Photos
Big Cat Rescue was founded in 1992 with the goal of providing an "educational sanctuary" for exotic cats such as cougars, lions and lynx.
The facility on Easy Street near Citrus Park Mall offers day tours and houses a gift shop.
Patch recently talked to Jeff Kremer, director of donor appreciation at BCR, about what the organization does and how the community can get involved.
Patch: What is the purpose of Big Cat Rescue?
Kremer: Big Cat Rescue’s mission is to provide the best permanent home for the animals in its care and to reduce the number of cats that suffer the fate of abuse, abandonment or extinction. This mission is accomplished by teaching the public 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 the cats.
Today, the sanctuary is devoted to its Vision of a world where the animals we share it with are treated with respect and caring and where habitat is preserved to insure the indefinite future survival of these wonderful gifts of nature. In creating such a world, we hope the same principles of respect and caring will carry over to the way humans treat each other.
Patch: What sets BCR apart from other organizations that cater to animals?
Kremer: While numerous organizations provide “aid” for animals, Big Cat Rescue is dedicated to not only providing a permanent home and best care possible for the sanctuary’s animals but also strives towards helping end the exploitive and abusive practices that create the need for such rescues.
Some animals at the BCR have been:
- Abandoned by owners who wrongly thought they would make good pets
- Abused by owners in order to force them to perform
- Retired from performing acts
- Saved from being slaughtered to make fur coats
- Rescued as babies after hunters killed their mothers
Additional attributes that distinguish Big Cat Rescue from many other animal welfare organizations are that it's:
- Accredited by the Global Federation of Sanctuaries
- Certified by Independent Charities of America as a “Best in America Charity”
- Member of the World Society for Protection of Animals
- Rated four stars (highest rating) by Charity Navigator for sound fiscal management
Patch: How many animals have been served at the organization since it was founded?
Kremer: Approximately 225-250 animals have been served by the sanctuary since its inception.
Patch: What services does BCR provide for the animals there?
Kremer: Big Cat Rescue provides each animal with a “forever” home that includes the highest quality food, medical care and enrichment program to ensure both their physical as well as mental well being.
Medical Care:
- Daily observation for physical and mental well being
- Daily cleaning of each animal enclosure; cleaning of each water bowl/food block
- Monthly flea and tick preventative treatment
- Monthly de-worming prevention
- Weekly operant conditioning
Weekly:
- “Blood-sickles," or frozen blood from USDA grade beef frozen in a plastic cup
- Sardini-Martini’s: Sardines blended with water and frozen in a plastic cup
- Paper bags and boxes filled with spices and extracts
Seasonally:
- Christmas trees in December
- Pumpkins in October
- Frozen (thawed) turkeys and cornish hens in November
Patch: How can the community get involved if they want to volunteer or donate?
Kremer: The sanctuary offers the opportunity to volunteer both onsite as well as remotely. New Volunteer Orientation is offered on the first Saturday of each month at 2 p.m. You must have been on a recent Day Tour on a date prior to attending Orientation. Day Tour times are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at 3 p.m. and Saturday at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
You must be at least 18 years old to participate in Big Cat Rescue’s Volunteer Program. There is no cost for Volunteer Orientation, however there will be a fee on the first day of volunteering. This fee is $70 per person or $50 per senior or student with valid senior/student ID. The fee covers the cost of your training manual, volunteer shirt, walkie talkie and adminisrative costs.
Big Cat Rescue also offers a comprehensive Advocat program for individuals who are seeking to support the sanctuary’s efforts remotely.
For additional information regarding Big Cat Rescue’s Volunteer Program, please visit: http://bigcatrescue.org/get-involved/volunteer/advocats/.
For additional information regarding the Advocat program, please visit: http://bigcatrescue.org/get-involved/volunteer/advocats/.
Melissa
11:07 am on Tuesday, May 24, 2011
•“Blood-sickles," or frozen blood from USDA grade beef frozen in a plastic cup
I thought I saw on BCR's site that these blood-sickles are made from draining rabbits blood & then putting a baby chick in it? I didn't see anything about beef blood.
Wilma F
6:38 pm on Wednesday, May 25, 2011
That is correct Melissa, blood from killed rabbits at BCR. Pretty disgusting not to mention a "sanctuary" who kills animals is in fact Unethical to say the least.
