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PETA Blamed in Death of Man's Bear

Matt Van Hoven

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BY PET:

October 17, 2007

ILLINOIS – A Teutopolis, Illinois man blames People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in the shooting death of his bear.

For the last eight years, Val Wente has kept a slurry of exotic animals on the property of his southern Illinois home.

But when he returned from a short trip late last month, Wente found his three year-old black bear, Boo-boo, dead in its cage.

The bear had been shot at close range with a rifle.

Wente suspects the culprit found his address through PETA's website – which posted it a few days earlier.

That's because PETA has been at odds with the animal collector - since he slaughtered a different bear and a tiger, later selling the hides.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Wente has a federal license to own the animals – which he claims to own because it's something different.

PETA says it's Wente's fault the bear died, that the enclosure should have been less visible from the road.

For now Wente's filed charges with the Effingham County Sheriff, but doesn't plan to take legal action against PETA.

Did PETA have recourse for posting Wennte's address? Should Wente be allowed to own animals – since they're at risk of dying both at his hands and others?

Tell us what you think by posting comments below this story. You can submit video on the zootooTV tab. Contact us with your pet stories by email at news@zootoo.com or call us at 877-777-4204.



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bear, peta, death, kill, other pets

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Christy M.
Christy M. (mallingc)
8 months ago
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I agree. A definite mess. PETA uses some pretty hairy ways to get their initiatives done. Looks like they WEREN'T protecting the animal here.
 
Sarah C.
Sarah C. (sunnygirlsjc)
8 months ago
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What a mess. PETA can go over the top, but this is crazy
 
Robyn
Robyn (robyn101)
8 months ago
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I dislike PETA and always will. They might mean well sometimes but don't convey there message in the right way.
 
buckking
buckking
8 months ago
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why did they give his address, not thinking stupid people
 
Jessica T.
Jessica T. (jwaltri)
8 months ago
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This is why I have been on the fence about PETA. I think the organization has good intentions, but their radical actions come across as being unethical and morally corrupt. I agree that wild animals do not make good pets, but you can't terrorize a person because they hold different beliefs or principles.
 
barb a.
barb a. (redneckbarbie)
8 months ago
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many times peta are more trouble than what they are worth
 
deb a.
deb a. (rodeodeb)
9 months ago
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Wild animals are not pet, but peta is
 
Jodi S.
Jodi S. (jodiscaife)
9 months ago
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Wow, surely PETA could have been sued or something for publishing the man's address on their website. I can't think of a single reason that could justify that type of invasion of privacy. Admittedly, they may not be directly responsible for the death of the bear, but they certainly do their best to incense their supporters and whip up a special type of crazy with every issue they address.
 
Jessica T.
Jessica T. (jwaltri)
9 months ago
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Over the years, I have lost all respect for PETA. They have begun to have their own agenda, which doesn't seem to always focus on the animals. PETA sent out a statement a year or two ago that talked about killing off pit bulls and pit mixes, and they were a strong force pushing to put down all of Michael Vick's dogs. PETA is no longer about the ethical treatment of animals...
 
R.T. F.
R.T. F. (rtfitch)
9 months ago
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Though I do not agree that the man should be able to keep exotic animals, especially knowing about the other bear and tiger; but, I also believe it was irresponsible of PETA to post his address on their site. There are too many crazy people in this world.
 
lori
lori (paawsproject)
11 months ago
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I don't think he should be allowed to own animals like this, but I also think that PETA went too far by publishing his address.
 
oldmaidcatwoman
oldmaidcatwoman
11 months ago
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It is quite sad that the bear was shot. But, it sounds like that was going to be the poor bear's fate at the owner's hands anyway (based on what he has done in the past.)
 
5doxiemom
5doxiemom
1 year ago
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I don't understand why people feel the need to have animals like this . What quality of life do they have confined to a cage for the rest of their lives?
 
Natalie
Natalie (Doulton)
1 year ago
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What an awful story. I seriously doubt that anyone from PETA would kill the bear. Why would they? I think that this awful man is just looking to blame them.
 
Carryl D.
Carryl D. (carryld)
1 year ago
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This man has already slaughter a bear and a tiger. What was his purpose for keeping this bear? I feel that PETA did NOT do anything wrong in this case.
 
Janie
Janie (wildlifephotomom)
1 year ago
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Something really stinks about this story-I am totally against keeping wild animals in cages and do not think that people should be allowed to do this at all.
 
Barbara K.
Barbara K. (Ishbish)
1 year ago
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This is a story that needs fleshing out. Does his federal license allow him to kill the animals for their hides? And what reason did PETA give for publicizing his address, and didn't they think of the welfare of the animals once it was publicized?
 
Brigit800
Brigit800
1 year ago
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Why dont they concentrate on who did it instead of blaming each other for the "why"
 
Anonymous
Anonymous
1 year ago
This comment has been removed.
 
Dylyn H.
Dylyn H. (cheerleaderm82)
1 year ago
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PETA shouldnt publish addresses of people. Deal w/it secretely, people can be so cruel when mob mentatlity kicks in. This is terrible.
 
Sue R.
Sue R. (suerob)
1 year ago
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The last statement bothers me. If we shouldn't have certain pets because they are at risk of dying at the hands of others, then no one should have any kind of pet. All pets are at risk of sick people.
 
D. Rene
D. Rene (mooredr3)
1 year ago
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Peta should not publish addresses......
 
loveshorses
loveshorses
1 year ago
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PETA was absolutely wrong for publishing his address. Shame on them!!!!
 
