b'Big Cat Rescue, situated on 67 acres in theCitrusParkarea,isoneoftheworldslargestaccreditedsanctuariesforexoticcats.It is the home to about 80 lions,tigers,lynx,leopards,bobcats,cougars,servals and other species.They are therefor a variety of reasons. Some were aban-doned by owners who wrongly thoughtthey would make good pets. Some wereabused by owners in order to force themtoperform.Othershaveretiredfromperforming acts, saved from being slaugh-tered to make fur coats. Still others wererescued as babies after hunters killed theirmothers. ThesanctuarybeganrescuingexoticcatsonNovember4,1992andcontinuestobealeadingadvocateinending the abuse of captive big cats andsaving wild cats from extinction.Big CatRescue is a non-profit 501(c)(3) sanctuary,accreditedbytheGlobalFederationofSanctuaries and certified by IndependentCharities of America as a Best in AmericaCharity. Tigers Arthur, Andre and Amanda, in the Vacation Rotation enclosure.FloridaWildlifeConservationCommission regulations allow two tigers public to pet, feed, train, pose, play and sanctuaries.BigCatRescuedoesnottospendtheirentirelivesina10by even swim with wild and exotic animals. breedanyoftherescuedanimalsthat20-footcage(200squarefeet). Thatis To facilitate these public handlings, tiger come to the sanctuary. They are neuteredsmallerthanthetypicalparallelparking cubsarepulledfromtheirprotective or spayed. (Continued on following page) gspot(nineby24feet).TheU.S. mothersshortlyafterbirth. ThisisanDepartmentofAgriculture(USDA) inhumane and unhealthy practice that canrequiresthatexoticcatshave sufficient be very traumatic for both the mother andspacetoalloweachanimaltomake heroffspring.Itoftenleadstolifelongnormalposturalandsocialadjustments physicalandpsychologicalproblemsforwithadequatefreedomofmovement. the tiger cub.The USDA bans contactFederal rules refer to the ability to stand withcubsundereightweeksoldwhileand turn around, not the actual amount of their immune systems are still developing,space, and lists factors an inspector should coupled with a court-affirmed prohibitionconsiderinmakingajudgment.The on contact with cubs over 12 weeks oldbottom line is, the minimum standards of because they are dangerous to the public.care as established, are inhumane.The cats The current system creates an incen-at Big Cat Rescue have adequate free- tivefortheendlesscycleoftigercubdom of movement including the ability births, which can result in intensive breed-to exercise and access to plenty of water. ing operations.The cubs are bred just toAlthough the cats have far more space per exploit the four-week window, and thencatthanmostfacilities,thesanctuary discarded or disposed of after theyve out-decidedtobuildatwoandahalfacre grown their profitable age.The discardedVacationRotationenclosure.Eachof animals end up warehoused at poorly runtheir lions and tigers can rotate enjoying a roadside zoos and pseudo-sanctuaries or intwo-week vacation in an open air space thehandsofunqualifiedpeoplewiththat has a pond, fountain, dens, tunnels, private menageries.Many other tiger cubsplatforms and trees.fall victim to the illegal wildlife trade.TheCurrently,dozensoftravelingzoos important thing to remember is that trueand roadside exhibitors profit from charg- rescuers and sanctuaries do not breed biging the public a fee to have a one-on-one cats.Facilitiesthatbreedorsubjecttheencounter with a tiger cub.The fees often animalstothestressofbeingcartedrangefrom$10to$500,allowingthe around to exhibit, by definition, are not Jumanji, a black Leopard.www.TheNewBarker.com Winter 2016 THE NEW BARKER 59'