March 2009

Big Cat Rescue, a non profit educational sanctuary located in Tampa, Florida, is devoted to rescuing and caring for exotic cats who have been abused, abandoned, bred to be pets, retired from performing acts, or saved from being slaughtered for fur coats. They also work to educate the public about these animals and the issues facing them in captivity and in the wild. 

The sanctuary began in 1992 when the Founder, Carole Baskin, and her former husband Don, mistakenly believed that bobcats made good pets and went looking to buy some kittens.  They inadvertently ended up at a “fur farm” and bought all 56 kittens to keep them from being turned into fur coats. 

In the early years, influenced by breeders and pet owners, they believed that the cats made suitable pets and that breeding and placing the cats in homes was a way to “preserve the species.”  Gradually they saw increasing evidence that not only was this not the case, but that it was leading to a consistent pattern of suffering and abuse. 

Today the sanctuary is home to the most diverse population of exotic cats in the world, with 16 species and subspecies of wild cat represented among more than 100 residents.  These include tigers, lions, liger, leopards, cougars, bobcats, lynx, ocelots, servals, caracals and others, many of whom are threatened, endangered, or now extinct in the wild.

Carole Baskin and the team at Big Cat Rescue are dedicated to reducing the number of cats that suffer the fate of abuse, abandonment or extinction by teaching people about the plight of the cats, both in the wild and in captivity, and how they can help through their behavior and support of better laws to protect these species.   

Read about the sanctuary’s most recent rescues…

Rescue of Cougar:  Read about Sophia the cougar and her rescue, along with photos and a slide show HERE

Big Cat Bailout:  Read about the recent rescue of a liger and two tigers HERE

©Photo credited to Big Cat Rescue