End Animal Cruelty at Japanese Bear Parks!
Right now, approximately 800 bears are suffering in Japanese bear parks.
In Japan's eight bear parks, bears are confined to crude concrete pits where they are forced to beg for, or fight over, scraps of food thrown by tourists. Left for years to suffer in the name of entertainment, it is hard to imagine a more bleak existence for these animals.
The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) has been urging authorities in Japan to clamp down on the parks for five years. One bear park has closed down and two others have confirmed that they have plans for alternative enclosures. We need to ensure that the parks follow through with their plans in order to improve the lives of these captive bears. We are asking the parks to construct forested enclosures to replicate the bears natural habitat, to prevent unsupervised public feeding and to stop degrading circus shows.
Japan's bears need your help. Sign this petition to the bear parks owners to respectfully ask that Japan end animal cruelty at its bear parks!
To: The Owners of Japan's Bear Parks
Dear Bear Park Owners,
I am writing to urge you to end animal cruelty at the bear parks in Japan. In these parks, over 1,000 bears are confined in barren, concrete prisons where they are forced to beg & fight for food in a degrading spectacle. This shameful and cruel practice is far removed from the bears' natural life in the wild.
As a first step you can improve the lives of the bears by preventing public feeding, which perpetuates aggressive behaviour in the bears and encourages unnatural begging for food. I also urge you to stop the breeding of bears in order to provide cubs to entertain the public. With overcrowding and fierce competition for food, aggression between bears is inevitable and many are subject to violent attacks, resulting in serious injury.
Finally, I urge you to improve the lives of the bears by transforming the concrete pits into larger forested enclosures. With the world's attention focused on Japan, I urge you to work with WSPA and ALIVE to close down the worst bear parks, and improve the welfare conditions in the others.
Yours sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]
