Animal abuse allegations made against Bear Country U.S.A.

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) - Recently, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, released an article about Bear Country U.S.A., saying the company abuses its animals.

According to PETA, supervisors at Bear Country “kidnap bears and wolves from their dens, using fireworks to scare the mothers away.” They go on to say that staff is instructed to harm the animals as well.

”Peta’s investigator uncovered that a supervisor instructed staff to kick bear cubs and pinch their nose as hard as possible if they were to bite. They said that you need to do this abuse in order to go into the enclosures with the bears, but no one needs to go into enclosures with the bears, that’s a choice that Bear Country U.S.A. is making,” said Debbie Metzler, director of captive animal welfare for PETA.

We reached out to Bear Country U.S.A about these allegations, but have not received a response. We will keep you updated as this story progresses.

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