Abused Polar Bear To Move Into Detroit Zoo
Suarez Brothers Circus Faces Cruelty Charges
POSTED: Wednesday, November 6, 2002
UPDATED: 2:11 pm EST November 6,
2002
An abused polar bear is getting a new home at the Detroit Zoo.
Federal marshals will confiscate six bears held by the Suarez Brothers Circus in Puerto Rico, Local 4 reported. Hidden camera tape showed the bears kept in 113-degree heat without adequate food and water.
The bears also display behavior of rocking back and forth insanely in their cages, have little access to air conditioning and water, and eat whatever food is given to them including Dog Chow and lettuce, according to a report in the
Animal Welfare Institute Quarterly.
The circus faces cruelty charges brought by the Puerto Rican Department of Natural Resources. A separate suit has been brought by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the Humane Society of Puerto Rico, and private citizens has been filed in a federal court in Washington, D.C., to keep the bears in the United States, according to the report.
One of the bears will be flown to the Detroit Zoo to join the arctic exhibit and be nourished back to good health, Local 4 reported.
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