The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina
has a long history of suffering and hardship, and adversity on their territory
has not yet come to an end. The sovereign land is home to three decrepit roadside zoos, in which animals are
deprived of everything that is natural and important to them. One
zoo, Chief
Saunooke Bear Park, was exposed recently after a PETA undercover investigation
documented desperate bears incessantly turning in
circles in cement pits, so stressed by the grotesquely inhumane
conditions that some
have broken their teeth while biting the metal bars of their cages in
frustration.
It's puzzling that this situation is allowed to
continue, particularly since non-natives own and operate the zoos--all located on tribal land--even though the conditions clearly appear
to violate tribal law. The Tribal Council has done nothing to intervene, much
less put a stop to the cruelty. It's time for these zoos to be closed.
Surrounded by four solid walls, the bears at Chief Saunooke Bear Park cannot see anything beyond their allotted space--a pitiful fraction of what bears actually need. In their natural habitat, bears are curious and energetic animals who spend their time exploring diverse terrain, foraging for a wide variety of foods and digging in soft earth, brush and leaves. The zoo's concrete pits have no grass or dirt. They are simply holes in which bears are forced to beg for food and wait for visitors to throw it to them. One bear was shot in the head 20 times before dying, and a zookeeper admitted to eating at least one bear.
But this roadside
zoo is just one of hundreds in which animals suffer
and die. All over the country, animal collectors market their tawdry outfits as
roadside Americana or, worse, as "rescue" facilities that give
animals in trouble a safe haven. The vast majority are frauds, making money off
the misery of animals and the kind hearts of people who want to help them.
Animals in roadside
zoos typically are confined to chain-link or chicken-wire cages with nothing
but concrete to walk, sleep and eat on. Some owners toss out an old tire or a
ball to give visitors the impression that animals can use them to pass the
interminable hours, but most of them have no enrichment whatsoever, not even a patch
of grass.
Animals who may not
get along are jammed into the same pen. Predators are housed in close proximity
to prey. Babies are traumatically removed from their mothers immediately after
birth to be used as photo props. The lives of these animals are turned upside
down. Many pace incessantly, rock back and forth or even hurt themselves by
chewing on their fingers, plucking out their feathers, or grooming themselves
raw.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture licenses animal
exhibitors, but the laws protecting captive animals don't go far enough and the
standards that do exist are not properly enforced. Animals must be given food,
water and shelter, but cages only need to be "large" enough for an
animal to be able to move around a little bit. There is no requirement for
grass, shrubbery or other natural vegetation.
Since there are no
restrictions on breeding animals, owners
churn out babies, knowing that they'll bring in customers. But babies grow up
quickly, leaving a surplus of adult animals with less and less space and fewer
resources to meet their complex needs.
Exotic animals often go without veterinary care, and zoo operators would
often rather depend on free roadkill or donated rotten meat than spend money on
wholesome, quality food.
If you're on a road
trip and see a zoo billboard trying to entice you to pull over or if a
traveling exhibitor is selling photo ops with tiger cubs at your local mall,
please think about the suffering that you'll be supporting before buying a
ticket.
Dan
Paden is a senior research associate with People for the
Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510; www.PETA.org.