Tanja Pirttilä
12:21 pm on Tuesday, May 24, 2011
That's great news! I'm so proud of BCR, they're doing amazing job with the cats ^^
Meredith
5:30 pm on Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Not only are they providing excellent care for the cats, they're making headway to prevent people from keeping these big cats as pets, and exploiting them for "entertainment."
Wilma F
6:44 pm on Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Tanja and Mereditth, you proudly support the barbaric torture, live feeding and killing of innocent helpless animals? That is not honorable by any means you should contact other wildlife centers and you will find out they do not support BCR nor do they feed live animals to any rehabbing or big cats at all.
Camille C. Spencer
12:25 pm on Tuesday, May 24, 2011
@Melissa: According to BCR, it's USDA beef.
Wilma F
6:45 pm on Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Camille, if you believe anything Carole Baskin states you should really check into it first.
Jeff Kremer
12:28 pm on Tuesday, May 24, 2011
The sanctuary uses the left-over blood from the USDA grade beef that is thawed out to create the cats "blook-sickle" enrichments.
Melissa
10:50 pm on Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Thanks Jeff, I could've swore I saw a pic of one before. The little chick's feet were sticking up. Hmm. My mistake.
Meredith
5:27 pm on Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Keep up the great work BCR!
Jeff Kremer
8:34 am on Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Hi Melissa,
Your memory is correct in that the sanctuary on occasions will freeze a chick or rat in the blood-sickle but we always use either the left-over blood from the USDA grade beef or chicken broth in doing so.
Wilma F
6:56 pm on Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Jeff,
Wow, you must be very proud if you work for BCR. Why don't you tell the real reason You may be using drained blood from beef is Because there has been an Ongoing investigation with BCR by FWC and USDA for over 2 months and there Are no rabbits there right now to kill and drain blood from. Why don't you explain to the above people why Carole Baskin is being investigated for animal cruelty, bringing in 3 bobcats illegally from Alabama, the death of the 3 bobcats and defrauding the public for donations? If your administrator does not delete this comment as they have deleted all others who speak the truth, your answer should be very interesting. Oh and by the way Meredith, Melissa and Camille, give FWC a call for details:
Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission
850-410-0656 Ext. 17106
Melissa
9:47 pm on Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Thank you for clearing that up Jeff. It drove me crazy last night so I started looking through some videos that I had downloaded in the past. Sure enough, it was How to Make A Tiger Popcicle. And there was the shot of the little chicks legs sticking up out of the cup. I thought I was losing my mind.
I am a bit puzzled by your comment below to Wilma F., about feeding live rats and/or rabbits to rehabbing bobcats. I'm not sure I understand why bobcats would need to be taught or even thought that they would not know how to hunt. I have domestics & if a mouse ever does have the misfortune of making it's way into my house... They are on it like no tomorrow. Even though they're fed well every day, they still have that natural born instinct to go after "prey". Of course they do an awful lot of catching, releasing, recatching, tossing, etc... until I can intervene & put it back outside. Provided I got in there in time & it wasn't dead already. I just hate to see how they "play" with it, because I know, even though it's a little mouse, it still has feelings of fear, pain, and all the other senses we all have. I would just be sickened to think that rabbits would have to endure this kind of suffering. I would think it would go on alot longer considering their size as compared to a mouse or rat. Any information you could share on the reason for it would be most appreciated. Are bobcats different in their built in survival traits?
Jeff Kremer
7:04 pm on Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Wilma F. is grossly misinformed.
The allegations about the rabbit feeding protocol have been widely exaggerated. Our 100+ cats are carnivores and therefore we feed animals to them. One night a week they get "whole prey" which are rats and rabbits who have been bred for use as animal food, that come to us frozen. We defrost them and feed them the next day. Only our rehab bobcats, and there is usually only one or two rehab cats in a given year, must be able to learn and / or keep their hunting skills honed while recovering from being orphaned or hit by cars. We feed live rats and rabbits, which were commercially bred to be fed to snakes, to these cats. During the short time we have them here we try to make their lives as full and rich as possible by providing clean, safe, secure housing and plenty of treats and things to do.
The people who volunteer at Big Cat Rescue love animals and many of us are vegetarians and vegans. We wish there were some way to feed our cats, and especially the rehab cats, in a way that did not mean the sacrifice of any life. Anyone who believes that is possible, doesn't know anything about exotic cats or their needs, but for the most part, I can assure you that those making all of these hateful statements against Big Cat Rescue are neither rabbit lovers, nor vegetarians, but rather are those who either make a living from the suffering of exotic cats or have been deceived by them.
