Bob Barker to Cherokee chief: Bear pits are cruel

PETA press release here:

This morning, on behalf of PETA, former The Price Is Right emcee and TV icon Bob Barker sent a letter to Michell Hicks, principal chief of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation in Cherokee, N.C., requesting a meeting to discuss ending the town's displays of bears in pits and cages, which are used as tourist attractions.

In his letter, Barker -- who grew up on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota -- writes, "The bear pits at Cherokee Bear Zoo and Chief Saunooke's Trading Post and cramped cages at Santa's Land are among the cruelest conditions that I've heard about for captive bears. The bears have nothing to do all day long but pace the hard, barren floors of their enclosure and beg for a morsel of food from visitors."

Citing the many wonderful things that Cherokee has to offer, such as its beautiful mountains, museums, cultural and historical exhibits, Native American shops, friendly residents, and casino, Barker continues, "The caged bears may have been a big attraction at one time but are now seen as an embarrassment to the community and should be permanently closed down."

For more information, please visit PETA.org.

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Bob Barker's letter to Principal Chief Hicks follows.

Michell Hicks, Principal Chief 

Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation

Dear Principal Chief Hicks,

As someone who has spent most of my youth on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota and who shares your Native American heritage, as well as being a strong advocate for the rights of animals, I respectfully request the opportunity to meet with you next month to discuss the sad situation of captive bears in Cherokee. I share the concern of PETA as well as of tourists and a number of wildlife experts that the bears exhibited in Cherokee, N.C., are not being treated humanely.

Because of their intelligence, their great strength and dexterity, and their need to explore and forage, bears have an especially hard time coping with confinement, particularly when their cages are cramped and devoid of any items that would allow them to engage in natural behavior. When kept without room to roam and without any opportunity to investigate, climb, dig dens, build nests, and seek food, bears quickly become stressed and develop neurotic types of behavior. The pacing, begging, and moaning evident in the bears displayed in Cherokee are signs that their most basic needs are not being met.

The bear pits at Cherokee Bear Zoo and Chief Saunooke's Trading Post and cramped cages at Santa's Land are among the cruelest conditions that I've heard about for captive bears. The bears have nothing to do all day long but pace the hard, barren floors of their enclosure and beg for a morsel of food from visitors. The pits prevent the bears from seeing their surroundings or fully utilizing their exceptional sense of smell. Surely, the good people of Cherokee will agree that with all that is known today about the complex needs of these amazing animals, the archaic caging and public feeding must go. Many tourists recognize that the bears are miserable and find these exhibits both demeaning and outdated.

Cherokee has so much to offer, such as its beautiful mountains, museums, cultural and historical exhibits, Native American shops, friendly residents, and casino. The caged bears may have been a big attraction at one time but are now seen as an embarrassment to the community and should be permanently closed down.

Thank you for giving this urgent matter your serious consideration. I look forward to meeting with you.

Sincerely,

Bob Barker

Comments

[daniel]

even though peta cares for animals, but they are a DISGRACE to the public. They just like to see everything that doesnt appeal to them, SHUT DOWN!!!

[Emily Smith]

Bob Barker has no right or say on anything within the Cherokee Reservation Boundaries. I know that at a point in time he lived on an Indian Reservation but he has never lived in Cherokee. He says that the Zoo’s in Cherokee are “Cruel” but what gave him the right to say so. Has Bob Barker actual been to one of the three Zoo’s here? What I believe to be “cruel” is how for many years he exploited the “Barker Beauties” on his television show. Hey Bob, How many sexual harassment charges have you been involved in again? Why are you so worried about us when you can not even keep your hands to yourself?

[Darryl]

When is he coming?

[Ray]

I think that it’s kind of funny that he is relying on hear say from people. As we all well know that things tend to be exaggerated. It has been a long time since I have been to Santa’s Land and to the Cherokee Zoo, but if the bears have been so mistreated for so long and have now become an embarrassment why is PETA stepping in now? PETA and other environmentalist suck, the only thing that they can do is to bitch and whine about what everybody else is doing. You want loggers to stop logging because of a bat, or a snail. The bad thing is that most of the environmentalist either came from money or they have someone lining there pockets, and they don’t understand what it’s like to have to have and keep a job to put food on the table, clothes on kids backs and roofs over the heads. In my opinion people need to think before they act, and I know that someone is going to say “well maybe you need to think before you speak or type”, but the great thing about opinions is that everybody has one.

[Ezekiel]

If this tourist attraction is so great, why do you need caged, captive bears to draw people. I know you Southerners are inbred hillbillies, but how would you like to be locked in your outhouse 24-7? I know you love the aroma in your backyard crapper but to have a limited amount of space without your natural surroundings---your still, your guns, and your cousin's daughter, you'd be stir crazy and meaner than you already are in no time. And for an Indian tribe to engage in such animal cruelty is hypocritical to the enth degree. Reverence for nature and animals? Right..firewater, fry bread and someone's daughter, maybe...but not for animals. You're out of touch with your spirit, pagans. Have the guts to earn your success on your laurels, not at the expense of helpless animals. Makaka.

[Linda - Crete, IL]

I support Bob Barker and Peta in their attempt to end the horrific suffering of these exploited bears. Just as humans feel pain, cold, heat, hunger, thirst, fright, and boredom, so do all living creatures. Men in prison would like to be free even though they are given food and water in captivity. These bears are in prison, but they haven't done anything wrong. They want to be free just like any other living creature, including humans who aren't humane! I have sent my request to The Honorable Principal Chief Michell Hicks to end the suffering of these innocent bears and encourage everyone else to do the same. And, STOP visiting these Hell Holes called Bear Pits!