Big Cat Rescue turns a corner, sending big cat residents to Arkansas

Carole & Howard Baskin.  (Beth Clifton collage)

Sanctuary property to be sold,  proceeds to go to wildcat conservation

TAMPA, Florida––If Howard and Carole Baskin had hoped to make headlines with their March 27,  2023 announcement that the Big Cat Rescue large and exotic cats are soon to be relocated to the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge in Eureka Springs,  Arkansas,  they picked the wrong day.

The Baskins were upstaged within 24 hours by the Miami Seaquarium announcement of a scheme to return the orca whale Lolita,  held at the Seaquarium since soon after her 1971 capture at Penn Cove,  Washington,  to her home waters.

But the possible return of Lolita to the Saratoga Passage,  or at least somewhere in Puget Sound,  is fraught with uncertainty.  ANIMALS 24-7 will explore those issues tomorrow.

Carole Baskin & friend.

Relocating big cats to Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge

Meanwhile,  wrote Howard Baskin to Big Cat Rescue supporters,  “Big Cat Rescue has entered into an agreement with the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge,  an accredited sanctuary in Arkansas,  to merge our big cat populations by moving most of Big Cat Rescue’s cats to Turpentine Creek.

“For thirty years,”  recalled Howard Baskin,  “the mission of Big Cat Rescue has been expressed as having three prongs:  to give the best life we could to the cats in our care,  to stop the abuse,  and to avoid extinction of big cats in the wild.

“For those same thirty years,”  continued Howard Baskin,  “we have always said that our goal was to ‘put ourselves out of business,’  meaning that there would be no big cats in need of rescue and no need for the sanctuary to exist.”

Canada lynx.  (Big Cat Rescue photo)

Put cub-petting industry into decline

“The primary source of mistreatment of big cats for decades has been the cub-petting industry,”  Howard Baskin recounted,  describing how tigers,  African lions,  and various other big cats bred for short-term use by cub-petting concessionaires,  often claiming to be sanctuarians,  typically were (and to some extent still are) passed from hand to hand as exotic pets after getting too old to be petted,  many ending up in roadside zoos,  being shot at so-called “canned hunts,”  starving in custody of animal hoarders,  and/or guarding the premises of drug dealers.

“Efforts to address these issues with federal legislation began in the late 1990s,”  Howard Baskin wrote,  “and included the unanimous passage of the Captive Wildlife Safety Act by Congress in 2003.  That law had some impact but had major loopholes.

“In 2011, when we and our partner organizations began working on the Big Cat Public Safety Act,”  Howard Baskin said,  “we counted 56 roadside zoos offering cub petting.  Of those about ten were the major breeders.

“Joe Exotic” & prison visitors.
(Beth Clifton collage)

Tiger Kings & Queens

“Each of the major breeders had fifty or more tigers,  typically living in small cages in ‘breeding pairs.’  It was estimated that collectively they were pumping out over 200 cubs per year for their own use and to sell to the smaller zoos.”

These cubs were the stock in trade for “Tiger Kings” Kevin Antle,  Tim Stark,  Jeff Lowe,  Marcus Cook,  and other exhibitors,  most notoriously Joseph Schreibvogel,  also known as Joseph Passage,  Joseph Maldonado,  and “Joe Exotic,”  now serving life in prison for trying in 2018 to arrange for Carole Baskin to be murdered.

(See  “Joe Exotic” gets 22 years in a cage for murder plot,  “Joe Exotic” tried to kill me: Carole Baskin tells her own story,  and  Carole Baskin & Big Cat Rescue win custody of “Tiger King” Joe Exotic’s tigers.  See also Busted again: the secret life of “Tiger King” Kevin “Doc” Antle on the lam from Iowa,  “Tiger Baby Playtime” promoter Tim Stark meets stark reality in court,   “Tiger Kings” lose stripes in Nevada, Oklahoma, & Texas,  and Tiger exhibitor Marcus Cook: ex-cop has dodged the law for 20 years.)

