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Western N.C. tourism will suffer because of displays, Barker says
Cherokee chief says he is offended by remarks about zoos' bear cages
AP Photo
Bob Barker listens to Beverly Young, the wife of U.S. Rep. Bill Young, R-Fla., talk at a news conference about her family’s experience at a bear attraction in Cherokee.
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Published: July 31, 2009
ASHEVILLE
Bob Barker, the former game-show host and a longtime animal-rights activist, predicts that tourists will avoid Cherokee Indian attractions in North Carolina until the tribe stops three local zoos from displaying bears in cramped enclosures.
Barker made the statement Wednesday, a day after meeting leaders of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to urge the tribe to stop the privately owned zoos on the reservation from displaying bears in pitlike enclosures and small cages.
"Things are going to change on the Cherokee reservation, I promise," Barker said at a news conference. "This is going to be a blight on tourism. Americans love animals, and all they have to know is that animals are being abused."
Barker said that all of Western North Carolina would feel economic repercussions if the treatment of bears at Cherokee's three roadside zoos doesn't improve. Barker wants the bears transferred to the Performing Animal Welfare Society sanctuary near Sacramento, Calif.
"We feel it's a problem for the city of Asheville having this Third World spectacle happening right at its doorstep," said Barker, who is part American Indian and grew up on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota.
The tribe's principal chief, Michell Hicks, said he found the comments from Barker and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, whose representatives accompanied Barker, offensive.
"It's best for Bob Barker to stay in California and let us do what we know how to do here," Hicks said.
Barker and PETA representatives participated in a public meeting Tuesday that included Hicks and five members of the Tribal Council.
Hicks said he was insulted by Barker's comments at the meeting Tuesday, adding that the businesses have complied with tribal law and federal standards.
"I'm appalled by his behavior and him accusing the Cherokee of being barbaric," Hicks said.
The three roadside zoos -- Cherokee Bear Zoo, Chief Saunooke Bear Park and Santa's Land -- are inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which enforces the federal Animal Welfare Act.
The Eastern Band's wildlife office also inspects the zoos.
The Animal Welfare Act requires standards that include a safe, clean structure for caged animals, removal of animal waste and adequate food and water. Federal inspectors make unannounced visits once a year.
"We'll have ongoing conversations" with these businesses, Hicks said. "There may be opportunities for us to help them expand, but we're not going to close the door and not be open to ideas."
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