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Saving Cats Is A Passion Sanctuary Turns 15 In 2007
Posted Jan 18, 2007 by Jessica Balanza
Updated Jan 18, 2007 at 02:33 PM
By SHERRI LONON
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When Carole Baskin attended an exotic animal auction in 1992, she didn’t realize her entire life was about to change.
As Baskin watched a bobcat named Windsong go on the auction block, she noticed how frightened the animal seemed, she said. The cat had “her paws wrapped as tightly around her former owner’s neck as she could cling, while the auctioneer screamed into the loudspeaker – we knew we had to do something.”
That’s how Big Cat Rescue was formed. The nonprofit organization provides housing and care for unwanted, abandoned and neglected big cats at its Citrus Park location.
“It was never my intention to own an exotic cat or to begin a sanctuary,” said Baskin. “My late husband, Don Lewis, and I loved animals, and cats especially, but we never planned for what would unfold.”
What has unfolded since that November 1992 day has been the creation of a 45-acre refuge. The organization was initially housed on 4 acres in Town ‘N Country and then moved to its current site on Easy Street in Citrus Park in 1993.
Through the years, Carole said she’s learned by trial and error. What started as just she and her husband has grown to include several paid employees and a team of more than 100 volunteers.
“We made all the stupid mistakes that people do when they get involved in something they don’t understand, but we learned along the way,” she said.
With more than 150 different cats, ranging from tigers and cougars to lions and jaguars, the sanctuary now costs an estimated $800,000 a year to run, she said.
According to Scott Lope, director of operations, the basic care and feeding expenses for the animals runs about $1,000 a day.
The money to keep the sanctuary going comes from donations, adoption programs and other fundraising efforts. The money to pay for salaries comes from gate receipts on days the venue is open for paid tours, Lope said.
“Donations are donations,” he said.
The idea is to ensure that donations directly benefit the animals and efforts to help reduce the number of unwanted cats that find themselves abused, abandoned and neglected. Through the years, the sanctuary has put a strong emphasis on educating the public about big cats, their needs and the reasons why they should not be considered
house pets. To this end, Lope said the organization works to enact tougher laws and supports other agencies that are addressing the issue on a more worldwide scale.
“It’s not enough to help the animals in cages,” he said. “What we’re trying to do is act locally and think globally.”
Those efforts have become increasingly important as the sanctuary has grown, he said.
“We can’t rescue every animal,” he added.
With 45 acres in the middle of Citrus Park, Lope said the organization is dealing not only with its own growth, but also the growth around it. When the rescue first opened, Citrus Park was pretty rural, he said. There was no mall, few houses and no strip centers nearby.
As growth continues, Lope said the organization is doing what it can to ensure the animals remain protected. The agency isn’t anti-growth, he said, but it does want to make sure development is respectful of the cats.
“We’re hoping to work with them,” he said of future developers in the area.
Carole explained, “Fourteen years ago, we were out in the middle of nowhere and the development surrounded us,” she said. Moving isn’t an option, she added.
“We hope to solve the problem of so many unwanted cats in the next decade and can’t be wasting that time moving and re-establishing ourselves only to have development surround us every 10 years,” she said. “We would not be able to reach as many people as we do now if we moved out into the middle of nowhere and that would defeat our mission.”
Area residents can assist in the mission in several ways.
“The biggest way people can help is to come out and take a tour,” said Lope. “Our goal is to not have to rescue any more animals.”
In addition to tours, the organization also has several ongoing fundraisers and plays host to numerous events throughout the year to raise money for cats’ needs and special projects. There is also an on-site gift shop that raises money for Big Cat Rescue operations and also other organizations, as well.
Tours at the facility are offered Monday through Friday at 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. for $22. Saturday tours take place at 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. and again at 1:30 p.m. There is a special 9 a.m. Saturday tour for $12 that allows children under the age of 10 to visit the 12802 Easy St. facility.
For more information about the sanctuary, fundraising, volunteering, tours or the cats, call 920-4130 or visit http://www.bigcatrescue.org.
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