Life-Size ‘Bear’ Warns Tourists to Avoid Cruel Roadside Bear Pits
For Immediate Release:
May 27, 2026
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
“Bear pits are prisons.” That’s the stark message PETA supporters—along with a life-size “bear” of their own—will bring to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg on Friday. The animal allies will stake out tourist hot spots to warn visitors away from cruel roadside attractions that sentence bears to spend decades in wretched concrete pits—including Ober Mountain and Three Bears General Store, where black bears Daisy, River, and Dolly are confined 24/7 to a barren concrete pit and denied any chance to roam, forage, hibernate, or engage in other natural behaviors.
“Bears belong in the vast open forest where they can climb, dig, and explore, but at miserable tourist traps such as Three Bears and Ober Mountain, they can do nothing but pace in circles on hard concrete,” says PETA Foundation Managing Director of Captive Wildlife Debbie Metzler. “PETA encourages anyone who wants to see bears to enjoy them from a safe distance in their natural habitats and stay far away from any place that imprisons animals in concrete pits or tiny pens.”
Where: Three Bears General Store, 2861 Parkway, Pigeon Forge
When: Friday, May 29, 12 noon
The bear brigade will also make stops at Patriot Park Pavilion, 186 Old Mill Ave., Pigeon Forge, and Free Notes Harmony Park, 520 Parkway, Gatlinburg.
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, Daisy, and Dolly 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 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.