(Beth Clifton collage)

“Two simple but critical things”

After a 15-year lobbying effort,  led by Howard and Carole Baskin,  “The Big Cat Public Safety Act finally passed and was signed into law on December 20, 2022,”  Howard Baskin continued.

“The Big Cat Public Safety Act does two simple but critical things,”  Howard Baskin explained.

“First,  it ends the cub petting,  putting the final nail in the coffin of this abusive industry. Second,  it phases out private ownership [of big cats] in backyards by people who do not have a USDA Exhibitor’s license.  Facilities that allow the public to visit must have this license.

“The cats currently owned by these unlicensed individuals as of December 20th are ‘grandfathered in,’”  Howard Baskin acknowledged,  “meaning the owners can keep them.

“But these private owners are forbidden by the law from breeding or acquiring more cats. The penalties in the law are severe,  including up to five years in prison for each violation.

Carole & Howard Baskin of Big Cat Rescue.  (Beth Clifton collage)

“Not many nonprofits can say they solved the problem they were formed to address”

“What this means,  importantly,”  Howard Baskin assessed,  “is that over the next decade almost all of this privately held population of cats will pass away.  Within a few years after that,  they will all be gone,  and there will be no more cats living in miserable conditions in backyards.”

(See Joe Biden signs the Big Cat Public Safety Act.)

“With the exception of a few diseases that have been conquered,  like polio,”  Howard Baskin exulted,  “there are not many nonprofits who can say that they solved the problem they were formed to address.  We have come very close.

Shutting down the cub-petting industry,  Howard Baskin reported,  has brought about an almost immediate drop in the numbers of big cats outgrowing their homes,  impounded by law enforcement,  and otherwise urgently needing sanctuary care.

Kimba the tiger.
(Big Cat Rescue photo)

Less need now for sanctuaries

“The result has been a decline in our cat population to 41 cats,”  Howard Baskin said.  “A few decades ago,  we had 200 big cats. As recently as 2011, when we started working on the Big Cat Public Safety Act,  we had 119 big cats.  Of those,  89 were over fifteen years old.

“With the passage of the Big Cat Public Safety Act,”  Howard Baskin projected,  “we expect the need for rescues to decline over the coming decade.  If the need were going to continue at the pace we saw up until a few years ago, we would be making a different decision.”

But Howard and Carole Baskin had also become concerned about their own ability to keep up with the Big Cat Rescue workload,  even with extensive volunteer help.

(See Exotic animal sanctuarians race the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.)

Howard and Carole Baskin at Big Cat Rescue.
(Beth Clifton photo)

Age & money

“With me turning 73 this year and Carole 62,”   Howard Baskin acknowledged,  “it would be time to be thinking about a transition to younger management,  to allow the sanctuary to continue. However,  with other sanctuaries having capacity and the need for rescues expected to decline,  such a transition would not make sense.  It would not be the way to best fulfill our three-pronged mission.”

Money is also an issue.   “Operating a sanctuary involves a significant fixed overhead expense,”  Howard Baskin detailed.  “Even with the skeleton staff we have operated with since COVID forced us to reduce staff by 50%,  the overhead runs over $1.5 million per year.  A large part of that overhead is made up of non-payroll.  These are expenses like grounds maintenance, building maintenance,  electricity for all the buildings and wells and tiger pool pumps,  phones, insurance,  technology updates,  and equipment maintenance,  to name a few.

(Big Cat Rescue photo)

“Win-win solution”

“About the only expense that is ‘variable,’”  Howard Baskin said,   “i.e.,  declines as the number of cats declines,  is food.  Medical expenses do not necessarily decline,  because they increase as the population ages.  Payroll does not decline because most of the cat care is done by our volunteers.

