Feds shut down Cherokee bear park

Feds shut down Cherokee bear park

By John BoyleFederal regulators shut down a bear park and fined it $20,000 after it was cited for failing to provide adequate shelter, food and veterinary care for the animals.

The Chief Saunooke Bear Park generated multiple protests by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, including a visit by former game show host Bob Barker, a PETA activist. PETA has lobbied heavily for the closure of the park, which they say is long overdue because of the inhumane conditions the bears are kept in.

“We’re very pleased this step is being taken and they’re being held accountable for the long-standing abuse and neglect of bears,” said Delcianna Winders, foundation director of captive animal law enforcement at PETA. “Ultimately, the bears need to come out of those pits.”

The park previously was cited for failing to maintain adequate barriers between visitors and the bears. Last year, PETA posted billboards calling the bear zoos “prisons” and noted in news releases that in two cases visitors had been bitten, including a 9-year-old girl who was feeding a bear cub Lucky Charms cereal and cat food.Comment:  I guess bear the park isn't on a Cherokee reservation. If it were, I don't think the feds could intervene.

For more on the Cherokee bear parks, see "Children Bitten" on PETA Billboard and Bear Pits = Boarding Schools.

"Children Bitten" on PETA billboard

PETA strikes Cherokee bear zoos with new sign

Sign campaign issues safety warning against bear enclosures

By Jon OstendorffAn animal rights group is calling bear zoos in Cherokee “prisons” on a new billboard showing a little girl crying with a bloodied bandage on her hand.

The sign along Interstate 26 near Asheville offers this warning: “Children Bitten at Bear Pits.”

The billboard is the latest in a two-year battle that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has waged against the bear zoos on the reservation, about an hour and a half west of Asheville.

It follows an incident last summer in which a 9-year-old girl was bitten at Chief Saunooke Bear Park while feeding a baby bear a mixture of Lucky Charms cereal and cat food.Comment:  For more on the subject, see PETA Billboards:  "Avoid Cruel Bear Pits" and Bear Pits = Boarding Schools.

Misty Upham's PETA interview

Misty Upham's Warm HeartIn a candid and heartfelt interview with PETA, actor Misty Upham—whose mesmerizing performance in Frozen River garnered rave reviews—expresses her dismay over a wide range of animal issues, including the treatment of captive bears who are displayed in pits and cages as tourist attractions in Cherokee, North Carolina:Upham grew up on a Black Foot Indian reservation in Montana, and she's passionate about bringing animal issues to Native American communities. In the interview, she also speaks out about puppy mills and the importance of adopting from animal shelters as well as the cruelty of carting animals around in traveling shows.

Please join Misty in asking Cherokee and federal officials to close the bear pits for good.Native American Star Calls for Closure of Cherokee Bear Pits

Frozen River and Big Love Actor Misty Upham Says Bears Are Subjected to 'Years of Torture'In a brand-new interview with PETA, Frozen River star Misty Upham expresses her dismay over the treatment of captive bears displayed in pits and cages as tourist attractions in Cherokee, N.C. Says Upham, "I do hope that the Native American elders can separate tradition, pride, and what is popular and give these bears the right to have a peaceful, healthy, respected lifestyle and to possibly have peace of mind after so many years of torture."

Upham, who grew up on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana, also says, "Anybody who goes anywhere to feed an animal who's being kept in a space where … there's nowhere else to go, I think they're all in a huge denial of what they owe the land."

In the interview, Upham also talks about animals who are carted around by exhibitors (the animals are subjected to "psychological torture") and describes how dogs helped her in therapy for sexual abuse.

TV icon Bob Barker has also spoken out against keeping bears captive as tourist attractions. Recently, PETA filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) against Chief Saunooke Bear Park in Cherokee after a 9-year-old girl was bitten by a captive bear—it was the second bite by a bear at the facility in one week. Since then, the facility has also been cited by the USDA for failure to provide veterinary care, failure to separate incompatible animals, failure to maintain facilities to protect the animals from injury, and reusing dirty paper trays to feed the bears.Comment:  The tribe is the Blackfeet, not "Black Foot."

