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What You Need to Know Before You Try Wrestling Bears in Alabama #18089123 02/02/23
Joined: Dec 2002 Posts: 9,193 North Alabama Beoceorl OP Campfire Outfitter
OP Beoceorl Campfire Outfitter Joined: Dec 2002 Posts: 9,193 North Alabama	Just in case wrestling a bear in Alabama is on your bucket list. Quote Is it illegal to wrestle a bear in Alabama? by: Zach Hester Posted: Feb 1, 2023 / 04:32 PM CST Updated: Feb 1, 2023 / 05:17 PM CST ALABAMA (WHNT) — The history of bear fighting laws in Alabama is a little more complicated than one might initially think. The practice of humans wrestling bears was rather common in the 1980s and allegedly provided Paul “Bear” Bryant with his nickname. While animal rights activists call the practice cruel, it wasn’t until 1996 that a law on the books forbade it. Protests of the practice date back to 1989, according to the Times Daily. That reporting says protestors outnumbered patrons at a Mobile bar who were hoping to see a bear-wrestling contest. Specifically, they were hoping to see “Terrible Ted.” “Ted” was a 6’3 bear that stayed locked in a cage at the bar until a challenger approached to wrestle him. His neck was kept in a chain, he was declawed, had no teeth, and his arm muscles were cut to stop him from gripping anything. The bear was also known to frequent The Ponderosa Club in New Hope as recently as 1996 — the same year that the practice was outlawed by the Alabama legislature. According to a 2006 section of the Alabama Code, the law forbade exploiting bears and laid out penalties to punish those who continued the practice. The 2006 code stated: Quote A person commits the offense of unlawful bear exploitation if he or she knowingly does any one of the following: – Promotes, engages in, or is employed at a bear wrestling match – Receives money for the admission of another person to a place kept for bear wrestling – Sells, purchases, possesses, or trains a bear for bear wrestling 2006 ALABAMA CODE – SECTION 13A-12-5 The law also outlawed surgically altering a bear for the purposes of wrestling, and any bears that were seized as a result of breaking that law would be taken to a humane shelter. That law was on the books for almost 20 years — until it fell in 2015 as part of the legislature’s attempt to do away with laws that were “obsolete or no longer serve a purpose.” However, the law being repealed doesn’t mean it’s legal to wrestle bears again. Alabama’s current animal cruelty laws could cover bear wrestling as they include provisions for “cruel mistreatment” and “cruel neglect” of animals in your custody. The law doesn’t specifically lay out a path for bear wrestling’s legality in the future. So… is bear wrestling illegal in Alabama? Technically, it is not; however, you may find yourself in legal hot water or in the jaws of a hungry bear if you try it. WHNT 19 News ===================== Boots were made for walking Winds were blowing change Boys fall in the jungle As I Came of Age

Re: What You Need to Know Before You Try Wrestling Bears in Alabama Beoceorl #18089140 02/02/23
Joined: Jul 2007 Posts: 225 Charlotte T Tarheel101 Campfire Member
Tarheel101 Campfire Member T Joined: Jul 2007 Posts: 225 Charlotte	Well, I sure am glad you warned me of that!!! No people will tamely surrender their Liberties when knowledge is diffusd and virtue is preservd. On the contrary, when people are ignorant, and debauchd in their manners they will sink under their own weight without the Aid of Invaders. Samuel Adams

Re: What You Need to Know Before You Try Wrestling Bears in Alabama Beoceorl #18089154 02/02/23
Joined: Dec 2002 Posts: 9,193 North Alabama Beoceorl OP Campfire Outfitter
OP Beoceorl Campfire Outfitter Joined: Dec 2002 Posts: 9,193 North Alabama	I'm just glad the news stations are covering the important stuff. ===================== Boots were made for walking Winds were blowing change Boys fall in the jungle As I Came of Age

Re: What You Need to Know Before You Try Wrestling Bears in Alabama Beoceorl #18089200 02/02/23
Joined: Jul 2010 Posts: 1,950 D Dixie_Dude Campfire Regular
Dixie_Dude Campfire Regular D Joined: Jul 2010 Posts: 1,950	This news article was wrong. Bear Bryant never wrestled a bear in the 1980's. It was more like the 1930's when he was playing football in college. That is how he got his name. I was young enough to remember him being hired in 1959 by Alabama and by 1961 had won a national championship at Alabama. He was called Bear Bryant then, way before the 1980's. I have seen more articles written by millennials that are flat out wrong on their dates and times. They didn't do their research. I saw one article that said they didn't know why boomers developed canned food and bought canned food instead of fresh or frozen. Canning dates back before Napoleon who used canned food to feed his armies. Modern metal canned food was developed in the mid 1800's. Another said they didn't know why they developed frozen concentrated orange juice. It was because freeing excess juice during harvest in Florida allowed people to have orange juice year round. Now we import a lot of stuff for fresh food. We once never imported any food so canning and freezing were developed.

