Bears Rescued From Puerto Rican Circus Go To Asheboro

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POSTED: 6:46 p.m. EST November 7, 2002

TACOMA, WA -- Three of six polar bears rescued from a circus in Puerto Rico, where they were forced to perform stunts in sweltering heat, will come to North Carolina, officials said Thursday.

The six were rescued this week from the Mexico-based Suarez Brothers traveling circus in Yabucoa. Two male bears will come to Tacoma, the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium said, and are expected to arrive by the end of next week.

The sixth bear will go to the Detroit Zoological Institute.

"We saw it as our duty to provide sanctuary for these distressed animals, and there aren't many places these bears could go," Point Defiance spokeswoman Jean Jackman said in a statement posted on the zoo's Website Thursday.

The Suarez Brothers circus has not returned calls for comment this week.

Three veterinarians in Puerto Rico were treating the bears, some of whom had bacterial infections, said Carla Capalli of the Humane Soceity of Puerto Rico.

The U.S. Justice Department ordered the bears seized Tuesday, after receiving reports of inadequate housing and care as mandated by the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, a worldwide animal-rights organization, had been working to free the bears for 18 months. The group captured video of overheated bears panting constantly, drooling and swaying in 113-degree heat, with no access to water.

A female polar bear was removed from the same circus last March. That bear, named Alaska, was moved to The Baltimore Zoo.

-- Anonymous, November 08, 2002


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