PERFORMING ANIMAL WELFARE SOCIETY

Rescue. Advocacy. Sanctuary. For Life.

Since 1984

August 2022 | Newsletter

Ben the Bear's 10-Year Anniversary at PAWS

This month PAWS is celebrating Ben the bear’s 10th year as a member of the PAWS family. His path from nameless roadside attraction to sanctuary was not an easy one.

Ben was displayed at a roadside zoo in North Carolina, where he was identified only as “Attraction no. 2.” His barren cage was about the size of a one-car garage – even though bears naturally roam home ranges as big as 50 square miles. It contained nothing but a bowling ball and a few pieces of rotting wood for “enrichment.”

Bears are active and intelligent animals, so you can imagine Ben’s distress. Out of sheer boredom and frustration, he endlessly paced back and forth on the hard concrete floor of his cage. When he wasn’t pacing, he would bite the chain-link fencing.

Two local citizens and attorneys from the PETA Foundation and the Animal Legal Defense Fund filed a lawsuit to free Ben from this nightmare. Fortunately, the judge recognized that Ben’s most basic needs were not being met, and she issued a ruling that allowed his transfer to PAWS. (The zoo later closed.)

That was just the start of Ben’s rescue. Once on site, PAWS President Ed Stewart knew this rescue wasn’t going to be easy or safe – and we had just one day to get him out!

Clearly, Ben was never meant to leave his cage alive. The owners had welded shut the door to his enclosure. Had Ben ever needed serious veterinary care, it would have been impossible to reach him. The rescue team had to cut through the steel door by hand.

All the while, the team was harassed by a group of men. As they set up the flight cage for Ben, one of them said, “Why don’t we just shoot this bear instead of letting him go to California.”

It took all day – and some peanut butter – but Ben was finally secure in his flight cage. He soon was on the truck to the airport and his flight to California, courtesy of Federal Express. The pilots dubbed the plane “Bear Force One.”

Today, Ben roams among trees and bushes in his spacious habitat in the Bob Barker Bear Habitat at the ARK 2000 sanctuary. At age 21, he is elderly but just as active as our youngest bear, Mack! During cool weather, Ben is especially active and can be found foraging for food treats or lounging in his large pool. Because he was cruelly declawed at some point in his life, Ben uses his teeth instead of his claws to dig into logs for termites and grubs.

Please consider making a donation in honor of Ben’s 10-year anniversary!

Birthday Milestone:

Tiger Czar Turns 20 Years Old

Please join PAWS in marking a milestone for tiger Czar – his 20th birthday! He is the oldest of the nine rescued tigers at our ARK 2000 sanctuary.

PAWS rescued Czar from a wildlife facility that closed unexpectedly in 2019 and needed to place their animals. He is known and loved for his outgoing nature, greeting his caregivers at the fence with a welcoming “chuff.” (Chuffing, also called prusten, is a friendly vocalization that tigers use with each other or familiar people. It sounds like a breathy snort.) Czar is just as social with other tigers, befriending his tiger neighbors. Although these big cats are solitary in nature, some of them, like Czar, can be social.

To support Czar and the changes in mobility that comes with age, we’ve modified aspects of his habitat. Water is one of Czar’s favorite things – he loves soaking in one of his two pools – so we’ve made it easier for him to access the pools, as well as sleeping platforms.

From all of us at PAWS, a happy 20th birthday to Czar!

Space Is Filling Up Fast for PAWS 2022 International

Captive Wildlife Conference

Register Now!

The PAWS International Captive Wildlife Conference is back! It’s been four years since our last conference and a lot has happened during that time on important animal issues. In keeping with our theme of “Back Together in the Fight for Captive Wildlife”, this will be an in-person conference.

The conference will take place November 11-12 in Sacramento, Calif. There is an optional visit to PAWS’ 2,300-acre ARK 2000 sanctuary – home to elephants, tigers and bears – on November 13.

More than 30 speakers from around the world will bring you up to speed on issues and actions concerning captive wild animals, including elephants, big cats, cetaceans, and nonhuman primates. Topics include animals in entertainment, zoos and tourism, and updates on the latest in legislation, law and science.

Conference space is very limited, so be sure to register today!

Here are just a few of our conference speakers:

• Scott Blais, Co-founder and CEO, Global Sanctuary for Elephants (Brazil)
• Nikita Dhawan, Founder, Youth for Animals (India)
• Erika Fleury, Program Director, North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance
• Lori Marino, President and Founder, Whale Sanctuary Project
• Allison Skidmore, Wildlife criminologist and National Geographic Explorer
• Michael Webber, Director of "The Conservation Game" (watch the official movie trailer here)
• Steven M. Wise, Founder and President, Nonhuman Rights Project
• View more conference speakers here.

New to the conference: The “super panel” where experts tackle tough questions involving captive wild animals and how to bring about change.

Thank you to our 2022 conference sponsors!

Big Cat Public Safety Act Makes Progress!

The Big Cat Public Safety Act – the federal bill that would prohibit the private ownership of big cats and ban their use in such attractions as cub petting – passed in the U.S. House of Representatives. Support for the bill was bipartisan, with a vote of 278 to 134. Thank you to everyone who took action by contacting their representative and urging a yes vote on this important bill. The next step is for the U.S. Senate to take up the bill (S.1210).