Re: What You Need to Know Before You Try Wrestling Bears in Alabama Beoceorl #18089229 02/02/23
Joined: Sep 2011 Posts: 60,996 Likes: 18 Iowa/NW Ontario W wabigoon Campfire Kahuna
wabigoon Campfire Kahuna W Joined: Sep 2011 Posts: 60,996 Likes: 18 Iowa/NW Ontario	One bear claw. These premises insured by a Sheltie in Training ,--- and Cooey.o "May the Good Lord take a likin' to you"

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Re: What You Need to Know Before You Try Wrestling Bears in Alabama Beoceorl #18089373 02/02/23
Joined: Apr 2010 Posts: 2,370 Likes: 1 Middle Tennessee R RickinTN Campfire Regular
RickinTN Campfire Regular R Joined: Apr 2010 Posts: 2,370 Likes: 1 Middle Tennessee	Sometime in the late 80's a friend and I were hunting in a small town named Demopolis. We went out on our last night and had at least a few drinks. At about 2am we stopped in a local market and a couple young ladies in the parking lot told us of bear wrestling in an after hours club "under the bridge". We strongly considered giving it a try but then thought better of it. I was a much younger man then. I would pick a fight with a 300 pound bull calf then and expect to win. Take care all! Rick

Re: What You Need to Know Before You Try Wrestling Bears in Alabama Beoceorl #18089415 02/02/23
Joined: Nov 2007 Posts: 47,205 Likes: 5 south texas-Corpus Christi stxhunter Campfire 'Bwana
stxhunter Campfire 'Bwana Joined: Nov 2007 Posts: 47,205 Likes: 5 south texas-Corpus Christi	have a pic somewhere of a buddy wrestling one, Ray had it in a bear hug, the bear looks terrified in the pic. God bless Texas----------------------- Old 300 I will remain what i am until the day I die- A HUNTER......Sitting Bull Its not how you pick the booger.. but where you put it !! Roger V Hunter

Re: What You Need to Know Before You Try Wrestling Bears in Alabama Beoceorl #18089514 02/02/23
Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 10,981 Winchester, WY USA M memtb Campfire Outfitter
memtb Campfire Outfitter M Joined: Jan 2001 Posts: 10,981 Winchester, WY USA	Well, I’m glad that I got mine over with in the late ‘80’s…….in Wyoming! For those of you that missed it on ESPN…..I got my a$$ kicked, well actually “crushed”! As a reference…. I was 6’ tall at 180 lbs. memtb Last edited by memtb; 02/02/23. You should not use a rifle that will kill an animal when everything goes right; you should use one that will do the job when everything goes wrong." -Bob Hagel “I’d like to be a good rifleman…..but, I prefer to be a good hunter”! memtb 2024

Re: What You Need to Know Before You Try Wrestling Bears in Alabama Beoceorl #18089614 02/02/23
Joined: Feb 2007 Posts: 7,949 Likes: 5 Georgia J JMR40 Campfire Outfitter
JMR40 Campfire Outfitter J Joined: Feb 2007 Posts: 7,949 Likes: 5 Georgia	I had a high school coach who was quite proficient at wrestling bears and other animals when he was in college in Mississippi. This was in the late 1960's. They were declawed and muzzled. But nothing else. He never talked about it, but the rumors were there. Even when asked he said very little. A friend of mines dad was the same age and went to school with him and verified the stories and a lot more. This guy was a true bad azz. After retiring from teaching, he worked as a bounty hunter into his 70's then worked as a security guard at a local factory until his death in his early 80's. Most people don't really want the truth. They just want constant reassurance that what they believe is the truth.

Re: What You Need to Know Before You Try Wrestling Bears in Alabama wabigoon #18089634 02/02/23
Joined: Jan 2012 Posts: 67,217 Likes: 41 TN slumlord Campfire Kahuna
slumlord Campfire Kahuna Joined: Jan 2012 Posts: 67,217 Likes: 41 TN	Originally Posted by wabigoon One bear claw. Whose long brown hair is that? You got a lady in the cistern?

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Re: What You Need to Know Before You Try Wrestling Bears in Alabama Beoceorl #18089678 02/02/23
Joined: Jun 2004 Posts: 44,872 Likes: 5 M mathman Campfire 'Bwana
mathman Campfire 'Bwana M Joined: Jun 2004 Posts: 44,872 Likes: 5	Bear wrestling at the bar can have a whole different meaning. Just ask Dr. Steve Brule.

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