For more on the subject, see PETA Billboards:  "Avoid Cruel Bear Pits" and Bear Pits = Boarding Schools.

PETA billboards: "Avoid Cruel Bear Pits"

PETA billboards target Cherokee zoosAn animal rights group plans to put up four billboard signs in Western North Carolina telling tourists to avoid bear parks here.

The four billboards, erected by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, feature a cartoon image of a crying bear and read, “Warning: Tourist Trap. Avoid Cruel Bear Pits.”

PETA last summer asked the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to close the bear zoos on the reservations because of what the group called inhumane conditions. Some of the Cherokee zoos keep the bears in concrete pits.

A federal inspector in May 2009 noted three problems at the Chief Saunooke's Bear Park, but those had been corrected by July, a tribe official has said. Game show icon Bob Barker traveled to Cherokee last summer to help PETA.Comment:  On the one hand, I'm not sure this is the most effective use of PETA's time and energy. On the other hand, I'm glad PETA didn't drop the protest after Bob Barker went home. Debating these issues is good for prople.

For more on the subject, see Bear Pits = Boarding Schools and Why PETA Brought in Barker.

Bear pits = boarding schools

Cherokee, North Carolina--Earth Keepers or the Eco-Shams?

By Chipa & Ruby WolfeFor anyone to justify the bears' bleak existence in the Cherokee bear pits while at the same time claiming the bears are like their children is exactly the reason why we have child welfare laws. I respectfully challenge the Chief and bear pit operator, Mr. Santiago, to spend a 48-hour stint in the bear pit to experience a small taste of the life these bears have been condemned too. I realize these practices have taken place throughout Cherokee for more than half a century but that does not make it right as there were many other unsavory and immoral practices that were once rampant across reservations that are no longer tolerated as the norm due to exposure and a new consciousness.

For someone to say the bears are being cared for adequately because they meet USDA guidelines is like saying Indian boarding schools were adequate because they met US Government standards while innocent Indian children were being whitewashed, molested, and deprived of being who they are. Many elders from reservation to reservation have lots of horror stories as to how their hair was cut and their bodies saturated with dust to kill lice, punished verbally and physically for speaking their only language and practicing their traditions. There is a huge parallel between the treatment of these bears and the treatment imposed upon the American Indian by their oppressors so Cherokee, North Carolina, does not speak for all Indian people regarding their indifference towards animals anymore than I do.Comment:  The bear pit in the picture below certainly looks inhumane to me. Once again, a picture is worth a thousand words.

For more on the subject, see Why PETA Brought in Barker and Hicks:  Cherokee Bears Are Fine.

Why PETA brought in Barker

PETA has tried for years to help Cherokee bears

By Alan BergerFor many years, local animal advocates tried to raise awareness about the inhumane bear exhibits in Cherokee. Their efforts attracted virtually no attention from the AC-T. Then, Bob Barker and PETA came to town to shine a spotlight on this issue and the AC-T gave their visit extensive coverage. Then, in subsequent opinion pieces, “Barker, PETA right, but their aim could have been better,” and “Column: Barker and PETA arrogant, tone-deaf—and correct,” AC-T writers had the nerve to wonder why advocates resort to using national celebrities to help spread the word about important topics.

The writers seemed determined to focus on PETA's and Barker's arguably poor choice of words and neglected to mention that Cherokee officials have consistently ignored complaints from tourists and others about the exhibits. If the writers had done their homework, they would've discovered that before going public, PETA representatives tried to work privately with Cherokee officials but were snubbed.Comment:  The "AC-T" is the Asheville Citizen-Times newspaper.

None of these articles has included pictures of the Cherokee bears' living conditions. But here's a slide show on Bob Barker and the bears:

Bob Barker, Bears in Cherokee--Downtown Cherokee, NC (28 July 2009)

You can judge for yourself how inhumane the conditions are, but I'd say they could be better, could be worse.

