When it comes to caring for big cats who have been mistreated or abandoned, Big Cat Rescue, located in Tampa, Florida, is one of the world’s largest recognized sanctuaries. About fifty or more lions, tigers, bobcats, cougars, and other species call them home after being rescued from abuse or neglect, having their lives saved, or being retired from performing acts.
Big Cat Rescue is unique in its efforts to put an end to animal abuse by advocating for legislation and education that would put an end to the private possession and trade in exotic cats. In November 1992, the shelter first started rescuing exotic felines.
The goal of Large Cat Rescue is to ensure the well-being of the cats in their care, to put an end to the mistreatment of big cats in captivity, and to stop their extinction in the wild.
The cats at Big Cat Rescue came from a wide range of backgrounds: those who thought wrongly that they would make good pets and abandoned them, those who were abused by their owners in order to force them to perform, those who had retired from performing acts, those who had been saved from being slaughtered to make fur coats, and kittens rescued from situations where their mothers had been killed by hunters.
Animal abusers are opposed to BCR because it is the most prominent refuge working to end animal abuse by addressing its core cause, the private ownership of exotic cats. These big cat abusers lie or distort the truth to convince the public that they breed, buy, sell, and allow interaction with the public (just like they still do). Lions and tigers were never reared there.
It all started in 1994 with the birth of their first kitten, and by 1997, they had ceased reproducing. There were a few unexpected births from older cats and hybrids that weren’t supposed to be viable, but in 2001, a leopard cat was the last cat born in this area. Both of his parents were well into their teens when they had him, an age at which most people consider them past their reproductive prime. More than 200 exotic cats have been saved by the organization as of 2015. Thirteen of their kids were born in the country.
Since 2003, BCR has not permitted any outside interaction. The sole reason they let the public interact with the cats was to dissuade those who mistook a wild cat for a pet from making the same mistake. They found that the photographs weren’t communicating the same message online, so they ceased the practice. In 2004, they made the decision to cease letting employees pet the cats due to safety concerns and negative connotations. We think it undermines their efforts to limit contact with the public, but sadly many otherwise fine sanctuaries still seek to show off in this way.
Amalie Arena
Tampa Turf and Artificial Grass
