GAP: Dolly the black bear and three foxes – the last animals to be kept in the Sunrise Side Nature Trail and Exotic Park, the defunct Tavas City, Michigan roadside zoo – arrived this morning at the Wildlife Sanctuary (Accredited Sanctuary) in Colorado. Courtesy of PETA. After federal authorities took the extraordinary step of confiscating an injured bear from a former tourist trap, its owners agreed to give up the remaining animals and never acquire or own wild or exotic animals again. PETA wasted no time organizing the transfer of the animals to their new spacious home.
“These animals will finally receive the skilled veterinary care and rich life they deserve now that the sun finally sets on the Sunrise Side.”
—PETA Foundation Deputy General Counsel for Pet Law Enforcement Brittany Peet
Here are some details about the animals previously housed at the roadside zoo, according to recent USDA inspection reports:
- The grizzly bear, which was eventually confiscated, used its paw last year to tear off the growth, leaving a 4-5-inch wound over the eye that oozed for months but never got the vet’s attention – and eventually the wounded tissue died.
- The fat lynx with matted hair seemed to “walk cautiously, as if in pain.”
- The lion, which was so thin that its bones were visible, was kept in a filthy enclosure containing “fecal accumulations” and moldy food.
There are no more animals on Sunrise Side now.
Following PETA’s complaint, Sunrise Side was cited by the USDA after the owners’ 15-year-old granddaughter, who worked at the facility, opened the gate and allowed a 60-year-old visitor to enter the lion’s cage. The lion bit off a piece of the woman’s finger.
Check or follow @peta on Twitter to see photos and videos of bears and foxes at the wildlife sanctuary after the animals have acclimated to their new true hideout!
While PETA and accredited wildlife sanctuaries like The Wild Animal Sanctuary continue to join forces and provide new, richer lives for exploited animals, there are a few things you can do, too: Help turn off roadside zoos avoiding these places at all costs. One notable example is Oswald’s Bear Ranch, a death trap located right on the interstate from the now defunct sunrise side. This seedy roadside zoo calls itself a “rescue site,” although roughly 79% of the bears Oswald acquired between 1999 and 2019 were cubs raised in captivity, presumably for photography. In addition, at least six bears on the ranch were slaughtered, and another was killed for being too “mean”, and 16 cubs under 2 years old apparently died suddenly at Oswald’s, although the bears left behind alone in nature, they can live up to 30 years. …
Since 2012 PETA in fact helped save 76 bears from difficult situationsincluding Dolly from Sunrise Side, and that number will continue to grow until no bear is forced to perform brutal photography like at Oswald’s Ranch. Help PETA protect more bears from abuse and neglect by never patronizing an establishment that offers photo shoots or lets guests play with their cubs! Click below to ask Oswald to send the bears to respected sanctuaries before they die:
Help the bears trapped in this other hellhole in Michigan