Bears held in roadside attractions and inadequate facilities experience profound welfare deficits from stereotypic behaviors to chronic health problems.
Bears in roadside attractions typically live on concrete in small cages, fed inadequate diets, and denied natural behaviors. Stereotypic pacing, bar-biting, and self-mutilation are universal indicators of suffering in these conditions. Lack of substrate for digging, swimming opportunities, and foraging causes frustration and psychological damage. Many bears in these facilities live decades in conditions causing continuous suffering.