Anti-Bear-Baiting Movement, Petition Revs Up on Causes.com

Posted Aug 10, 2012 by


A bear fights off hunting dogs during a bear-baiting event in South Carolina

Causes leader Ian McIntyre remembers feeling disgust the first time he heard about bear-baiting, an exercise used to train hunting dogs to keep bears at bay. Feeling a tremendous urge to do something, Ian created a petition on Causes.com to end bear-baiting in South Carolina — a state where public bear-baiting events are organized by organizations like the United Kennel Club. Ian’s petition has built a lot of momentum: 57,000 people (as of this posting) have signed  his petition. We spoke to him this week about the progress of his campaign and what the next steps will be.


Cause leader Ian McIntyre create a petition to end bear-baiting in South Carolina

Ian disclosed some distressing facts to us about the type of bear-baiting he’s fighting: it includes the declawing and defanging of a bear, tying it up to a stake in the ground, and allowing hunting dogs to bite at it. Apparently, this awful exercise teaches the hunting dogs to keep bears corralled and at bay. Ian, who resides in Oslo, Norway and is from South Africa, told us he was surprised that a state in the U.S. would openly allow something like this to take place. “It was quite a shock to me because I’d heard about it, but I didn’t think it was taking place [in South Carolina].” The Humane Society has been monitoring bear-baiting for many years and distributed a call to action in 2010 against South Carolina after undercover video was shot at a public bear-baiting event (seen here).

Ian has built a large coalition of members through his cause and told me he believes that anyone with some knowledge, passion, and a good work ethic can make a difference. “I’m just an average person working a 9-5 job and I just think animals that are defenseless and prone to this need someone to stand up for them.”

Currently, Ian’s petition asks for Nikki Haley, South Carolina Governor and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources to pass legislation introduced in 2010 that would make bear baiting illegal. He hopes to contact local newspapers in South Carolina, the governor’s office, and additional animal rights organizations to help raise more awareness. If you want to help, feel free to leave a note in the comments section below or on the petition page.

Can he hit 100,000 signatures? We’ll keep you posted.

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  • Ljbean3

    Oh my Lord….I cannot even believe the things that are allowed to go on HERE…in the United States, of ALL PLACES. South Carolina! YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES & anyone else on this planet who is heartless enough and SICK ENOUGH to mame and torture ANY animal for your demented “entertainment…There is NO EXCUSE and YOU KNOW IT. There are MANY MANY ways to train hunting dogs and YOU KNOW THAT TOO. STOP BEING LAZY AND JUST DO IT RIGHT! Anybody who can do this to animals and not be bothered what so ever is just as sick in the head as a serial killer. I wonder how you would feel if YOU WERE THE ONE being baited and trapped, after being STRIPPED OF YOUR DEFENSES, then attacked repeatedly and unmercifully by dogs as people stood around and watched and cheered as you were being torn apart….I wonder If you would still think that this is an acceptable thing to do. I say we give it a try….so NOW ARE YOU “GAME”?!

  • Chaska

    I hope this stops. Is not fair for an animal to go through this. Let’s put a stop to this today!

  • DAN

    i cannot believe this is allowed we have to put a stop to this .

    • julie

      Yeah Dan… but how???

  • Jim Stalknecht

    gimme the organizers for a few hours….. They will not do it again……

  • jacqueline blom

    Hoe ziek moet het nog worden??????How sick can you be????????????

  • JusticeEagle

    Its time to pray so I dont do justice for this bears snd tide down this morons criminals to my truck and drag them to mexico and give them to the Zcaballeros templarios in michoacan. Pray for me please!! Oh ill will track this monsters of nature and hurt real bad this assholes cause they deserve 100 times what they are doing … Kill this Bastards with their dogs too! Thats bad training for this dogs too! Amen!!! And Amenn!!!

    • julie

      I HEAR WHERE U ARE COMING FROM… but we need u on the outside….to help this cause. X.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000845622926 Lynn Morgan

    Disgusting.  Appalling.  What is needs to be said?

  • Pas2823

    This is cruel & inhumane to do to the bear as well as the dogs.  I’m sure there must be another way to train the dogs to hunt, as it is a basic instinct for them.

  • Dustin

    This is just sick and wrong. Karmas a bitch tho, they’ll get what they’ve got coming to them

  • Mccleeryrhonda

    THIS HAS MADE ME SICK, I’AM GOING TO BOYCOT SOUTH CAROLINA TRAVEL OR TOURIST TILL THIS IS STOPPED EVERYONE SHOULD DO THE SAME….

  • Pam Coulson

    there just sick bastards who can do this to bears not the dogs fault,its the bastards who own them.how on earth can these bears defend themselves????????????????????????????/

    • julie

      that’s right pam… they cant. these people will suffer big time, bad things are going to start to happen to them and there families

  • Ragbir Chawla

    competition should be between equals.

  • doug brewer

    i dont like this either but i dont like that fact that a person from another country is involved with this i think they should mind there own business

    • http://www.facebook.com/anne.r.collum Anne Ready Collum

      Are people in this country not minding the world’s business? Do we not tell the world what to do because we seem to think we are so superior? Where the hell do you get off saying something like that? Does the word PINHEAD ring true?

