AdvoCat 2008 12

Greetings Friend of Big Cat Rescue!

There is so much going on at Big Cat Rescue that this newsletter can’t begin to hold it all.  In just a few days, with your help, we will be rescuing a liger and two tigers.  This holiday season please consider giving the gift of saving a life to yourself and those on your gift list. There has never been a better time to spend your discretionary money doing something good.  Because we are a non profit organization, your donations are tax deductible and can help with reducing your tax load.

Carole Baskin, Founder

	Rescue a Liger & 2 Tigers

Help Needed to Rescue of 2 Tigers and a Liger – Matching Funds Available!

At a time when donations are suffering due to the economy, we are asking your help, big or small, to fund the rescue of 2 tigers, named Alex and Cookie and a liger (cross between a lion and tiger) named Freckles.  The cats are currently receiving minimal food and no other care.  We hope to pick them up from Mississippi in two weeks.  The transportation is expected to cost over $5000.  The cats ages are 15, 14, and 12.  With food, medicine, overhead and cage maintenance averaging $7500 per year each, based on their expected 20 year life expectancy, this rescue represents a $142,500. commitment.  Donations large and small are needed.

MARBLE PLAQUES: Donations of $250 and up will be acknowledged with elegant marble plaques on a prominent sign at the front of the sanctuary.

MATCHING FUNDS: For a limited time the Transitions Championship PGA tournament is currently offering a 20% match, so your donation generates extra funds to help with the rescue.

Donations can be made online at

http://www.bigcatrescue.biz/

	Keeper Walkabout

If well received, this may be the first in a series of Keeper Walkabout notes by our staff and volunteers. As I walk about the sanctuary each day I often think how much our supporters would love to see what we see on a daily basis. It is so sad that these cats are in cages, but inspirational to see them make the best of it.

This is an effort to convey the daily life at Big Cat Rescue. Come with me and get a peek at the lives of 29 of our animals and 16 of our keepers:

http://bigcatrescue.org/000news/0articlesbybcr/2008KeeperWalkAbout12.htm

	Sweet 16 Kiss Hercules the Snow Leopard

Big Cat Rescue was founded sixteen years ago in 1992 and to celebrate our anniversary we are going to celebrate the sixteen species of wild cat that reside at the sanctuary. November honored Windsong the Bobcat who started Big Cat Rescue and December’s cat is Hercules the Snow Leopard.  Give Hercules a “Kiss” here:

http://bigcatrescue.org/000news/0articlesbybcr/zzSweet16/Sweet16.htm

	Vote Online for Award

Your online votes can be enormously helpful.

Our local PBS Station, WEDU, has a contest to see which of 85 non profits has the most support. This contest receives a lot of attention and can help build awareness of the sanctuary and get our message out. You can vote ONCE PER DAY until December 19 at

http://www.wedu.org/bemore/POLL.htm

A wonderful way to help the cats at no cost is to vote daily at WEDU.org, and cut/paste this this message into an email and send it to any friends who you think would be willing to take a few minutes to help us win! On behalf of the cats, thank you!!!

And last, but biggest prize is Squidoo (via Twitter) who is giving away $30,000 split between 21 different charities. Big Cat Rescue is 1 of them. Squidoo donates $1 per vote and you can only vote 1 time.

http://www.squidoo.com/squidoo-twitterdrive-for-charity

	Magazine Offers to Benefit Big Cats

If you are going to renew a magazine subscription or are giving one as a gift, you can get a great deal and have 40% of the money support Big Cat Rescue here:

http://www.magfundraising.com/bigcatrescue

	FREE Shipping to YOU!

Take Advantage of our AdvoCat Exclusive Shipping Promotion.

Now your favorite place to shop and your favorite place to support are one and the same! Just in time for Christmas we have updated our online store to carry almost every item found in the Big Cat Rescue Trading Post. And just for you, we’re offering a promotion to help even more with the holiday crunch. Enter the Promotion Code “ADVOCAT” during checkout and you will receive 30% off the shipping of your entire order!

Just enter ADVOCAT in Step 1 of the check out process where it asks “Do you have a promotion code?” The shipping amount will automatically adjust and the text “30% Off Shipping” appear at the very bottom of your order.

Please note that this offer is available through our online store only. We cannot honor it with phone or mail orders.  http://www.bigcatrescue.biz

	Fur Free Shopping

WASHINGTON – The Humane Society of the United States filed a lawsuit in D.C. Superior Court against Andrew Marc, Dillard’s, Lord & Taylor, Macy’s, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue – six of the nation’s largest retailers and fashion designers – for engaging in false advertising and mislabeling of fur garments. These deceptive practices mislead consumers into unknowingly purchasing animal fur products and increase consumer confusion over the type and origin of fur that is used on clothing.

“Despite all the designers and retailers that have gone fur-free in recent years, a hardcore group of heartless holdouts continues to peddle raccoon dog coats to unsuspecting consumers,” said Jonathan R. Lovvorn, vice president and chief counsel for animal protection litigation for The HSUS. “These defendants are the worst of the
worst, and just don’t seem to care if consumers are buying their products thinking they are ‘faux fur,’ but are actually getting raccoon dog fur from China.”

Over the last three years, The HSUS has identified dozens of falsely advertised or falsely labeled fur garments across the retail industry. Although many of these garments are advertised or labeled as “faux fur,” 70 percent of the garments actually contained fur from the raccoon dog, a member of the canine family native to parts of
Asia, that has been documented to be skinned alive in China.

	Virtual Fur Ball Auction

So many of you said that you wished you could have been at the Fur Ball this year, so we are giving you the chance to participate in our Virtual Fur Ball auction.  This silent auction is set up in our eBay store and ends Dec. 15th so get your bids in now.

* 11 x 14 Framed Artist Proof of Jaguar “Attitude”
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220326669302

* Aquarium, Stand, and Lighted Top Certificate
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220326669296

* Aubrey Organics
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220326669293

* Balloon Ride
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220326669278

* Framed Print of Original Watercolor, Heron
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220326669271

* Giclee on Canvas – Lion
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220326669265

* Llama Trek Certificate
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220326669261

* Wire Caracal Sculpture
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220326669252

	Did You Know?

You may be dreaming of a white Christmas, but please don’t think that a white tiger or a white lion is a dream come true.  In fact…

All white tigers are inbred and cross bred making them useless for conservation.

All white tigers are cross eyed, even if they do not appear to be.  Find out why here:

http://bigcatrescue.org/cats/wild/white_tigers.htm