Success: NY Black Bear Rescue
Posted on June 26, 2014 by adminOn June 1, we asked you to help us come to the aid of six black bears who were due to be killed just four days later, June 5. We are proud to say that due to your generosity and a major collaboration with Lions Tigers and Bears, The Wild Animal Sanctuary, and ASPCA, these bears are now saved!
On June 24, Rock to the Rescue and Lions Tigers and Bears arrived in Greenwich, NY to rescue six black bears from a backyard zoo. The zoo’s owner was court-ordered to give up custody of the bears, and with no where to go, the NY Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) planned to kill them. After receiving an extension from the DEC and a generous grant from the ASPCA, the rescue team was able to arrive at the facility to remove the bears, provide veterinary care, and transport them in a state-of-the-art rescue vehicle.
Throughout the United States, there is an epidemic of private ownership of wild animals. With few laws protecting them, exotic animals are easily bought and sold to be “pets,” to live in backyard zoos, and to be used for entertainment purposes. When animals cannot stay in these situations, either because the owner gives them up willingly or is ordered to do so, it is rarely a happy story. Time and time again, the animal is the one who suffers, either being sold to other captive facilities, placed in canned hunting facilities, or euthanized. After four years of searching for a solution for these young bears, the DEC had decided that the only remaining option was for them to die.
The happiest solution when a captive wild animal is at risk is for them to go to an accredited sanctuary. Sanctuaries are rescue organizations that provide permanent, lifetime care, that do not exhibit them for entertainment, and that do not breed or buy animals or their parts. Sanctuaries are charities that rely completely on donations, and the cost of caring for just one bear for one year can exceed $10,000. This is why Rock to the Rescue believes in supporting sanctuaries and rescue facilities across the country: the animals’ lives depend on it. They need somewhere safe to go.
We wish the bears the very best of luck on their cross-country journey this week. Sasha, Sebastian, Diego, Darwin, Dora, and Dasha are beautiful young bears with a happy life ahead of them.
Thank you to our supporters, Lions Tigers and Bears, The Wild Animal Sanctuary, the ASPCA, and to all who helped make this rescue possible. To know that these bears will live the rest of their lives in a beautiful sanctuary rather than die an early death is a beautiful thing. Thank you for being a part of it!
Hannah Shaw
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