[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 118 (Friday, July 31, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2092-E2093]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            BOB BARKER'S LIFELONG PASSION TO PROTECT ANIMALS

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                          HON. C.W. BILL YOUNG

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 30, 2009

  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Madam Speaker, Bob Barker is a household name 
who is known nationally and internationally as the beloved host of the 
Price is Right. While he has retired from his career in television, he 
has redoubled his lifelong efforts to protect animals around the world.
  I first met Bob Barker a number of years ago when he was here in the 
Capitol in support of legislation to stop the inhumane treatment of 
animals. We quickly became good friends and my wife Beverly and I have 
come to respect not only his commitment to animals but also his 
unwavering support for our men and women who serve in uniform.
  Bob Barker is a great American with a very unique background. He grew 
up on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota and was a Navy 
fighter pilot at the end of World War II.
  Yesterday Beverly joined Bob Barker for a press conference about 
another case of the mistreatment of animals that was brought to his 
attention and which he has in turn called to the attention of our 
nation. Following my remarks, I would like to include for the benefit 
of my colleagues an Associated Press report about that event. While I 
wish I could have been there with Bob to show my support for his work 
and lifelong passion, I had to be here in the House as we debated the 
rule and began consideration of the Defense Appropriations Bill.
  However, Madam Speaker, I wanted to commend Bob Barker for once again 
crisscrossing our nation in his continuing commitment to protect 
innocent animals that cannot protect themselves.

  Bob Barker Asks Cherokees to End North Carolina Bear Pit Attractions

                (From The Canadian Press, July 29, 2007)

       Asheville, N.C.--Former game show host and longtime animal 
     rights activist Bob Barker has made a personal appeal to the 
     Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina to stop 
     exhibiting bears in pit-like enclosures at three local zoos.

[[Page E2093]]

       The Asheville Citizen-Times reported that Barker met 
     Tuesday with Principal Chief Michell Hicks and five members 
     of the Tribal Council. He called the bears' conditions 
     inhumane and asked that they be turned over to a sanctuary in 
     California.
       ``To think that with as advanced as our civilization is now 
     that there is any place in the United States were bears are 
     kept in pits is just unbelievable,'' said Barker, who is part 
     American Indian and grew up on the Rosebud Indian Reservation 
     in South Dakota. ``Just picture yourself, if your life, 24 
     hours a day, seven days a week, month after month, was in a 
     pit.''
       The bears are displayed in walled enclosures set into the 
     ground at three local attractions that bill themselves as 
     zoos and theme parks.
       Barker will discuss the meeting at a news conference 
     Wednesday morning in Asheville.
       Hicks told the Asheville Citizen-Times that the tribe 
     follows federal regulations in caring for the bears.
       Collette Coggins, who owns one of the attractions, the 
     Cherokee Bear Zoo, with her husband, Barry, said the bears 
     don't stay in the pits all day, every day. ``We love our 
     animals,'' she said. ``They are like our pets.''

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