Keep Polar Bears out of Tropical Circuses!

The Suarez Bros. Circus, currently performing in Puerto Rico with seven miserable polar bears, has applied for authorization from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) to reexport the bears to the Caribbean island Saint Martin (part of Netherlands Antilles). The plight of these polar bears has escalated to an issue of international public interest. In addition to animal protection organizations, the federal Marine Mammal Commission, the zoological community, numerous polar bear experts, and members of Congress have expressed serious concern for the welfare of these bears.

Polar bears are Arctic, marine mammals who normally roam vast distances in frigid climates. In the hands of a traveling tropical circus, these bears are subjected to relentless heat and humidity, confined to small, barren cages, and hit and whipped to make them perform confusing tricks. The polar bears cannot legally leave U.S. territory without authorization from the USFWS. Since the USFWS has been under a great deal of pressure for its failure to properly implement the Marine Mammal Protection Act, PETA fears that the agency may quietly expedite this process to avoid further controversy.

Sign this petition and demand that the agency refuse to authorize reexport of the polar bears. The USFWS has multiple reasons to deny the permit application: The Suarez Bros. Circus has apparently supplied a fraudulent CITES permit for at least one polar bear, the circus has never complied with the educational component that is required by federal law, the circus is facing cruelty charges brought by local authorities, the circus’s next destination is another tropical country with an unsuitable climate for polar bears, and numerous polar bear experts believe that these polar bears are being treated inhumanely and will suffer a great deal more if they leave U.S. jurisdiction.


The question is not, can they reason? Nor, can they talk? But can they suffer? -Jeremy Bentham