Untold numbers of big cats in the U.S. live in decrepit roadside zoos or as pets confined in impoverished backyard cages. They are denied space, a proper diet, appropriate veterinary care, and anything natural to them. Cub petting attractions continuously breed big cats and then tear the cubs away from their mothers so operators can sell handling sessions and photo ops to the public. When the cubs grow too big for people to handle, they are sent to roadside zoos, private owners, or they simply “disappear.”

We need everyone to help to pass the Big Cat Public Safety Act in the Senate. Click here for information on how you can take action.

PAWS Supports SWIMS Act to End Capture and Breeding of Whales for Public Display

PAWS is proud to support a new federal bill, the Strengthening Welfare in Marine Settings Act, or SWIMS Act (H.R. 8514). U.S. Congressman Adam Schiff (Calif.), together with Senator Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) and Representatives Jared Huffman (Calif.) and Suzan DelBene (Wash.) introduced the bill, which would end the future capture and breeding of whales for public display. The SWIMS Act aims to amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 and the Animal Welfare Act to prohibit the taking, importation, export, and breeding of certain cetaceans for public display and other purposes.

Whales such as orcas, beluga whales, pilot whales, and false killer whales are wide-ranging, highly intelligent, and socially complex mammals. Current federal laws allow these whales to be confined in concrete tanks that fail to meet their basic psychological, physical, and social needs. Whales simply cannot thrive in captivity, where they are exploited, sometimes isolated, and often die prematurely. There are about 50 whales in captivity in the U.S.

Please contact your congressional representatives and urge them to co-sponsor the SWIMS Act.

Action Steps:

1. Locate the contact information for your Senators and Representative here.

2. Call your legislators. Give your name to the person who answers and state that you are a constituent of [name of the senator or representative you are calling]. Tell them: “I am calling to ask [name of your senator or representative] to co-sponsor the SWIMS Act, H.R. 8514, that would ban the future capture and breeding of whales for public display. It’s just wrong to keep these highly intelligent and socially complex animals in concrete tanks where they suffer and die prematurely. I strongly support this bill and hope the [senator/representative] will do the right thing by co-sponsoring the bill.”

3. Send a message. Once you’ve located your Senators and Representative here, click on the link that takes you to their home page. Find “Contact” on the menu and send your message via the online form provided there.

Sample message:

I am a constituent who very strongly wants to see an end to keeping whales in captivity. I urge you to co-sponsor the SWIMS Act, H.R. 8514, that would prohibit the future capture and breeding of whales for public display.

Whales such as orcas, beluga whales, pilot whales, and false killer whales are wide-ranging, highly intelligent, and socially complex mammals. Current federal laws allow these whales to be confined in concrete tanks that fail to meet their basic psychological, physical, and social needs. Whales cannot thrive in captivity, where they are exploited, sometimes isolated, and often die prematurely.

I hope you will do the right thing for the approximately 50 whales in captivity in the U.S. and co-sponsor the SWIMS Act, H.R. 8514. Thank you.

4. Share. Use social media to encourage your friends, family, and colleagues to take action!

Read the SWIMS Act here. Read the press release about the bill’s introduction here.

Thank you for taking action! 

THANK YOU!

August Amazon Wish List Donors:

Brad Petersen: one 18 lb. box of Epsom Salts. Linda Starr: one 8 lb. tub of Simply Flax; one bottle of CosequinDS, 132#. Shannon M. Thune: one 8 lb. tub of Simply Flax; one 10 lb. tub of Equithrive Pellets. Micayla Severino: six boxes of Epsom Salt. Cindy Reid: one box of Denamarin, 30#. Becky Fast: one 6.5 oz. bag of dried pineapple. Melissa Hill: one 5 lb. box of oranges. Peggy Buckner: one 8 lb. tub of Simply Flax. Laura: one 3.3 lb. tub of Equithrive Pellets. Lynn Bruser: one 10 lb. tub of Equithrive Pellets. N. Gordon: one 500 pack of paper bags; one box of latex gloves; one 8 lb. tub of Simply Flax. Pedro Pascal: one 8 lb. tub of Simply Flax. Pamela Rogers-Ibitz: one case of oranges. Anonymous Donors: one box of gloves; one 6.5 oz. bag of dried pineapple; one 32 oz. bag of sunflower kernels; one 5 lb. bag of pumpkin seeds; one 2 lb. bag of almonds.

African elephants Thika and Mara.

Purchase PAWS apparel and merchandise. Clothing for adults, kids, toddlers and infants, as well as other fun merchandise like notecards and coffee mugs - available from our CafePress online gift shop.

PAWS Amazon Wish List. We have chosen specific items that are needed at the sanctuary, which you can purchase directly from Amazon. Many items are ongoing. The list is always current! View here, and shop using AmazonSmile.

EBAY Giving Works. Visit PAWS eBay page to view our current listings and to bid. List your items on EBAY and choose PAWS as your charity. Donate a percentage of each sale to the animals. Visit our EBAY charity listing page here. Start selling or buying!