    • dalal

      I believe that fighting for justice, mercy or any other value has nothing to do with whether the person belong to the same country or not.. In fact, I think this guy is great for giving his time and effort for such a nobel cause !!

    • julie

      what the fuck?

  • dave a

    Baiting bears (feeding bears ) is not what is going on get your facts right

    • julie

      what?

  • Kiran

    Such a cruel practise .This should be stopped .

    • julie

      these people should be publicly hung

  • brendalawson

    i thought the united states was all about protecting animals. to read about this is such a tradgedy.if we dont protect them, who will. this breaks my heart.

  • Eugenie Kapp

    t doesn’t matter what the reason is. There is no reason good enough to keep practicing this. It is absolutely outrageous that something as sick and barbaric as this is still legal! The people that are demented enough to support this practice should be locked up and not allowed to walk around among us. Somebody who is capable of something as horrific and cruel as this is capable of anything and poses a risk to everyone! There are many terrible things happening and many stories of horrific cruelty but this is probably the worst! I wish that the people that organize the bear-baiting events could all be chained up and experience what the bears experience!

    • julie

      i could’nt agree with u more Eugenie. good on u.

  • Chants

    I know this happens in Pakistan and that’s wrong but the USA, shocking!!

    • julie

      Believe it or not … it happens all over the world… i was shocked to hear of dog fighting happening in our town … people’s dogs getting stollen from there back yards, they are now having to put padlocks on there gates, so these arseholes don’t steal there dogs.
      and i am from Karratha Western Australia.

  • c Mierta

    how inhumane, must be stopped

  • http://www.facebook.com/janet.newell.92 Janet Newell

    In Spain the Corrida is being eliminated, at least there the bulls are allowed to fight back.

    • julie

      Allowed to fight… they are forced to fight!!!

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1163655295 Iris O’Keeffe

    This got to stop its a disgrace and so cruel to abuse animals.. how could they do and watch this.. its so inhuman… people like them dont belong on this earth..

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  • julie

    these people are truely sick… i hope they rot in hell!

  • julie

    i have just put a hex on these people… BAD things are going to start hapening to them… they won’t like it.

  • Betty

    Shame on these people who torture animals.Put them in a cage with whatever they are afraid of…..

  • leonine

    this kennel club should be totally banned and black listed,bear baiting is so disturbing and cruel but typical of America, and the SOUTH is never portrayed as a nice place always killing some defensless creature to make them,HUMANS,look big and manly,you are not manly or womanly by going out to see scenes like this or to partake in any animal cruelty,I have seen pictures where a panther is dragged from under a truck to be shot so an American MAN can look good,In England a kangaroo is swung around by its tail and forced grog and drugs for entertainment another is forced to fight while being harnessed,less see what damage it could do while free,a roo can’t go backwards,so much for our countries national emblem,the Gov never helped,The bulls in Spain have no choice but to try to fight for their lives and most of that is one sided in favour of the HUMANS,I always jump for joy when a Human is taken or killed by any animal forced to defend it’s self,Think about all the other countries who have grouse treatment so they,HUMANS,have stimulations and exotic food,dogs,monkeys,gorillas,elephants,big cats,China skin cats alive to put fur on clothing and then hide it as fax fur or other,cats can live up to 5mins after being skinned so America is apparently no different than any other country for animal cruelty and we do have some in Aust and a lot of this is from people coming in from other countries.There is a difference between killing humanly for food and for the sake of saying”look what I did for the fun of it”.It’s time all the Governments stepped up to the mark and serverly punished people like these and not just a slap on the wrist with community fines,FINE and DISBAND THIS KENNEL CLUB and every person in it and to those who watched and applauded,the same.

  • thomas

    i haven’t seen this petition to sign – any links?

  • http://www.facebook.com/holly.martinell.9 Holly Martinell

    Hi I have created a FB page regarding Boycott South Carolina until they outlaw Bear Baiting. I would love for your followers to like the page. Thanks, Holly

  • Ann from WALES uk

    I thought we had only to fight this disgusting and horrifying sport in underdeveloped countries like the back streets of India. Surely this can be stopped if enough peopl complain and make sure that it is not driven underground. Do you have an animal loving Senator, or atleast a humane one?

  • Kathy Abbott

    What is the name of the kennel club that sponsors this horror? I would love to know. We need to do something about them.

  • RugerNiner

    Tend to business in your own country!

  • RugerNiner

    They hunt deer with dogs in Norway.

    Hunting with unleashed baying hounds with a maximum shoulder height of 41 cm is allowed for roe deer from 25.9. and for red deer.

  • celticqueen7

    Please petition the govenour of South Carolina to end this sick, evil cruelty to animals. Only he/she can put a stop to it. Please do it and don’t just talk about it, because this terribl suffering will just go on if we don’t all do something! Look at sites on Dr. Fakhir’s work to end bear-baiting in Pakistan – he never stops the good fight!

  • bearhunter58

    bear baying is not as bad as it seams if the dog gets too agressive the man wont let u bring your dog back. the average bear gets treated better than they average dog. they get treated just like a normal pet. they vet comes all the time to check on the bear. give it everything it needs they eat a 50 pound bag of dog food every 2 days. so there for south carolina bear baying should continue

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