http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/2154820 Oct. 13, 2003, 11:28AM Baylor stops bringing live bear to games Associated Press WACO -- Baylor University has changed a decades-old practice of having a live mascot, a black bear, at home football games after veterinarians said crowd noise could agitate the animal. The decision follows a protest that began last year by members of Chicago-based Showing Animals Respect and Kindness, or SHARK, who claimed the bears were driven into a state of psychosis because they were kept in a mostly concrete environment. The facility on the Waco campus houses two female North American black bears: Joy, almost 2 years old, and Lady, almost 3. School officials denied that the bears were being harmed and cited satisfactory inspections by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But the school plans to start an $800,000 fund-raising drive this fall to upgrade the facility built in 1976, said Larry Brumley, a Baylor spokesman. The "bear pit" will extend along Waco Creek with trees and more grass. It's not the first time changes have been made in the bear program, which is more than 70 years old. In recent years, trainers stopped feeding the bears Dr Pepper when veterinarians advised against it. Dr Pepper was created in Waco in 1885 and is the official Baylor soft drink. Colleen Gardner, a SHARK member from Salt Lake City, praised Baylor's recent actions. "A lot of people walked by the bears every day and just didn't look," Gardner said. "I think it took someone from the outside looking in and saying, 'Wait a minute.'" The flap started when Gardner's son visited campus in July 2002 for a debate tournament. Upset at what he believed to be mistreatment, he filmed hours of footage of the bears. Since then, SHARK has filmed parties -- which have since been stopped -- held in the bear pit by the group of Baylor students assigned to care for the animals. SHARK members attended parents weekend and showed that footage, along with scenes of bears pacing in their enclosures, from giant screens on the side of a truck. Brumley said the school remains committed to keeping live mascots, which from now on will make only specially approved appearances. "We determined that we weren't going to let a group like that, that had no stake in Baylor University, dictate our policies," he said.
ok so SHARK has started this issue.... is PETA gonna jump in and somehow tie it in with the tiger attack on roy? just curious. It's been about 4 years since I've seen the bear(s) but they didn't seem unhappy or abused to me....
