Six captive bears rescued in South Carolina

SOUTH CAROLINA -- Six bears that were part of illegal activities like bear baying/baiting and illegal hunting were voluntarily turned over to the the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Monday and are now living at a wildlife sanctuary in Colorado.

Three of the bears came from Spartanburg County and three from Greenville County. The bears range in age from 7 to 23 years.

Where the bears will be going to live

 

"These bears will be as close to living in the wild as possible," said Pat Craig, Director of the Wild Animal Sanctuary. "We have them in small enclosures now, but in a few days they will be released into a 10-acre habitat that is very much a natural environment, where bears could even hibernate during the winter. We understand it was a pretty bad situation these bears were in, but as far as captive facilities, this is the best one in the world, and they will live in a really nice habitat."

Some bears at the wildlife sanctuary

The removal of the six captive bears was the result of a four-year-long undercover investigation by DNR law enforcement into bear baying/baiting in South Carolina, according to a news release issued Friday.

DNR arrested 12 people over the past few weeks in connection with the illegal activity.

"A long term investigation, such as this, requires the highest commitment and dedication for the thousands of hours to work out the details of such a complex case," said Col. Chisolm Frampton, DNR law enforcement director. "DNR law enforcement officers have done an outstanding job pursuing and prosecuting these criminal cases."

This is where the bears are headed

DNR does not not issue permits for bear baying/baiting and does not consider the possession of black bears by individuals to be biologically sound, safe for the local community, or in the best long-term interest of the wild black bear resource, according to the news release.

"Bear baying is a cruel and horrendous abuse of bears in our state," said Carol M. Elliott, president of Animal Protection Efforts (APE) of South Carolina. "DNR, supported by APE, a statewide animal protection organization, has been working diligently to eradicate bear abuse in South Carolina. Labor intensive investigation and evidence gathering by DNR has resulted in several arrests and bear rescues. We are very pleased that DNR will continue to investigate bear abuses in our state."

(WPDE - Oct 11, 2013)

Related: The Wild Animal Sanctuary
The Wild Animal Sanctuary is the oldest and largest nonprofit Sanctuary in the US dedicated exclusively to rescuing captive exotic and endangered large carnivores, providing them with a wonderful life for as long as they live, and educating about the tragic plight faced by an estimated 30,000 such animals in America today.

The Sanctuary is located on rural, rolling grasslands northeast of the Denver Metro area. Comprising 720 acres and sheltering more than 290 Lions, Tigers, Bears, Leopards, Mountain Lions, Wolves and other large carnivores, it is the first sanctuary of its kind to create large acreage species-specific habitats for its rescued animals.

The three main points of our mission…to rescue captive large carnivores who have been abused, abandoned, illegally kept or exploited…to create for them a wonderful life for as long as they live…and to educate about the causes and solutions to the Captive Wildlife Crisis…these things are what we commit to for the animals, and for the humans who help to make a positive difference for them.