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PETA’s Worldwide Campaign Ends in Victory!Six polar bears who have been languishing in filthy cages in the sweltering heat of Puerto Rico are finally bound for colder climes in the U.S., following an 18-month PETA campaign that rallied support from polar bear experts, the U.S. Congress, government officials in Germany and Canada, celebrities like Ewan McGregor, Sarah McLachlan, Martin Sheen, and Telemundo host María Celeste Arrarás, and activists worldwide.Bears Bid Tropical Hell Goodbye U.S. and Puerto Rican officials seized the bears from the Mexico-based Suarez Bros. Circus, citing violations of the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act. A team of zoo professionals and veterinarians assembled by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association is assisting in transporting the bears to zoos in the United States. PETA had also filed lawsuits against two federal agencies for their roles in allowing the bears to be taken to Puerto Rico and their lack of action to adequately protect the animals. What the Arctic Bears Endured PETA obtained videotape that shows the overheated polar bears panting constantly and being hit in the face and whipped in order to force them to perform frightening tricks. The animals are thin, lethargic, and filthy and were forced to live in cramped cages with no relief from the intense heat and humidity. Reportedly, some of the bears are suffering from parasites, skin disease, severe depression, and a deadly bacterial disease believed to have been transmitted through rat urine. In 1998, one of the bears suffered an agonizing death from an untreated heartworm condition. For a full history of the campaign, click here. Where the Six Bears Are Going One bear is going to the Detroit Zoo, two bears are going to the Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma, Wash., and three bears are going to the North Carolina Zoo (click here, for North Carolina Zoo Society's polar bear donation information). A seventh bear named Alaska was seized in March, after Suarez Bros. presented the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with fraudulent documentation of her origin, and was flown to the Baltimore Zoo, where she is thriving.
You can help stop the suffering of elephants, tigers, and other animals abused in the name of "entertainment." Click here to support PETA's vital work. |
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