After the latest in a long, sad parade of attacks on humans by frustrated captive animals, PETA is submitting a complaint to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) asking for an investigation and, if appropriate, citations. Benjamin Cloutier, 24, died after being mauled by two captive-bred grizzly bears in their enclosure at Animals of Montana, owned by Troy Hyde, which provides wild animals for photo shoots and film and television productions. 

Humans, Wildlife, Cages, and Neglect: A Formula for Disaster

Direct contact between humans and wild animals kept in captivity is a known safety risk, as reflected in the string of prominent incidents involving captive animals, including bears, chimpanzees, elephants, and orcas, in recent years. Just two years ago, another 24-year-old man died after being attacked by a bear owned by Sam Mazzola. 

Hyde previously had his Animal Welfare Act exhibitor's license suspended for two years after illegally trafficking in endangered tigers in violation of the Endangered Species Act, and now he appears to have violated the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which requires that Hyde furnish employees, like Cloutier, with a work environment free from recognized hazards. Cloutier's death could have been prevented if Hyde had employed the industry-standard "protected contact" system, which uses barriers and temporary holding cages to prevent direct physical encounters between bears and caretakers, effectively eliminating the likelihood of employee injury or death. Instead, with no such system in place, Cloutier endured violent trauma and died from massive blood loss.

What You Can Do

Like humans, other animals are autonomous beings with their own needs and desires, not props for our amusement. Never buy a ticket to films that feature captive wild animals. And if you have witnessed cruelty or neglect behind the scenes at a film or television production, an ad shoot, a live-animal attraction, or a training facility, please let PETA know. 

You know those silly looking hats that the British Royal Guards wear? Did you know that they're still made out of real bear skin—and that it can take up to one whole bear to make just one cap? And that the bears' deaths are usually anything but quick, clean, and humane? Bears are ensnared, sometimes for days, in painful traps. Sometimes they actually get away … but die much later from blood loss or starvation. And in some Canadian provinces, there's nothing to stop the shooting of nursing mothers with cubs

So, since grizzly-bear hunting season is set to open next week in British Columbia—and a record 430 grizzlies were killed last year, mostly by trophy hunters (like the "gentlemen" pictured)—we recognize our responsibility to offer you an alternative perspective of this "blood sport." I mean, hey, we're PETA, isn't it our job to lay it on the masses and get them off their asses to fight against these fascist practices? (Bragging rights to anyone who knows what that paraphrases.)

You can check out campaign news here. PETA and its affiliates have spanned the globe—from naked protesters in Europe to a feisty activist dressed in bear suit that successfully stalked a Royal couple across the Caribbean. As always, there are sassy celebrity endorsements to encourage you to get involved too. Please do your part to save a bear and sign PETA Europe's petition to U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown in support of bears.

Written by Missy Lane