Kristina R.
Kristina R. (babykristina32)
1 year ago
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Peta shouldn't have given the mans address out. That is just asking for trouble.
 
Jill6Johnson
Jill6Johnson
1 year ago
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A bear as a pet......come on!!
 
kkliamovich71
kkliamovich71
1 year ago
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A bear is Not a pet! A bear should not be "grown" for his pelt. Why is PETA posting people's addresses? That seems like a violation of privacy to me.
 
Brad J.
Brad J. (BradJohnston)
1 year ago
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And because he grows the animals for their pelts is no different than us growing the Billions of different animals we have for our food industry. Sure most of us think it's cruel. But at least it's not being put down & going to waste.
 
Brad J.
Brad J. (BradJohnston)
1 year ago
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PETA should not be allowed to post anyones address without a court giving the ok, that is a violation of privacy. If he has a Federal License to own the animals then yes, he should be able to own the animals. It doesn't matter who you are, everyones animals are @ risk of dying by the hands of somebody else. You can't prevent that.
 
aperature77
aperature77
1 year ago
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PETA is a joke!!!!! BUT-the animal was just a skin to the man. A bear belongs out in the wild-NOT in a cage for the rest of its life!
 
greenkitty44
greenkitty44
1 year ago
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I don't believe Peta should have been allowed to give out the mans address, let alone anyone elses address. I don't think they are at fault in the shooting of the bear though....The man should have had the bear in a better, safer enclosure.
 
Marissa N.
Marissa N. (Marissa1992)
1 year ago
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Those PETA people are just horrible. They should be closed down. You just don't go roaming around the neighborhood looking for animals to kill! What's wrong with them?
 
Hannanahmom
Hannanahmom
1 year ago
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The man was going to kill the bear for a pelt anyway, so to him what he lost was a "valuable" pelt, not a living animal companion. He should never have been given a permit in the first place. From what I'm reading in the article, no one from PETA killed the animal, they put the address out there to try to apply public pressure on this man to stop what he was doing. The fact that someone took it upon themselves to kill the bear (and probably he died more humanely than he would have at the hands of his "owner") is not PETA's fault.
 
Doggieluvs
Doggieluvs
1 year ago
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PETA is trying to do good. Leave them alone.
 
Lyn
Lyn (MikeLyn)
1 year ago
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Wild animals belong in the wild UNLESS you are rehabilitating them, caring for those that CAN'T be released into the wild,and this should be done by a rescue organization that is trained to care for wildlife. Private citizens should not be allowed to own wild animals that would be better off in their natural environment. PETA should not list addresses. Having a permit doesn't make it right.
 
melissa7271
melissa7271
1 year ago
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I think they were both wrong. The wild animals he has should not be caged and PETA should not make someones address known unless the person says it is ok. Look who is suffering here.....3 animals in this article that we know of.
 
Linda W.
Linda W. (equs2)
1 year ago
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Bears are not intended to be kept as pets or by private individuals.
 
arnie
arnie (arnied)
1 year ago
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he should have left the bear in the wild
 
Wyoming County S.
Wyoming County S. (wcspca1)
1 year ago
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why didn't they leave the man alone?
 
sunnyranch
sunnyranch
1 year ago
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PETA has should not have done this. They are way too radical. This town is close to mine. Very sad....
 
Mary P.
Mary P. (marysworld)
1 year ago
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Its my personal opinion that wild animals belong in the wild UNLESS you are rehabilitating them, care for something that CAN'T be released back into the wild for somer reason, rescue organization that is TRAINED to handle/treat dumped wildlife. Private citizens should not be allowed to imprison wild animals that would be happier/healthier in their natural habitat. PETA shouldn't be listing addresses & this guy shouldn't be holding these exotics prisoners even though he has a permit. Having a permit doesn't make it right. Sorry.
 
ruthie
ruthie (ruthiegirl66)
1 year ago
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There is a difference between caring for animals and just plain being a nutcase. peta crossed the line more often than not, the only real good they do is by being so radical they bring animal rights issues to the media and raise awareness of problems, but they need to come up with some solutions.
 
Jamie
Jamie (Sadiesmygirl)
1 year ago
Flag this | Good Point | 3 users liked it.
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Everyone involved is guilty in my opinion. Peta should not have listed address on website. Man who owned property should not have had bear in cage, why was he allowed to have in first place?
Person who shot bear is also guilty.
 
lexina
lexina
1 year ago
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peta are to radical
 
haley1013
haley1013
1 year ago
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yeah peta should never have given his address
 
theresa s.
theresa s. (mrsmack)
1 year ago
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why did he have to kill the other animals if he takes good care of the ones he has I dont think they should hassle him the more i hear about peta the less i like them
 
jacquie b.
jacquie b. (jacquieb)
1 year ago
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all i'm going to say is once again i haven't heard any good words about peta
 
Teresa K.
Teresa K. (TeresaKline)
1 year ago
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First of all,if this guy is killing animals for their hides he does not need to have a license to own them.As far as PETA posting his address,I don't think that makes them directly responsible for the bear getting killed.
 
bushadvisor
bushadvisor
1 year ago
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PETA was out of line.
 
Jess L.
Jess L. (Jess369)
1 year ago
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Peta should not have posted his address. How humane is that of them? This ended with a defensless bear being killed. Why would someone shoot a bear in a cage anyways?
 
Sandy
Sandy (schnzermom)
1 year ago
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I don't think PETA should have posted his address on their site; however, he shouldn't be allowed to own exotics at all..esp. since he kills them and sells the hides....what an idiot!
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