Chris Hawes of Baynews 9 Slams Us Based On Animal Exploiter’s Lie

More than meets the eye?

Thursday, March 16, 2006 by Chris Hawes

Bay News 9 combed through hundreds of pages of documents to uncover this story. The mission of Big Cat Rescue in Citrus Park is to make you care about animals.

The first page of its web site mentions how it provides a home to "abused" and "abandoned" cats. However, former volunteers say many of the cats living there weren't in need of being rescued, and that they were bought from breeders to be bred. At least 30 of the 150 cats that live at the facility were not rescued, and were actually born at the facility. Former volunteers say stories about what the facility does are, at best, exaggerated.

"If it's not a rescue, it shouldn't be tagged as a rescue," said former Big Cat Rescue board member and volunteer Jim Moore, who worked for almost five years there and even lived on the property for a while. Moore and others intimately familiar with Big Cat Rescue say it's time they spoke publicly to set the record straight about the non-profit facility and its founder and CEO, Carole Baskin.

"She wanted to one day have the largest private collection of exotic cats in the world," said Debra Sandlin, who volunteered at the facility from 1997 - 2000.

The former volunteers point to examples like Fluffy the serval cat as one of many possibly misleading stories on the web site. The web site says many of Big Cat Rescue's servals were purchased at auctions where uncaring owners dumped them. Halfway down the page, it says Fluffy "came as a result of the pet trade." Fluffy's seller, Sandra Flaherty, said she raised the serval on baby food and would have only sold her to a good home. "She was sold as a pet and possible breeder," said Flaherty.

Another serval cat is described on the web site as coming to Big Cat Rescue after a pet shop owner was afraid she would bite children who taunted her. "Not a word of it's true," said the cat's former owner, who said she parted with the serval because she was paid a thousand dollars.

One of the most convincing pieces of evidence for many of Baskin's critics is a video of the tiger cub Shere Khan. Big Cat Rescue's web site says he was "unwanted and uncared for," and "could not walk." However, a home video with Baskin on it tells a different story. "This is Shere Khan," Baskin said in the video. "He was bottle raised in a loving and nurturing home." "I see a normal tiger cub," said Sandlin.

Baskin discussed the allegations with Bay News 9 and agreed with the perception that the majority of cats at her facility came from abusive situations. She stood by her web site's story of Shere Khan's abuse, despite the video showing him standing on his hind legs. "He could lift himself, but just barely," said Baskin.

The tiger is just one of the stories the former volunteers mention. They're also troubled by claims that many animals on the site were born into the pet trade. "The majority of the animals that are listed on the web site where it says born into the pet trade were actually born there (Big Cat Rescue)," said Sandlin.

"That's because back prior to 1997 that's what we were, pet owners," said Baskin. "We were the pet trade." One of the few points that Baskin and her critics agree on is that Baskin and her husband sold and bred cats. "We went through a whole range of beliefs," said Baskin. "He was set on breeding virtually every cat here." Baskin says she's up front about that history. The extent of that breeding, however, is described nowhere on the web site, although one statement says no exotic cats have been bred there since 1997.

Baskin is the founder and CEO of Big Cat Rescue. Volunteers who worked there, however, say that's simply not true. "There were some binturongs born," said Judy Watson, a Big Cat Rescue volunteer from 1997-2000. Binturongs are more commonly known as bear cats. Former volunteer Jim Moore, who worked at the facility from 1995-2000, says he believes the bearcats' births were no accident.

A mid-1998 newsletter announced the imminent birth of caracals, medium-sized exotic cats with large, pointed ears. When shown the newsletter, Baskin responded, "You got me on that. I just, I don't know. It's not in the list of cats that we currently have." Baskin says the list shows she's telling the truth about the animals at Big Cat Rescue and that they're now in better homes than they once were, but she didn't want Bay News 9 to copy or videotape the list for fear her critics will "use the portions that they can zero in on as showing something negative about us." Of course, that's what's already happening with other records that have leaked out.

Baskin says some of the people attacking her are motivated by a piece of legislation she's backing that would severely limit the the breeding and ownership of exotic animals.

I later wrote to Chris Hawes date unknown:

Dear Chris Hawes,

I left a DVD for you (not VHS) so it is a smaller package you will be looking for. The API investigation just came out and there are at least two more that are coming out soon from international organizations that focus just on exotic cats in private possession.

I am being very supportive in stopping the breeding and selling of these magnificent animals and will draw the fire from those who use the animals for their own selfish gain or ego. They cannot argue the issue with any credibility and thus turn to trying to keep the attention focused on my past. I felt from your questions and your approach that you were helping them. I felt the same way about the way you handled the hybrid issue a while back and how the zoning story tried to make it look like our neighbors have a problem with us when the worst you could get them to say was that they thought their kids were snack size.

I know it is a reporters’ job to tell an unbiased story, but I think you can see that I was being straight with you despite you trying to corner me into saying something that could be misconstrued. The animals cannot tell their story. Unless you spend every day, like we do, trying to find ways to ease the boredom of life in a cage for them, you cannot fully appreciate just how abusive it is to breed them for such lives.

By enabling my detractors in their attempts to discredit me, or keep me rehashing things that haven’t happened here in many years, you add to the suffering of generations more of these animals if I am unsuccessful in changing the laws to end the breeding and trade outside of the internationally accepted species survival plans. I hope that your concern for the animals will override any desire to accommodate those who hope to stop this legislation so that they can continue to breed, buy, sell and exploit the animals.

I've been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views. If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story. The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/

I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story. My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.

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Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion.