Yellowstone Bear World
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Yellowstone Bear World is a privately owned drive-thru zoo located in Rexburg, Idaho, 80 miles from Yellowstone National Park. It was established in 1998.
Controversy
Yellowstone Bear World has faced several allegations:
- Animal Trafficking: 88 bears have reportedly been sent to an exotic animal dealer.[1]
- Employee Safety: The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined Yellowstone Bear World for two serious violations. The facility was found to have put its employees at risk of potential attacks from bears and exposed them to hazardous chemicals in the form of bear spray, without providing proper training or protocols.[2]
- Animal Welfare: An undercover investigation by PETA documented several concerns. A cub with a broken leg was denied prescribed treatment, cubs were separated from their mothers when they were only 8 weeks old, and a supervisor threatened to throw one of the vulnerable cubs across the room and rip out her teeth.[3]
- Cub-Petting Encounters: Cubs at Yellowstone Bear World are used in photo ops and in bottle-feeding “encounters,” during which they’re handled and fed by around 12 customers a day. Cubs tried to nurse on the chins, necks, fingers, and arms of staff—a displaced suckling behaviour often seen in animals who are attempting to soothe themselves after suffering through the trauma of premature separation from their mothers.[3]
- Public Backlash: There has been public backlash against the display of bear cubs from Yellowstone Bear World at events like Baby Animal Days.[2]
These allegations have raised serious concerns about the treatment of animals and employees at Yellowstone Bear World.