Group opposes bears' treatment

September 6, 2002

The Baylor Lariat

By Dana White
Staff writer

"The bears are fun," said Dylan Moon, a 5-year-old who visits Baylor's campus regularly for speech therapy. Bob Moon, Dylan's grandfather, said they arrive early each time to see the bears and walk along the river.

Moon said he's never looked into the bears' treatment, but "they look pretty well taken care of to me."

Showing Animals Respect and Kindness, or SHARK, a non profit organization dedicated to "ending the abuse and suffering of animals everywhere," strongly disagrees. The group held a press conference Thursday in which they challenged Baylor to a "showdown" over treatment of the bears.

SHARK has been involved with the Baylor bear mascots for several weeks since 16-year-old Jeremy Beckham from Utah attended a debate camp here this summer. Beckham videotaped both bears while he was on campus and spoke to several people including Adam Ylitalo, the bear trainer, and Larry Brumley, the associate vice president for external relations, about his concerns about the bears' treatment.

Brumley said he spoke to Beckham and said, "we went to great lengths to answer his questions."

Beckham said, "A lot has changed since I met with him." Beckham said he, along with Steve Hindi, volunteer president of SHARK, and Beckham's mother, Colleen Gardner, have continued to look into Baylor's treatment of its bears and the history of the program and want to talk with Brumley again. SHARK's Web site (www.BaylorBearAbuse.com) accuses Baylor of abusing the bears, of holding them in a "cruel bear prison of cement, rock, and chain link fencing," and feeding them junk food like Dr Pepper and Oreo cookies.

Hindi said he learned of the bears' diet of Dr Pepper from tour guides who told groups this on three separate occasions.

"I have never fed a bear a Dr Pepper or an Oreo," Ylitalo, a Longview senior said.

Ylitalo, along with Brumley and President Robert B. Sloan Jr., were personally invited to attend the conference at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at the McLennan County Public Library. They did not attend the event.

Hindi said he wished they had attended the conference.

"I wanted to settle it," Hindi said. "I felt the truth would come out if they showed up. Maybe they felt the same way."

Brumley said SHARK doesn't have enough credibility.

"They lie, they distort and manipulate information to advance their own agenda. If we felt like we were dealing with reasonable people, we would be willing to meet with them, but we are not going to address them," he said.

SHARK has sent videotapes of Lady and Joy, taken by Hindi on his first trip to Baylor three weeks ago to Rob Laidlaw, the director of an organization called Zoocheck Canada, who concluded the videotapes showed "distressed bears in horrendously poor conditions," and that the bears should be relocated "as soon as possible."

Cindy Carroccio, director of the Austin Zoo, which cares for a former Baylor mascot, Bobby, attended the conference in support of SHARK. Carroccio said she first became involved with Baylor when dealing with Bobby. Bobby required dental care when the zoo received him and Carroccio accused Baylor of lying about the bear's health.

"Baylor cannot compassionately keep the program," Carroccio said.

Later she said "it would speak volumes if they would change" and said she would be "waving flags with [Baylor] if [they would] change."

Hindi offered Baylor an array of suggestions including spotting the university the $1,000 fee to try to get accredited with the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, and matching a $25,000 fee from Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation in Kendalia to permanently relocate the bears.

"We meet all state and federal regulations for a Class C zoo," Brumley said.

These regulations include those set by the United States Department of Agriculture, which requires an updated program of veterinary care and unannounced inspections.

Ylitalo said the Baylor Chamber of Commerce program works closely with Dr. Jim Jenson and Dr. Jim Johnson of the exotic division of Texas A&M University's college of veterinary medicine with, along with the USDA inspector and a bear trainer from California.

Jenson, an associate professor of zoological medicine at Texas A&M, said he has worked with the Baylor bears in "really close relation, particularly this summer."

Jenson said he understands that the "enclosure for the bears is not optimal. It is not perfect by today's standards."

Jenson said he would like to see the bears have more open exercise room and a natural environment to interact with, but he said he suspects the lack of this to be a factor of the age of the exhibit. "It is the only weakness in the whole operation...[but] they should not be criticized beyond that," Jenson said.

"The bears receive excellent technical care from the young men. I am extremely pleased with their cooperation. The basic care of the animal is complete."

Jenson said he visited the SHARK Web site himself and "looked at it extensively." Jenson said he found statements that were "vague and accusatory" and that "particularly the things I know about, in regards to their medical care, were just inaccurate."

"I felt ashamed for that organization," he said.

Ylitalo said the Chamber has had "plans to expand the pit," which include doubling the area, providing a grassy area with trees and an expanded top section with more rooms. "It would be a lot more natural," he said.

Ylitalo said Chamber is currently looking for funding for the expansion project.

Brumley said Baylor has planned for a couple of years to change the Bear Pit, but "things that most directly affect the students have priority. It doesn't mean it's not important."

Brumley said Baylor will address things in a prioritized manner and will operate on its own timetable and will not adopt that of a "militant" organization.

"I like [the bears] but it seems like they have a small cage, all concrete and no dirt," Brad Rolf, an Austin freshman, said. "Like any zoo, the bears are out of their natural environment, but they don't seem abused, per se."

Rolf said he was not sure moving the bears to another zoo or wildlife reserve would benefit them. "It might be more or less natural, but it's not normal. It's kind of like six one way or half-a-dozen the other."

Hindi said he plans to return to Baylor around Sept. 20. He said he welcomes questions and challenges from the students.

"We're willing to do what we have to do," he said.

SHARK plans to follow the athletic teams and Sloan's speaking schedule around the country to protest the treatment of the live mascots.

"Frankly, this will hurt them," Hindi said. "We never came into this trying to hurt them, but we will deal with Baylor in a legal, non-violent, hard-hitting way. I really want to see this stopped. This is teaching students that this is OK."