For more on the subject, see Hicks:  Cherokee Bears Are Fine and Parachuting into "Barbaric" Cherokee Land.

Hicks: Cherokee bears are fine

Cherokee leaders to PETA:  back off our bear zoos

By Becky JohnsonDespite public pressure from animal rights activists, including a visit from legendary game show host Bob Barker, Cherokee leaders do not plan to address the living conditions of captive bears at three small zoos in Cherokee.

A campaign to shut down the bear zoos in Cherokee has largely targeted Chief Michell Hicks. Hicks says he supports the bear zoos, however, and disagrees with claims driven by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals that the bears’ conditions are inhumane.

While Hicks agreed to meet with Barker and PETA reps last week, he warned them not to protest outside the bear zoos again without permission from tribal officials or they would be kicked off the Cherokee reservation, an option in the tribe’s corner given its status as a sovereign entity.

While Hicks has made his stance clear, the elected tribal council members—not the chief—hold the power to pass new laws and ordinances. Out of the 12 tribal council members, five responded to requests for comment. All five said that tribal council has no plans to shut down the bear zoos or to impose tougher standards.Comment:  Hicks and company seem unwilling to distinguish between closing the zoos and improving the bears' condition. Arguments such as "They have been around forever" and "We are a sovereign nation. We can do what we want to" are irrelevant to the issue raised by Bob Barker and PETA.

For more on the subject, see Parachuting into "Barbaric" Cherokee Land and Barker Calls for Tourist Boycott.

Parachuting into "barbaric" Cherokee land

Barker, PETA right, but their aim could have been betterAnyone who’s lived in Western North Carolina for long—or knows anything about the region—knows how offensive it is to locals, Cherokee or otherwise, to have people from other areas parachute in and tell us how we should be doing things.

The implication that we are backward up here in these hills is insulting and guaranteed to raise a wall of resistance to any idea proffered in such a manner. Given their history, it’s especially infuriating to the Cherokee to be portrayed as “uncivilized” or “barbaric,” as Bob Barker and PETA suggested in their recent protest of the way bears are held in captivity on Cherokee lands.

But apparently no one got the word to Barker or PETA, making their protest a rude affront that would have been better directed elsewhere, even though they are right on the issue.

It is cruel and inhumane to confine bears in concrete pens. It should be stopped and there’s no sugarcoating that.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Barker Calls for Tourist Boycott and Barker Bearish After Cherokee Meeting.

Barker calls for tourist boycott

Eastern Band dismisses bear treatment protests from Barker, PETA

By Dale NealOn a second day of exchanges over zoo bears, Chief Michell Hicks of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians brushed off complaints by Bob Barker as the former game show host vowed to keep pressing for change.

Barker called for a tourism boycott of the Eastern Band and said Western North Carolina would feel economic repercussions if the treatment of bears doesn't improve.Barker's view:Barker at his news conference said the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce would be hearing from animal lovers from across the nation about the treatment of bears on the reservation, about 50 miles away. “We feel it's a problem for the city of Asheville having this Third World spectacle happening right at its doorstep.”

Barker became personally involved at the request of the wife of U.S. Rep. Bill Young, of Florida. The Youngs visited Cherokee last summer on a family vacation, and Beverly Young said she was outraged when she saw how bears were treated in private zoos.

“Fur was literally hanging off of them,” she said. “We treat terrorists in Guantanamo better than these bears are treated, and these bears didn't do anything to us. We invaded their land.”The Cherokees' view:The three roadside zoos on the reservation—Cherokee Bear Zoo, Chief Saunooke Bear Park and Santa's Land—are inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which makes sure they comply with the federal Animal Welfare Act.

The Eastern Band's wildlife office also inspects the zoos.

The Animal Welfare Act requires standards including a safe, clean structure for caged animals, removal of animal waste and adequate food and water. Federal inspectors make unannounced visits once a year.Comment:  American invaded Indian territory and put Indians on reservations. Indians invaded bear country and put bears in pits. Is this some sort of psychological transference thing? Calling Dr. Freud!