“When we had 100 cats,”  Howard Baskin recalled,  “that $1.5 million in overhead was $15,000 per cat.  At 41 cats, it is over $36,000 per cat.  As the population declines,  it becomes an increasingly inefficient use of donor funds per cat to operate a facility like ours.

“The win-win solution both for our captive cats and the cats in the wild,”  the Baskins decided,  “is for us to merge our cat population with the population at another existing accredited sanctuary and devote the remaining resources of our sanctuary to the ‘in situ’ projects being conducted around the world to avoid extinction.”

Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge founder Tanya Smith.  (Facebook photo)

Why Turpentine Creek?

The Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge originated in 1992 as “temporary” housing for big cats and horses belonging to alleged animal hoarder Catherine Twiss,  who was on the run from prosecution in Texas and dumped 86 animals on acquaintances in Arkansas before moving on.

Twiss was eventually convicted on 73 counts of cruelty.  Some of the Twiss animals also ended up at Big Cat Rescue.

Formally incorporated in 1994,  the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge was for nearly 15 years almost constantly embroiled in controversy,  including legal and financial issues,  but appears to have stabilized since winning a court case in 2010 against other claimants to the land it occupies.

The Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge became the Baskins’ choice for the transfer of the Big Cat Rescue cats,  Howard Baskin summarized,  because the operators,  Tanya and Scott Smith “are closely aligned with us in philosophy and in principles of animal care,  and in recognizing the importance of advocacy to pass better laws.  They were very active in helping pass the Big Cat Public Safety Act,”  and are––like Big Cat Rescue––accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries,  a quasi-subsidiary of the Humane Society of the United States.

Puma.  (Big Cat Rescue photo)

Room to grow

In addition,  Howard Baskin mentioned,  “When Big Cat Rescue was founded 30 years ago, the 67 acres that Big Cat Rescue occupies now were rural.  Today Big Cat Rescue is surrounded by development.

“In contrast,  Turpentine Creek sits on 450 acres in an area where expansion even beyond that is possible.  Because Turpentine Creek already has the fixed infrastructure in place to house its existing 80 big cats,  adding 30 or so more cats once enclosures are built only adds the variable costs of keeper care,  food,  and medical care.  This means donor funds are used much more efficiently.

“Construction on the new enclosures at Turpentine Creek has begun,”  Howard Baskin said and Tanya Smith confirmed to C.C. McCandless of KNWA/KFTA in Eureka Springs,  Arkansas,  “and is expected to take six months.”

(Beth Clifton photo)

Big Cat Rescue to fund building enclosures

“Big Cat Rescue will fund building the enclosures at Turpentine Creek that will house our cats. That is expected to cost $1.8 million,”  Howard Baskin estimated.

“The plan is to build the tiger enclosures first.   We may move our tigers before the small cat enclosures are completely finished,  possibly as soon as July,”  Howard Baskin added.

“Big Cat Rescue staff who stay until their positions no longer exist will receive twelve months of severance and a reference from Big Cat Rescue to assist in finding new positions,”  Howard Baskin pledged.

“Once we have no cats at the sanctuary,  we will sell the sanctuary property and use the proceeds to fund species-saving projects in the wild,”  Howard Baskin finished.

Bobcat.  (Big Cat rescue photo)

“Wildlife on Easy Street”

Big Cat Rescue opened in November 1992 as an intended bobcat breeding compound on 40 acres at the end of Easy Street,  a dirt lane named in 1962 by former neighbor Joan Carson.

The original name of Big Cat Rescue was “Wildlife on Easy Street,”  but Carole Baskin changed it soon after she rededicated the facility as a sanctuary,  upon realizing that the phrase “on Easy Street,”  while catchy,  might give potential donors the mistaken idea that the facility  did not need donations.

Carole Baskin, then Carole Lewis, had already enjoyed some success as a breeder of Himalayan show cats when earlier in 1992 she acquired her first bobcat,  Windsong,  at an auction.

