Big Changes Needed at Cherokee Bear Zoo
- by: Lisa Phillips
- recipient: Barry and Collette Coggins of the Cherokee Bear Zoo at 828-497-4525
Home to about a dozen miserable bears, the Cherokee Bear Zoo is a small remote tourist trap located off a highway in North Carolina. The dilapidated roadside attraction keeps these intelligent animals in grossly inhumane conditions. They are confined to virtually barren concrete pits, where they have no other option but to pace back and forth, walk in endless circles, and beg tourists to toss them a morsel of food.
Highly intelligent animals capable of empathy and a wide range of feelings, bears are active for up to 18 hours per day in their natural habitat and spend their time exploring diverse terrain. In the wild, bears forage for a wide variety of foods and dig in soft earth, brush, and leaves—but the concrete pits that the Cherokee bears are forced to call home deprive them of everything that is natural and important to them. Surrounded by four solid walls, the bears cannot scan the horizon, gain a perspective on their surroundings, or make much use of their acute sense of smell.
Cherokee’s roadside zoos have made no effort to simulate the animals’ natural habitat or provide them with stimulation. They have also been cited repeatedly by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for failing to meet minimal federal standards established in the Animal Welfare Act.
Please help close this cruel animal prison by urging the owners of Cherokee Bear Zoo to release the bears to a reputable sanctuary. They are already feeling the heat from locals and thousands of others who have demanded that the bears be moved to a more natural environment at a reputable sanctuary—one that exists exclusively to benefit and rehabilitate animals. Please call Cherokee Bear Zoo owners Barry and Collette Coggins at 828-497-4525.
Please also mail a letter to:
Cherokee Bear Zoo & Exotic Animals
1204 Tsalagi Rd.
Cherokee, NC 28719
Dear Mr. and Ms. Coggins,
Please close the Cherokee Bear Zoo bear exhibits immediately and agree to retire the bears to a reputable sanctuary, where they can roam vast acreage, forage for their own food, and act on their natural instincts. A concrete pit is no match for open terrain, and these intelligent animals deserve more than to live out the rest of their days entertaining bored tourists behind concrete walls.
No one wants to see animals suffer, and it’s shameful to continue to deny the frustrated bears the opportunity to thrive elsewhere. There is nothing for them to do but pace back and forth or walk around in circles. They are separated from everything that is natural and important to their species. As people continue to evolve and understand more about these animals’ unique needs, your revenue will continue to drop. It’s 2013, and there is no excuse for profiting from animal suffering in the name of entertainment.
Reputable sanctuaries stand ready to take in these bears so that they can live out the rest of their days in peace. Existing sanctuaries that have no corporate motives and employ experts in specialized care for exotic animals will provide these suffering bears with a much better home. Please take advantage of this opportunity without further delay and retire these bears so that they can finally truly be bears. They did not choose to be in the tourism business. Please don’t allow them to continue to suffer for your choice.
Thank you.
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