You can save this to your computer or to your own website to play as long as you do not alter the files. Right Click and Save Target As HERE
Evolution of Thought
Some of you have been with me since the earliest days of what is now Big Cat Rescue and some of you are new friends. What is now the world’s largest accredited rescue facility for exotic cats didn’t start out that way. Like many lessons, this has been one learned the hard way, but sometimes those lessons teach us the most and are remembered the longest.
On every tour I give, I always start out by answering the question that people will always ask, “How did you get started?” My answer always starts out by saying, “I was one of those ignorant people who got a bobcat as a pet and didn’t know what a stupid and obnoxious thing that was to do.” In the early days we would purchase an animal to free him from an abusive situation or because we thought the animal was so rare that she should be bred for future generations. Until 1997 our facility was set up to breed. Only a small fraction of our cats were born here as a result of that ill conceived belief, as part of the pet trade, and the intentional breeding stopped in 1997. A few cats were born after that, before I could separate all of them into their own enclosures or alter them, but those births represent only 2% of our residents. None have been born since 2001 when all of our cats had either been altered or had their own separate enclosures. If you have been on a tour here, or read our website, you already knew this and I am not here today to walk down memory lane. This is about today.
Today, after living with 150 big cats since 1992 and all of the associated trials that go with keeping a million dollar a year sanctuary afloat, keeping guests and volunteers safe and dealing with the issues that create a need for sanctuaries I feel that I have a pretty good understanding of the bigger picture. It was an evolution of thought and many of the people I have known along the way feel that I have forgotten that I was one of them; a pet owner.
I haven’t forgotten that I once thought keeping a bobcat as a pet was a wonderful way to re connect with nature. I have not forgotten that I once thought that breeding the small, rare cats would be the only way to save them from extinction. I remember taking cats to schools and thinking that children would pay attention better and learn more if they were engaged by the close encounter with a wild animal. I have not forgotten what I once believed, but I have learned from being wrong.
I was wrong to think that the animals shared my agenda. As much as any one of them may “love” me, if I open the door and set them free, I believe that if they had the skills to survive on their own, they would go and never look back. Depriving them of their true mother’s nurturing so that they lack those skills does not make them love me. It only makes them depend on me.
I was wrong to think that the animals cared about being saved from extinction to the extent that they would sacrifice the freedom, that should have been theirs, to live in my home or my cages. The world will be a sadder place when they are gone in the wild, which is happening far too quickly, but having them only know a shadow of their existence, by life in cages, is far sadder for them. It is not an existence that I would choose for me or my child.
I was wrong to expect an animal to bear the burden of making my teaching easier for me. We do need to teach people how to respect nature and how to protect it, but to do so by shackling or caging an animal is hypocritical. If I can’t reach the world with a message of compassion for all life, that is my failing and I will just have to learn to be better at educating.
We all grow and evolve at different rates and based on different stimuli. Some of the people I used to associate with still promote the pet ownership of exotic cats but maybe they haven’t seen all of the suffering that I have seen. I have tried to share that with them with stories, photos and introducing them to the animals we have rescued, but many either say that they don’t want to hear it or don’t believe it. I believe that they don’t want to believe it, because to do so would mean a sacrifice on their part. Not too many people are self sacrificing for the good of others. I don’t hate them for being typical. I blame myself for not being able to reach them at a heart felt level that would inspire them to rise above their own desires.
There is an outcry from those who have not yet traveled this far on the path. Many of them will come around to respecting the cats for the majestic creatures that they are and will perhaps, like me, wonder why it took them so long to figure it out. People strike out in fear or when they feel that they have been insulted and some are doing so now because I am trying to pass legislation that will protect the animals.
You will hear me talking about banning the ownership of exotic cats and that is my goal, but I want you to understand exactly what that means. I have come to love these animal more as I have listened to them these many years. I would not do anything that would cause an animal to be displaced or that would separate the animal from his loving owner. The accredited sanctuaries are full and over flowing and there is no place for these animals to go if a ban were written in such as way as to insist that owners must hand over or kill their pets. That would be horrible for the animal and I would not stand for it.
What I hope to ban is the breeding, buying, selling and exploiting of wildlife. I would like to see those who provide adequate care, even if I think it to be far less than optimal, be able to keep the animals they have so that no animal ends up without a home. If someone wanted to start a sanctuary I think they should be able to as long as they don’t breed, buy, sell or exploit the animal in the process. There will be a huge need for sanctuaries as the breeders begin dumping their unwanted stock. The US Fish & Wildlife Service has adopted the term “accredited sanctuary” to mean one that does not breed, buy, sell or allow public contact with dangerous animals and while that falls far short of what our accreditation by The Association of Sanctuaries demands, it is enough to put the very bad breeders and users who call themselves sanctuaries out of the non profit business.
Transparency is important to our credibility and I will always tell you the truth to the best of my ability. Heather Veleanu and I have been actively engaging Senators and Representatives in Florida to see if there is support for legislative action to overcome the state’s poor handling of the exotic situation. I am leaving momentarily for a press conference that has been called by Representative Poppell and Senator Posey in which they will announce to the media the Python Bill that we have been working on for the last few weeks. They have asked me to come speak as an industry leader (their words) to address the specifics of the language that we have proposed that would expand the bill from just dealing with big snakes to dealing with all types of dangerous wildlife. Your voice is needed now on this bill here: http://www.bigcatrescue.org/laws/2006python.htm
It takes all of us working together to shape a better tomorrow. Carole Baskin
If these slideshows have touched your heart please help us reach others with this important message by making a donation now:
|
These are links to some of our more popular pages: