Buddy, a 500-pound American black bear, has lived with his owners Dan and Joshua Herbert of Madison Twp. since he was six weeks old.
The Herberts purchased Buddy from a Virginia petting zoo and the friendly bear has been a member of the Herbert family ever since.
“He’s clearly not dangerous, and he’s clearly not wild,” Joshua, 25, said, as Buddy took one of his favorite treats — a piece of peppermint candy — from his hand. “He doesn’t have his teeth or claws, and he’s never been in the wild. He’s a ninth generation captive bear, who’s domesticated like a dog would be.”
The bear drew international attention in 2005 when the Middletown Journal wrote a story about Joshua wresting with the bear to prepare for high school wrestling matches. Media outlets, including one in Japan, interviewed the Herberts.
Even though the 15-year-old bear is very friendly, and sleeps with a pygmy goat named Bonnie, the Herberts keep him in an enclosed 1/4-acre area surrounded by an 8-foot electric fence. Should there be a power outage, a back-up generator would keep the fence electrified for a week.
“Buddy probably wouldn’t run away. He likes his piles of apples and doughnuts,” Dan Herbert said with a laugh. “But I’d be more worried about what someone would do if they saw him lumbering toward them. Our neighbors all know about Buddy.”
But under Balderson’s legislation, Buddy and more than 30 other animals in the bill, would be considered a dangerous wild animal. His owners would be required to meet strict and expensive guidelines in order to be able to continue ownership of their animals.
The legislation is an attempt to prevent incidents like the one that occurred Oct. 18, 2011 when Zanesville owner Terry W. Thompson released 54 wild animals from their pens before killing himself. Of those animals, which included bears, lions, tigers, leopards and wolves, law-enforcement officers had to kill 45 of them.
Herbert said he’s willing to comply with the legislation, if he can.
“It won’t be cheap,” says Dan Herbert, 55, who picked up Buddy from the Virginia owner when the two met up in Delphos, Ohio. “Liability insurance for an exotic animal would run us a policy of at least $250,000. Another requirement would be to have a microchip placed on Buddy, and I know he won’t even know that happened to him. That won’t be a problem.”
In a statement, Balderson said the bill may not affect Buddy or his owners at all.
“Senate Bill 310 is not intended to harm any legitimate, law-abiding animal caretakers, but is instead aimed at creating a standard of ownership for all animal caretakers to abide by. We are not familiar with the Herberts’ facilities, but our bill creates a pathway by which they can continue to own their bear should they desire to do so. The standards are not entirely easy, but we believe they are sufficient and necessary to keep the public safe considering the size and capabilities of these animals,” the statement said. “Under Senate Bill 310, the Herberts will not be prohibited from owning their bear, but will have to register him, prove that he is properly cared for, and show that the public is safe.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story. Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2851 or jbombatch@coxohio.com.
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