hi
i'm junior
i grew up in the cub petting industry
my whole life has been nothing but
heartbreak and despair
you're probably wondering how petting
bear cubs can cause such suffering
so let me start from the beginning
i was born at a breeding facility and
taken from my mother shortly after
i needed her to teach me how to be a
bear
but i never got that
instead
i was kept in a small dog kennel i was
transported for days without knowing
where i was going or what was happening
they took me to a place called green
meadow bears
bears were trapped in small cages some
drastically overweight because they had
no room to move and others so thin and
sick they had to be hidden away from
visitors
but worst of all was the cub petting
the room was filled with lots of people
it was so loud
that was my first encounter with big al
he was mean and angry
he grabbed me by the skin on my back and
held me up into the air i screamed and
cried but the crowd just ood and awed
i thought the worst was over
but the show was just beginning
big al pushed me into the crowd it was
confusing and scary i thought they were
going to tear me apart
then it was time for photos
people lined up to hold me and then a
bright flashing light went off over and
over
constantly being passed around made me
feel like i was in danger i thought i
might be killed
i was so tired
finally when the photos were over big al
put me in my kennel next to another bear
his name was verner
i asked him what this place was
he said they buy cubs like us and then
people pay money to pet us and take
pictures
he told me the nightmare i just went
through happens almost every day
even when we should be sleeping and we
never get to hibernate
i started to cry again
but it's not forever he said
he told me he'd gotten too big for cub
petting and he'd be freed soon
he told me not to worry he'd be waiting
for me when it's my turn to leave too
the next morning big owl grabbed me for
the cub petting he yelled at me and said
no crying today
the torture continued day after day
it was nice when i got to talk to verner
we made plans to forage for berries
bathe in rivers and start families
then the day came for verner to leave
we said our goodbyes before he was taken
away in a big red trailer
after verner left
i felt so lonely every day
eventually i got too big to be used for
cub petting they moved me to a cage next
to an older bear named phoebe
she was one of big al's first bears and
they kept her as a mascot and for
breeding
i asked if she was sad that she didn't
get to be free like the other bears who
grew up
she sighed
and said that none of the bears there
got to be free
i said that's not true and told her
about werner and all of our plans
she got very quiet
then asked if i saw him leave
i told her that he left in a trailer
a big red one she asked my heart sank
she said the big red trailer belongs to
the slaughterhouse
they took ferner there killed him and
chopped him up to be sold for his meat
he's been dead since the last day i saw
him
all of our plans were just a sad fantasy
they only kept us alive for as long as
they needed us
as long as they could make money from us
i asked if all of the bears end up at
the slaughterhouse
she said sometimes they send us to
another roadside zoo
i waited and waited for the red trailer
to take me away
but it never came
instead i stayed in the same cage for
years
the same cage where i remain today
no room to move around except for when
they force me to breed
otherwise
every day is the same
i'm slowly dying as i lose my mind
this is my story but it doesn't have to
be this way for others
green meadow bears and big al are
fictional but there are real people and
real places like them
all of this misery can be avoided if
everyone stops going to cub petting
exhibits and other roadside zoos
please choose entertainment that doesn't
cause suffering
thank you for watching