Who gets treated better...Guantanamo "terrorists" (suspects held unconstitutionally without a trial) or Cherokee bears? Hmm...hard to say. But I'll bet the bears are treated better than the victims of US torture at Abu Ghraib.

Best guess is that Barker, PETA, and the Cherokees will come to some agreement in which the Cherokees admit no wrongdoing but agree to upgrade the facilities.

For more on the subject, see Barker Bearish After Cherokee Meeting and Barker to Meet Hicks.

Barker bearish after Cherokee meeting

Bob Barker, PETA call for release of Cherokee zoo animals

By Dale NealBob Barker and the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals will take their campaign to free the bears in captivity to the nation’s animal lovers, Barker said in a press conference today.

“Things are going to change on the Cherokee Reservation, I promise,” said Barker, the game-show host and animal advocate.

Barker became involved at the request of the wife of Rep. Bill Young of Florida. The Youngs visited Cherokee last summer on a family vacation, and Beverly Young said she was outraged when she saw bears kept in concrete pits.

“What they’re doing is not bringing tourism here. It’s turning our stomachs,” Mrs. Young said at the press conference held today at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Asheville.

Barker got the audience he wanted in meeting with Principal Chief Michell Hicks and five members of the Tribal Council for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians on Tuesday.

But he didn't get so much as a hint the tribe would do anything to try to change living conditions for bears in private zoos on the reservation.Comment:  Indianz.com adds that Barker "grew up on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in South Dakota."

Below:  "Former game show host Bob Barker appears at a PETA press conference in Asheville about the treatment of captive bears in small enclosures in Cherokee." (Bill Sanders)

Barker to meet Hicks

TV celeb Barker in Cherokee to protest bear treatment

By Sabian WarrenBarker, an animal rights activist, is meeting with Eastern Band Principal Chief Michell Hicks at Hicks' office in Cherokee.

Hicks this morning confirmed the meeting was set for 1 p.m.

In a letter to Hicks last month, Barker, former host of "The Price is Right," requested the meeting with Hicks out of a concern the Cherokee bears "are not being treated humanely."

Hicks said today the tribe is following regulations in the care of the animals.

"We're complying with tribal laws and standards established by the USDA," he said.Top StoriesHicks also says he's disappointed by the way PETA has handled the whole thing. He feels the 640 emails the organization sent him border on harassment.And:It appears Barker's friends at PETA will not be welcome at the meeting.

In fact, Hicks says the organization has already broken tribal laws on several occasions, by handing out informational brochures on the reservation without a business license.

If that behavior continues, he says he'll have no problem asking tribal council to permanently ban PETA from the reservation.Comment:  I'd say 640 e-mails on one subject is well over the border and into the realm of harassment. A dozen e-mails are enough to "border on harassment."

For more on the subject, see Bob Barker vs. Cherokee Bear Exhibits.

Bob Barker vs. Cherokee bear exhibits

How Bob Barker took on the Eastern Band

By Julia MerchantThe involvement of famed television host Bob Barker in the fight to end the Cherokee bear exhibits took many by surprise.

During a phone interview with The Smoky Mountain News, Barker explained that he first became aware of the bears through his long-time friend, Florida Congressman Bill Young. Young stopped through Cherokee with his family on a trip from Florida to Washington, D.C., and visited the bear exhibits. The Youngs weren’t impressed, to say the least—Young’s wife was practically in tears when the family left.And:When PETA released a nationally circulated statement June 8 calling for an end to the bear exhibits, it was accompanied by a letter from Bob Barker requesting a meeting with Eastern Band Chief Michell Hicks. The statement made note of Barker’s letter.

What happened next is a bit hard to decipher. Hicks says that the supposed letter mentioned in PETA’s statement was never actually sent to him.Comment:  For more on the subject, see Cherokee Art Bears.