It was a disturbing sight for some visitors to a sportsmen’s club in Pennsylvania – an obese black bear in a cage nervously rocking back and fourth.
Dillan was kept in his damp concrete cage at the Union County Sportsmen’s Club for “generations” while being forced to listen to constant gunfire from a shooting range just 200 yards away, Penn Live reports.
The Asiatic black bear captured the attention of animal lovers around the nation when video was posted of the distressed bear online.
A Change.org petition was even set up by The Wild Animal Sanctuary calling for the release of the bear alongside the video.
“The video above shows Dillon sitting in his cage stereotypically rocking back and forth, as he listens to repetitive loud gunshots,” read the petition, which was signed by over 56,000 people.
“Dillan is morbidly obese weighing nearly twice the weight of a normal Asiatic Black Bear, and has a mouth full of rotting teeth. He also has an open sore on his side that he constantly scratches,” according to the petition.
Housed in a sanctuary where he can swim
Thankfully he’s been rescued by PETA — People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals — who has moved him to a site for treatment and then he will be housed at a sanctuary in Colorado where he will be able to walk on soft ground, climb obstacles and swim.
Debbie Metzler, PETA’s associate director of captive animal law enforcement said they were working to free the remaining animals at the club.
Debbie said the constant sounds of gunfire could have stopped him hibernating which may have contributed to his obesity.
‘Worst we’ve ever seen’
“This is absolutely one of the worst that we’ve ever seen,” Debbie said of Dillan’s medical issues, as reported by Penn Live.
As well as the petition PETA also encouraged the public to put pressure on the club to release him enlisting the help of Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin who sent a letter to the governor of Pennsylvania.
It took nine months to secure Dillan’s release.
I’m so glad Dillan is finally free of his cruel conditions. The sooner us humans realize that animals do not belong to us to do with what we want, the better.
Please share to pay tribute to all those animal heroes involved in Dillan’s release.
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