Learning that another 56 bobcats were soon to be killed and skinned at a Minnesota fur farm,  Carole and her second husband, Don Lewis, bought the lot.

African sand cat at Big Cat Rescue.
(Beth Clifton photo)

Turned from breeding to rescue

Initially they intended to breed the bobcats in a misguided attempt to help conserve the species,  but within the year they learned the realities of the large and exotic cat trade,  and turned instead to rescuing.

Windsong, who lived to 19 years old, became the Big Cat Rescue emblematic animal.

By 1996 Don Lewis,  many years Carole’s elder, wanted to relocate to Costa Rica.  Their relationship faltered.

In August 1997 Lewis’ van was found at a local airport,  but Lewis himself was never seen again.  He was declared dead in 2002.

Carole & Howard Baskin on lobbying trip to Washington D.C.
(Big Cat Rescue photo)

Lessons for fellow sanctuarians

Carole Baskin had already built Big Cat Rescue into a nationally noted sanctuary,  with an annual budget of more than $400,000 she raised herself,  and net assets of more than $1 million.

Carole Baskin had also come to rethink her initial operation presumptions and philosophy, as she expressed in a January 2004 essay to fellow sanctuarians and animal advocates entitled “It is not their fault for not listening.”

Opened the essay, “If the public is not getting our message, it is not their fault for not listening. It is ours, for inadequately or inappropriately communicating.

“Animal rescue facilities such as mine cannot handle the number of creatures in need of sanctuary when public ignorance fuels the market for an endless supply of cute and cuddly cubs,” Carole Baskin continued.

(Big Cat Rescue photo)

“Up to my elbows in cat food”

“While every animal we rescue is a sentient creature, deserving of our efforts, we are doing a great disservice to the hordes of animals we cannot afford to take in if we do not devote substantial time to public education.

“Seven years ago,” Carole Baskin recalled, “while up to my elbows in cat food,  at the end of a long day of medicating and cage-cleaning for more than 100 wild and exotic cats, the director of a large,  well-funded charity chided me for my misappropriation of time.  He said I should clean myself up and address large groups of people who could help me in my mission.

“At the time I could not imagine how the daily chores would get done if I spent my time talking to people,  but little by little,  I forced myself to find time at night for letter-writing and to compose articles,  a web site,  and training manuals and books to reach people I did not have time for during precious daylight hours.

Sassy.  (Big Cat Rescue photo)

Lost 60 pounds

“The results inspired me to become more effective. I noticed that people pay more attention to leaders who are attractive, articulate,  and well groomed.  I was none of those things.  Recognizing that the messenger speaks louder than the message,  I lost 60 pounds and threw away all of my stretch pants and t-shirts.  I invested in signature clothing that people remember and associate with our exotic cats.

“Being shy and resultantly anti-social,  I had to learn how to engage others convincingly,”  Carole Baskin admitted.  “I read every relevant book I could get my hands on,  attended every motivational lecture I could afford,  and tried to learn from observing others.

“I still do all of this because I learned that it works.”

ANIMALS 24-7 editor Merritt Clifton, Howard Baskin, and Carole Baskin.  (Beth Clifton photo)

“Hurricane Howard”

Within the year Carole had married Howard Baskin, described by St. Petersburg Times staff writer Leonora LaPeter Anton in 2007 as “a semiretired banker with an MBA from Harvard Business School and a law degree,”  who “brought a corporate mind-set to Big Cat Rescue,”  helping to double receipts from the annual Big Cat Rescue Fur Ball in just his first year of involvement.

The lives of Carole and Howard Baskin are soon to turn a big corner.  But they are prepared,  as Howard Baskin recently demonstrated in a cell phone video demonstrating his recovery exercises after major back surgery,  navigating three sharp corners around trees in the Baskins’ backyard.

He laughingly called it “barrel racing.”

Please donate to support our work:

https://www.animals24-7.org/donate/