The ailing bear lingered in captivity for many years in Millmont, Pa., where he endured the stress of loud, continuous gunfire from a shooting range just 200 feet away.... The sportsmen’s club released Dillan after facing mounting pressure from tens of thousands of activists.
Image Credit: Facebook/The Wild Animal Sanctuary
Dillan, an Asiatic black bear, recently started a new life full of freedom,
safety, and comfort with the Wild Animal Sanctuary after likely spending
decades in a cramped, bare enclosure at the Union County Sportsmen’s Club in
Pennsylvania.
The ailing bear lingered in captivity for many years in Millmont, Pa., where
he endured the stress of loud, continuous gunfire from a shooting range just
200 feet away. Dillan also suffered from a host of untreated medical
problems, including morbid obesity.
“He’s incredibly large,” Kent Drotar of the Wild Animal Sanctuary told
FOX31. “We estimate he’s hundreds of pounds overweight. Just obese.”
Dillan’s obesity stemmed from a lack of exercise, which his small, cement
cage did not allow for, and people regularly feeding him fattening leftovers
from the club’s restaurant, according to PETA. He also lacked access to an
adequate water supply.
Additionally, Dillan is declawed and has numerous other health concerns,
including arthritis and infected gums. In October 2019, the USDA determined
that he had not been treated for his dental issues, which were discovered
two years prior. As a result, he suffered from prolonged, significant pain.
His physical condition is not his only concern; Dillan also experienced
psychological damage. He looked visibly distressed in the crowded confines
of his enclosure, as evidenced by his frequent rocking back and forth, which
USDA investigators observed firsthand.
Over the years, the USDA repeatedly cited the establishment for mistreating
its animals. The citations were issued for feces-covered enclosures,
inadequate space for animals, a lack of trained handlers, contaminated
drinking water, stressful conditions, and poor animal diets.
The sportsmen’s club released Dillan after facing mounting pressure from
tens of thousands of activists, including actor Alec Baldwin, and various
animal welfare organizations. He is receiving long-overdue veterinary care
at the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, Colorado and will resettle at a
spacious refuge during the spring, where he will spend the remainder of his
life in the company of another Asiatic bear.
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