, denied everything that is natural and important to them.
“Bears should be climbing trees, digging dens, and foraging for food in nature, not pacing on hard concrete while they’re gawked at by tourists,” says PETA President Tracy Reiman. “PETA urges everyone to help spare bears a life of suffering by never visiting roadside zoos or any place that imprisons animals in tiny pits or pens.”
During visits with tourists and locals across the country, Bernard shares, “Please tell everyone you know never ever to go to roadside zoos. If you don’t go, they’ll have to let the bears retire to a wonderful sanctuary … Please don’t forget me, and don’t forget my friends who need help. We all want to be happy and free.”
Where: Three Bears General Store, 2861 Parkway, Pigeon Forge
When: Friday, August 7, 12 noon
Bernard and his friends from PETA will also make stops at Patriot Park Pavilion, 186 Old Mill Ave. in Pigeon Forge on Saturday, August 8; as well as Ober Mountain, 1001 Pkwy., and Free Notes Harmony, 520 Parkway, in Gatlinburg on Sunday, August 9.
Why: At Ober Mountain (formerly Ober Gatlinburg), four bears named Peanut, Holly, Chief, and BJ are confined to a mostly concrete enclosure—a far cry from their natural habitats. At Three Bears General Store—which has racked up a slew of federal animal welfare violations—three black bears are denied any chance to roam, forage, hibernate, or engage in other natural behaviors. After multiple bears died in the pit, Three Bears purchased River, Daisy, and later Dolly from the same wildlife dealer in Michigan.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—points out that when it comes to the ability to feel pain, hunger, and thirst, a bear is a dog is a boy. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
