From the Asheville Citizen-Times:
CHEROKEE — People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture, claiming the agency has failed to protect bears suffering in roadside zoos like one in Cherokee.
The group maintains the federal agency has failed to respond to a petition submitted more than a year ago requesting that rules be developed “to ensure the humane handling, care and treatment of captive bears.”
The Agriculture Department is required by law to respond to the petition, but “has taken no meaningful action whatsoever,” according to the suit filed last week in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia.
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