Respectfully,
Jeff Kremer
Wilma F
11:17 pm on Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Jeff, I must say your words are exact of Carole Baskins - ignorant, unethical and idiotic. If indeed you are Jeff and not Carole herself and you do work at BCR you surely are in the dark. If you are Carole Baskin you are a disgrace. Lets answer each one of your responses one at a time, I as well work at a wildlife rehab center:
1. There is No exaggeration about BCR unnecessarily torturing and killing domestic rabbits, there is no confusion the bobcats were not rehabbing, here is the link to the ABC news article where you will find bobcats Moses and Bailey who have lived at BCR for 3 years who are in fact permanent residents. You dare to justify feeding live animals by saying they are bred for use as animal food, this is an absurd excuse and a promotion of animal cruelty. http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/region_hillsborough/animal-rescue-groups-collide-over-feeding-live-rabbits-to-rescued-cats
Wilma F
11:17 pm on Wednesday, May 25, 2011
2. Fact: Permanent resident carnivores have no need for live prey of any kind nor do rehabbing bobcats. Other wildlife centers outside of ours also feed their big cats frozen chicken (thawed out) beef and other already Dead animals. It is a conflict of interest for any rehab or sanctuary to feed live prey to any animal. Wild animals are very instinctual, and do not need live prey stimulus to tap into their wildness or train them to be hunters. Just as humans do not need to teach baby birds to fly or fish to swim, or squirrels to dig holes to hide nuts – they are incredibly instinctual. Our rehabilitating bobcats eat well and are fed (frozen) rats, mice, chicks, cat chow, and different kinds of fish, and we have very successful releases – both following trauma and with babies that have been orphaned. We don’t use any live prey for raptors either and do not feel that the white mouse or domestic rabbit as prey is a true test of hunting ability, as those aren’t the same prey that these predators will find out in the wild and the act is far from fair to the mouse or rabbit. We give respect and compassionate to all species. I can’t think of an instance where that animal would find a domestic rabbit or chicken in the wild (since bobcats live primarily on small rodents, not rabbits).
Wilma F
11:19 pm on Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Even if you had a reason to fed live prey it would be important that a prey training scenario should be a realistic approximation of a wild scenario. Wild predators rarely “play with their food” and if such behavior is observed, either the predator is not ready for live prey or the prey is not being accepted as appropriate which results in a cruel painful death to the victim. It is absurd for you to believe an injured bobcat "forgets" how to hunt, get an education.
3. You may very well feed some frozen rabbits to big cats but Lets talk about the photo of BCR workers holding bloody beaten rabbits, we have had this photo blow up by a professional photographer and expert, these 3 rabbits were not frozen by any means but appear beaten with blood in their ears, on their paws and body areas, none consistent with a thawed out frozen rabbits. One rabbit on the right is clearly alive with its eyes wide open and body not limp while the workers proudly laughing and display these bloody beaten rabbits. There are no words to describe this animal cruelty and abuse.
Wilma F
11:19 pm on Wednesday, May 25, 2011
4. Just because you are a vegan or vegetarian means absolutely nothing, your cruel barbaric actions towards innocent helpless animals reflect on you all as a disgrace to any animal rescue or ethical person. And I can assure you, your ignorance of wildlife rehabbing is not only outdated but also disgraceful to Florida residents and other professional ethical wildlife centers. Your claims that there is no other ways to rehab bobcats are Carole Baskins own psychotic word and ways, no one else's. Please update us with facts otherwise. I doubt you can because Your claims are non factual and lies, an agenda to make money off of non educated persons who believe this B.S who pay to go on tours at BCR. You are the only one deceived in this story and the fact that you have Completely ignored the investigation of BCR by authorities and made lame excuses trying to take the focus off of it, shows your lack of education and ignorance. It is your choice if you continue to spread lies to uneducated and gullible people who will believe you.
p.s. You really should not sign with the word Respectfully, you do not wear it well. Wilma
Wilma F
11:22 pm on Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Furthermore, if you Ever have a bobcat live long enough to be released your total Ignorance is teaching them to hunt down domestic animals in yards of families. Very Intelligent.