Baby Animal Days unaffected by animal rights protest

Animal rights activists Penelope Wilde (left) and Alex Wilde (right) of Ogden were among members of the Utah Animal Rights Coalition who briefly protested a display of bear cubs during the ongoing Baby Animal Days at the American West Heritage Center in Wellsville on Thursday.

WELLSVILLE – A much-ballyhooed demonstration Thursday against a Baby Animal Days bear cub exhibit at the American West Heritage Center here turned out to be four earnest young people from down south and one counter-protester from Preston.

The protest, orchestrated by the national staff of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) was intended to highlight what the activists consider to be animal abuse by Yellowstone Bear World, one of the displays at the annual Baby Animal Days event.

That abuse, according to PETA, is removing tiny bear cubs from their mothers and thrusting the frightened young animals into the hands of strangers.

Amy Meyer from the Utah Animal Rights Coalition who briefly protested a display of bear cubs during the ongoing Baby Animal Days at the American West Heritage Center in Wellsville on Thursday.

“Bear cubs stay with their mothers for up to two years,” said Debbie Metzler of PETA in a press release announcing the local protest. During that time, the organization emphasizes, the clubs play, explore and socialize, “if they are allowed to be bears.”

Instead, PETA charges, Yellowstone Bear World breeds baby bears and takes them from their mothers – when they are just weeks old and before they have even opened their eyes and seen their mothers – for use in public events like Baby Animal Days.

“The American West Heritage Center and Yellowstone Bear World are in the Dark Ages,” Metzler explains, “only interested in using these wonderful animals as selfie props.”

The bear cub display has been a major attraction at Baby Animal Days for several years. Parents and children at the event queue up to enter a building where they can observe the cubs being tended by handlers from Yellowstone Bear World. While the young animals can be photographed from arms length, visitors cannot physically interact with them.

The national press release promised that PETA supporters would join forces with members of the Utah Animal Rights Coalition (UARC) to protest Baby Animal Days. But only UARC representatives were on-hand during the brief protest. Four of them waved signs outside the gates of the American West Heritage Centers along Hwy 89/91, while Baby Animal Days activities continued without pause a few hundred yards away.

The protesters were led by Jeremy Beckham of Salt Lake City, the executive director of UARC. He was joined by Amy Meyer, wearing a bear costume. Meyer is also a Salt Lake resident and a veteran of a similar PETA-organized protest at the JBS plant in Hyrum in June of 2020. The other UARC protesters were Alex and Penelope Wilde of Ogden.

Their protest signs read “Baby Animals Belong with their Mothers” and “Bear Cubs are Not Photo Props.”

Beckham refused to discuss a suggestion that the UARC protesters were themselves photo props for PETA.

Counter protester at the American West Heritage Center, who identified himself as “Johnny Boy.”

“I don’t understand the question,” he replied.

“We’re completely in agreement with the mission and purpose of PETA,” Beckham explained. “If they have more resources than we do and they can mobilize people, get signs printed, notify the media and get our message out, I think that’s great.”

While acknowledging that the handlers from Yellowstone Bear World weren’t physically harming the bear cubs being displayed during Baby Animal Days, Beckham still insisted that the animals were being “psychologically damaged.”

A single counter protester from Preston attracted almost as much attention as the UARC members.

Identifying himself only as “Johnny Boy,” he loudly proclaimed that he “loved baby bears and eating meat.”

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is a non-profit group based in Virginia. The group claims to have 6.5 million supporters worldwide. Its moto is: “Animals are not ours to experiment on, eat, wear, use for entertainment or abuse in any other way.”[3

Yellowstone Bear World is a privately-owned drive-through wildlife park in Rexburg, ID, near Yellowstone National Park. The park boasts eight different species of wildlife, including brown and Grizzly bears.

Baby Animal Days activities will continue at the American West Heritage Center through Saturday.

 

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5 Comments

  • Alex April 9, 2021 at 12:22 pm Reply

    It’s funny that the reporter could seem so sweet in person yet call such a biased article honest journalism. To add some facts, the reporter asked, “How does it feel to be exploited as a photo prop for PETA?” -hardly an unbiased way to phrase a question. After this reporter left, we were joined by more people including a Wellsville resident who recalled her time visiting the exhibit with her own young children years ago where, “baby chicks were handled by very young children, many chicks were maimed accidentally, and the half-dead chicks were then just carried to the back and more were brought out to replace them”. Having taken a trip herself to Yellowstone Bear World in Rexburg, she described it as “Appalling”. Yellowstone Bear World is well documented for their abuse, -Even Idaho state law prohibits the feeding by the public of captive wildlife and their website shows a child feeding a baby bear. These types of exhibits with wild animals would be illegal in many parts of the country including all of Salt Lake County. These exhibits in no way resemble a natural life for these animals. Activists received many thumbs-ups, waves, and friendly honks from cars driving by and even exiting the event. We urge the American West Heritage Center to cut ties with Yellowstone Bear World. The counter-protestor’s sign showed a photo of a bear in a small cage next to a person wearing a sombrero also in a cage with text reading, “These bears are getting better treatment than all Biden’s caged immigrants.” -as if to imply that two wrongs make a right.

  • Shellatthebeach April 9, 2021 at 1:36 pm Reply

    This article seems overwhelmingly negative toward the people who are trying to point out that baby animals belong with their mothers being raised, and protected, not being used as photo props for human amusement. I’m in agreement with UARC.

  • Ttunac April 10, 2021 at 3:42 am Reply

    BEARS LIVES MATTER

  • Barnabus April 10, 2021 at 8:03 pm Reply

    Wow, we are doomed as a society. I have been in two combat zones and traveled to thirty six countries. I then spent several years as a big city cop. I have been to baby animal days and I can honestly say that those animals are treated better than the vast majority of people that I encountered during my time as a public servant. The extremes on both sides have become so laughable that we have become low hanging fruit to be taken by any county with a little discipline. This rates right up there with honey boo boo.

  • Paul Johnson April 11, 2021 at 6:56 pm Reply

    These protestors are ridiculous… get a life. PETAdiots

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