‘Ho, Ho, Horrible!’ Spring River Zoo Gets Lump of Coal From PETA for Keeping Bears in Concrete Pit
For Immediate Release:
December 16, 2024
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
Just in time for Christmas, Spring River Zoo is getting a special delivery from PETA—a “Ho, Ho, Horrible” Award, complete with a certificate of shame and a lump of coal, for confining bears in a virtually barren concrete pit and denying them any semblance of a natural life or a scintilla of pleasure.
In nature, bears can travel up to 40 miles a day, but at Spring River Zoo, black bears are held in a tiny pit where they do nothing but pace in tight circles and stare at the walls. Spring River has a long and sordid history of federal Animal Welfare Act violations, including inadequate veterinary care, filthy facilities, animal escapes, and multiple animal deaths due to broken, shoddy, and unsafe enclosures.
“Spring River Zoo is out of touch with everything we know about bears’ behavior, their needs, and their natural lives, and that’s why they deserve PETA’s ‘Ho, Ho, Horrible’ Award,” says PETA Foundation Senior Director of Captive Wildlife Debbie Metzler. “PETA urges everyone to stay far away from shabby roadside zoos, which deprive animals of all comfort and joy to exploit them for a buck.”
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
