Great Photo Op for Having Your Infant Mauled to Death By Bear
File this one in the "Near-Death Experiences During My Infancy" section of the family photo album:
This picture was taken at a circus during intermission by a U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspector who was responding to a
complaint that PETA had filed against the traveling bear act.
The USDA
cited the bear exhibitor for unsafe handling, but don't count on the
federal government to protect you—this reckless handler and many others
like her are still in business.
Photo-ops at circuses and traveling zoos featuring captive bears,
tiger and lion cubs, primates, snakes, and other animals are all too
common, and they're recipes for disaster.
Wild animals are easily
startled and routinely act on instinct.
These natural instincts can mean that the animals defend themselves
with strong arms and legs, sharp teeth, and long claws when they feel
threatened.
Handlers cannot protect themselves, let alone the general
public, from a frightened or angry wild animal. Members of the public,
including children, can be and have been harmed during these
irresponsible photo-ops.
If you see or hear about a show near you in
which wild animals are being used for photo-ops with the public, take action to stop it. You could be saving someone's life.
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A bear should be living a life in its natural habitat, free, not 'sitting' in an unnatural posture being exhibited for human gratification.
PETA is 100% right, this is no place for a bear. Throughout the world, every bear should be freed from captivity and given the chance of a life that is natural for them.
I'm amazed by the anti- PETA comments on this story thus far. If possible, put aside the entire veggie debate for now. This is different.
"The animal looks pretty docile"? Are you kidding? This is a wild bear who can crush a human head with its jaws -- in a half a second. It can snap. Have you not read the myriad stories of exotic pets that maul and murder their so-called loving owners?
PETA is doing the absolute right thing here. It's talking about the welfare of people and the welfare of animals . I'm just amazed that every person who looks at this photo doesn't immediately think that Mom is extremely foolish. You are really saying you would sit next to a bear with a child? Damn, I feel sorry for those kids .
Again, put aside the veggie debate here. PETA is right. This is horrible. Bears are not play things.
Hold up now, you mention how in this picture the mom is foolish because she is sitting next to a bear with a baby . Notice, please, that there is a wall. Yes, not a very sturdy wall but a wall nonetheless. Also, you mention the pets murdering their owners. So, let's say a bear on exhibit does snap. Who is most likely to get hurt? The one who's handling it. The one in charge of it. The handler is most in danger and that is they're decision. And, I'm pretty certain that the handler who spends alot of time with said animal, can read the signs and know whether or not the said animal is safe to show. The handlers are not as idiotic as some want to believe.
Don't you take that bear into your "shelter," PETA , and euthanize him like you do to almost all the other animals you "help." Or, if you're full, have some staff illegally euthanize him and dump him in the trash, like you did with all those dogs and cats you picked up from vets and said you were going to find homes for?
http://www.petakillsanimals.com/petaTrial.cfm
That the bear in this photo is savagely threatened by that baby .
(Or, PETA is maintaining their perfect record of exaggerating everything about which they opine.)
The plural of 'anecdote' is not 'data'.
It looks pretty docile to me but what do I know.
Yes,they are wild animals . However, do you honestly believe that the handlers, or their superiors, would even think to put an animal on exibit if it wasn't trained enough not to freak out? It's not like they go out, grab some random bear, and then show it off. They worked perviously with their animals before, and not all handlers are reckless. Some are very good at their job.
You're an idiot if you think you can guarantee the actions of a wild animal. Have you not heard about Roy Horn being mauled on stage by his own tiger? Have you not heard of Charla Nash, whose face was ripped off by her best friends chimp? Even some rottweiler can't be trusted, as they are known to just "lose it" for no apparent reason.