Casey Affleck–Voiced Animatronic Bear to Ask Feds to Close Cruel Roadside Zoo
PETA’s Moving, Talking Bear Will Tell USDA Exactly How Animals Suffer in Filthy, Barren Concrete Pits
For Immediate Release:
March 6, 2017
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
What: Voiced by Oscar-winning Manchester by the Sea star Casey Affleck, “Bernard”—PETA’s 7-foot-tall robotic bear—will be in Washington on Tuesday with a message for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA): American bears need your help!
When: Tuesday, March 7, 12 noon–1 p.m.
Where: The corner of 12th Street S.W. and Independence Avenue S.W., Washington
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—is calling on the USDA to protect the more than 1,000 bears in concrete pits, roadside zoos, and circus-style shows across the country by making good on a promise that it made a year ago and still hasn’t fulfilled: to broaden protections for bears under the Animal Welfare Act.
“Bears belong with their families in nature, not on display in sad, filthy concrete pits,” says Affleck. “PETA’s remarkable animatronic bear will do wonders this summer to show kids and their parents why everyone should stay away from these cruel tourist traps.”
PETA is particularly concerned about captive bears’ well-being after the removal of inspection reports from the USDA’s website. Since 2012, PETA has used these records in its successful efforts to close down two bear pits and move 57 captive bears from pits and tiny pens to sanctuaries that meet their needs.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.
