Television Ad Calls for Suffering Bear’s Release From Roadside Zoo

Move to Reputable Sanctuary Home a Necessity for Morbidly Obese Bear Who’s Being Prevented From Living a Bear’s Life, Says PETA

For Immediate Release:
October 16, 2019

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

As part of its campaign to compel the Union County Sportsmen’s Club to send Dillan—an Asiatic black bear who’s around 400 pounds overweight and currently on display in a cramped, concrete-floored cage at the club—to a reputable sanctuary, PETA is launching a television ad alerting the public to Dillan’s condition. The ad shares how the arthritic bear rocks back and forth, likely because of extreme psychological distress or the pain of the life-threatening dental disease he suffers from, and states, “Dillan needs to be retired to a reputable sanctuary. Please don’t stop at roadside zoos.”

“This bear is so obese that his stomach often drags on the filthy floor of his cage, but the Sportsmen’s Club is refusing to show him any kindness or provide him with relief from his suffering,” says PETA Foundation Associate Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Debbie Metzler. “PETA is offering to cover the costs of moving him to a naturalistic habitat where he would be able to swim, dig, forage for food, and receive the expert care that he desperately needs.”

According to a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspection report from July, the club was cited for failing to provide Dillan with adequate veterinary care after he was found with hair loss along his sides and hindquarters. In August, PETA submitted a complaint to the USDA that included photos and video footage documenting that Dillan continued to suffer from hair loss, irritated skin, and morbid obesity as well as broken teeth, discolored gums, and significant gum recession, which are evidence of painful, advanced dental disease.

PETA’s television ad will run on Fox 43 every Tuesday and Thursday for one month during the evening news, supplementing a radio ad about Dillan that’s currently airing repeatedly on WRKK and WRAK through the end of October.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—opposes speciesism, which is a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org.