12-18-2024, 11:34 PM
TOWNSEND, Tenn. (WVLT) - The Appalachian Bear Rescue announced 13 of its black bear cubs will be euthanized based on a decision by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.
It’s prompted a bit of a back-and-forth between the rescue and the agency, which said not all the details of ABR’s announcement were correct.
“It is our understanding that they (TWRA) believe that these bears could pose a risk to the wild bear population in East Tennessee and surrounding areas,” ABR said.
Back in November, ABR said staff noticed that a bear in Enclosure 4 was breathing abnormally.
The cub was diagnosed with pneumonia and prescribed treatment by staff at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine.
According to ABR, all the bears in that enclosure were treated the same way even though some lacked symptoms.
“They have been symptom-free for weeks,” ABR said. “ABR continues to monitor all bears at our facility for any signs of illness. Bears in the other three enclosures at ABR showed no clinical symptoms of infection.”
ABR officials said TWRA met with other state officials to discuss the situation but did not discuss it with them.
On Dec. 9, ABR said TWRA decided to euthanize the five cubs in Enclosure 4 and a day later they decided to euthanize cubs in another.
“On December 10, 2024, TWRA decided to euthanize the eight bear cubs in Enclosure 3 without conducting any testing to determine whether they are positive for the Streptococcus gallinaceous bacteria,” ABR said.
None of the bears in Enclosure 3 ever showed symptoms, according to ABR.
“This is the most dreadful news we’ve ever had to post.
Patty, Pickles, Mac, Special Sauce, Homer, Diamond, Champ, Sundae, Peeps, Puff, Casper, Shadow, and SuBearu Bear have been euthanized by the TWRA.
We are heartbroken and know you are too."
Appalachian Bear Rescue
WVLT News reached out to TWRA officials for confirmation of what happened. A representative with the agency said that, while 13 bears were to be euthanized, the details of ABR’s announcement “are not correct.”
“Yes 13 bears are being euthanized, but all of the details are not correct,” TWRA’s Emily Buck said.
Under state law, the agency has the authority to euthanize the bears if they pose a risk to the greater population.
ABR said the following bears were euthanized; Patty, Pickles, Mac, Special Sauce, Homer, Diamond, Champ, Sundae, Peeps, Puff, Casper, Shadow, and SuBearu Bear.
The Tennessee State Veterinarian told WVLT News they were not involved in the situation.
WVLT News reached out to the National Park Service to find out how involved they were in the decision, but have not yet heard back.
Link
It’s prompted a bit of a back-and-forth between the rescue and the agency, which said not all the details of ABR’s announcement were correct.
“It is our understanding that they (TWRA) believe that these bears could pose a risk to the wild bear population in East Tennessee and surrounding areas,” ABR said.
Back in November, ABR said staff noticed that a bear in Enclosure 4 was breathing abnormally.
The cub was diagnosed with pneumonia and prescribed treatment by staff at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine.
According to ABR, all the bears in that enclosure were treated the same way even though some lacked symptoms.
“They have been symptom-free for weeks,” ABR said. “ABR continues to monitor all bears at our facility for any signs of illness. Bears in the other three enclosures at ABR showed no clinical symptoms of infection.”
ABR officials said TWRA met with other state officials to discuss the situation but did not discuss it with them.
On Dec. 9, ABR said TWRA decided to euthanize the five cubs in Enclosure 4 and a day later they decided to euthanize cubs in another.
“On December 10, 2024, TWRA decided to euthanize the eight bear cubs in Enclosure 3 without conducting any testing to determine whether they are positive for the Streptococcus gallinaceous bacteria,” ABR said.
None of the bears in Enclosure 3 ever showed symptoms, according to ABR.
“This is the most dreadful news we’ve ever had to post.
Patty, Pickles, Mac, Special Sauce, Homer, Diamond, Champ, Sundae, Peeps, Puff, Casper, Shadow, and SuBearu Bear have been euthanized by the TWRA.
We are heartbroken and know you are too."
Appalachian Bear Rescue
WVLT News reached out to TWRA officials for confirmation of what happened. A representative with the agency said that, while 13 bears were to be euthanized, the details of ABR’s announcement “are not correct.”
“Yes 13 bears are being euthanized, but all of the details are not correct,” TWRA’s Emily Buck said.
Under state law, the agency has the authority to euthanize the bears if they pose a risk to the greater population.
ABR said the following bears were euthanized; Patty, Pickles, Mac, Special Sauce, Homer, Diamond, Champ, Sundae, Peeps, Puff, Casper, Shadow, and SuBearu Bear.
The Tennessee State Veterinarian told WVLT News they were not involved in the situation.
WVLT News reached out to the National Park Service to find out how involved they were in the decision, but have not yet heard back.
Link
