Baylor University has been keeping a cruel tradition alive for the past 80
years, using live wild animals as mascots. The University brings in bear
cubs to pose as the team mascot for two-year stints, before discarding
them to bring in a new bear cub to be exploited.
Recent videotape footage taken by concerned activists shows the most
recent baby bear, a six-month old cub named Lady, pacing back and forth in
her barren, concrete enclosure as she cries continually. The older bear,
Joy, also paces neurotically in her barren enclosure.
After viewing the video, wildlife biologist Robert Laidlaw has stated,
“Under no circumstances, should a bear be kept in this way. The videotapes
clearly show distressed bears in horrendously substandard conditions. The
housing provided is antiquated and does nothing to satisfy their
biological or behavioural needs. They should be removed and be placed in
more appropriate accommodations elsewhere as soon as possible. In my
opinion, the current situation is extremely cruel.”
Even when the bears are released from their servitude at Baylor, their
fate is uncertain. They may end up at roadside zoos, in canned hunt
facilities, or shunted back to where they came from– Bear Country, USA—a
bear exhibition facility that reportedly sells off its excess bears to a
South Dakota slaughterhouse for the exotic meat trade (according to Alan
Green's expose on the exotic animal trade, Animal Underworld).
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Contact Baylor University officials and ask them to end their shameful
tradition of abusing bears for cheap entertainment. Let them know that
Baylor's callous disregard for animal life sets a terrible example for its
students.
1) Dr. Robert B. Sloan, Jr., President
Office of the President
Baylor University
P.O. Box 97096
Waco, TX 76798-7096
ph: 254-710-3555
fax 254-710-3557
email: Robert_Sloan@baylor.edu
2) Mr. Jerome R. Loughridge, Chief of Staff
(same phone and fax as the President)
email: Jerome_Loughridge@baylor.edu
3) Larry D. Brumley, Associate Vice President for External Relations
email: Larry_Brumley@baylor.edu
For more information on the campaign to save the Baylor bears, see
www.BaylorBearAbuse.com
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