SHARK continues attack on Baylor's treatment of mascots

September 6, 2002

By BRIAN GAAR
Tribune-Herald staff writer

The war of words between Baylor University and a Chicago-area animal rights group over the treatment of the school's mascots continued Thursday.

On one side is the university, which bristles at accusations that its two North American Black bears are mistreated.

On the other is a small, determined group, called Showing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK). Founder Steve Hindi says he doesn't care how long it takes, he'll get the bears' habitat changed.

The group held a press conference Thursday in the Waco-McLennan County Central Library, where they broadcast videotaped footage of bears pacing about cages in the on-campus "pit."

Hindi and his supporters say the bears have been driven into a state of psychosis because they're living in a concrete environment.

"What you see on the right screen is all that this controversy is about," said Hindi, pointing to a television. "It isn't about anything else. It's about animal cruelty, animal abuse and trying to make it better for those animals."

School officials hotly deny that charge and accuse the group of using militant tactics and distorting the truth about Baylor's care of the animals.

School spokesman Larry Brumley said officials have no plans to meet with the group.

"Their tactics and their modes of operation are such that we just don't deal with people like that," Brumley said.

The group has set up a site, www.baylorbearabuse.com, which decries the school's treatment of the two bears, which are about 7 and 19 months old.

One claim on the Web site is that trainers feed the bears Dr Pepper and Oreo cookies. Brumley said that practice ended in 1996 and the bears are on a strict diet. Hindi said tour guides still tell visitors that the bears drink soda.

Brumley also said the on-campus bear exhibit is cleaned regularly, despite the group's claim that the bears live in filthy conditions.

Hindi's group has protested hunting, rodeos, circuses, zoos and marine parks in the past as being unnecessarily cruel.

Some of their successes, according to Hindi, is forcing Pepsi to pull its sponsorship of bullrings in Mexico. Hindi also gained notoriety for eliminating live pigeon shoots in Illinois.

Baylor officials deny that the animals are suffering and say they're in compliance with the law, citing a clean bill of health from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Ernest Johnson, the USDA inspector who is responsible for Baylor's program, couldn't be reached for comment Thursday, nor could the Texas A&M University veterinarians who check on the bears' condition.

But USDA officials have told the Tribune-Herald in the past that Baylor passed a routine, unannounced inspection of its bear facility in April.

"Does that mean we can't do better? No, we can do better and we're looking at ways to do that," Brumley said.

But that's not because of SHARK, he added.

"They should not delude themselves into thinking that they're going to force Baylor's hand on this," he said.

Protesters want the bears to have a more natural environment with dirt, grass and trees instead of concrete.

"The goal of all animal facilities that hold animals in captivity should be to exceed (USDA) standards," said Cindy Carroccio, director of the Austin Zoo.

Carroccio was given a former Baylor mascot to care for about six years ago. She said the bear was overweight and had bad dental care.

"They had promised me a healthy bear and he wasn't," she said. "(Trainers) also kicked the bear and abused the bear. When they first dropped him off at our facility, he had never had free range capabilities in his entire life until he got to our facility."

Student trainer Adam Ylitalo couldn't be reached for comment Thursday.

The flap started when 17-year-old Utah resident Jeremy Beckham visited campus in July for a debate tournament. Upset at what he believed to be mistreatment of the bears, Beckham filmed hours of footage of the animals. He met with school officials to discuss concerns and later contacted Hindi's group. Beckham said although he met with school officials, he was "naive" and only a few days into learning about bears. He and group members have called for another meeting.

Brumley said there have been plans for two years to expand the bear facility and include natural features, like grass and trees.

But SHARK is doing everything it can to portray Baylor in the worst possible light, he said.

"They are not shining the light on anything," Brumley said. "If anything, they're making things more difficult."

Hindi said he plans to return to Waco later this month and broadcast bear footage from a truck equipped with huge video screens. He also alluded to plans to follow Baylor sports teams around the country to continue the protest.

Brian Gaar can be reached at 757-5741 or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..