August 6 2018

Arthur was sedated late today unexpectedly. He got his back foot caught going through a tunnel. The X-rays did not show anything conclusive. More details, soon.

UPDATE:  His wake up has been very slow.  We are watching him closely.  We don't have a spare camera to put on him right now so keepers take turns sitting with him.  We will keep you updated on his recovery.

At the end of #CatCon2018 I learn that 22-year-old Arthur Tiger had an emergency visit to our on-site hospital after twisting his leg. Sending X-rays our for a second opinion but we don’ t see a break. He’s on pain meds and close observation

Class Unit: Why Regulations Won't Work
Lesson: 3 of 8

Class Unit: Why Regulations Won't Work
Lesson: 3 of 8

Impossible to have enough inspectors and limits on what they can detect.

There are estimated to be about 10,000 big cats in private hands in the U.S., a small percentage of which are held in accredited zoos and sanctuaries. 680 facilities hold USDA licenses to use big cats for commercial purposes (breeding, selling or exhibiting). No one knows how many other owners have them as pets and do not have USDA licenses.

The same inspectors who monitor big cat facilities are also charged with inspecting pet stores, dog, cat and other pet breeders and dealers, farms, slaughterhouses, laboratories and other animal-related businesses.

As of 2011, there are only 105 inspectors charged with monitoring 7,976 such facilities. It is financially impractical to have enough inspectors to inspect all these facilities regularly.

When violations are serious or recurring, the enforcement process is very time-consuming for both inspectors and legal staff. It often takes years and many man-hours. This seriously limits how many violators can be prosecuted.

When inspectors do arrive to inspect, there are very severe limits on what they can detect.

They can detect defects in the physical aspects of the facility. They can look at the record keeping, but records are easily fabricated. If the entry says the cat was fed on a given day or received medical treatment, how would the inspector know if this is true?

The inspector will also not be able to detect abusive treatment, which of course is not going to happen in front of the inspector. That can only be detected through undercover operations.

So, while it sounds good to have regulations governing how big cats are kept and treated, the degree to which the regulations can be enforced is severely limited by the cost of the manpower needed for enforcement.
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Part 4 will post in tomorrow's Big Cat Update and will further explain exactly why "Regulations Can't and Won't Work."  If you don't want to wait, or if you missed previous lessons, you can join our Facebook group at Facebook.com/groups/BigCatRescue/ and once there click or tap on the "Units" tab and then scroll down to the unit called "Why Regulations Won't Work"

Lynda Licht's Coordinator Notes for 8/5/2018

We had a few faces out here today that don’t normally come on Sunday as a lot of the regulars are traveling. Thanks so much to everyone who volunteers their time.

It’s great when coordinators help each other. Even after working all day, Sue came in to do the keeper tour. Here she is trying to get a bloodcicle out of the container for Beacher while intern Steph explains to guests why Savannahs don’t make good pets.

Partner Andy came in each to help Edith get the gift shop open so our gift shop manager can attend church.

Later in the day Edith and Aleesa go over who is going to do the 3 pm tours.

Red-shirt Marilyn came in to help backup tours so the interns were free to do food prep.

Green shirts Brittany and Steven, yellow shirt Alyssa and reds Candice and Amanda clean lockouts and water bowls.

We clean the feeding slabs and refill with clean fresh water daily.

We had lots of red shirts today so they took time to weed lockouts in the center and make sure all the guillotine doors worked.

Opened up the tunnel between Sioux and Lakota.

Matt R had time to groom Mac cougar after cleaning and double checking. That’s quite a ball of fur!!

Keeper trainee Mary helped with the big pile of dishes and so did I. After food prep is done we have lots of food containers to clean every day.

At the end of the day, some cats get supplements. Intern Steph preps them for hand out.

Such was our Sunday at Big Cat Rescue.
Lynda

More fun keeper snap shots!

I found this absolutely adorable video on Afton's BCR Facebook page.  This is the elderly tiger brothers, Andre & Arthur.  They are in their 20s.  Enjoy

August 6, 2018

Dear Sir/Madam:

We had an HOA meeting this weekend for our gated community and decided that we would like to do more for the upcoming Walkabout. We had already volunteered for various duties but noticed that there was no entertainment planned for the guests. We all got together and chose our favorite songs. We would like to perform these near the lake, so please be sure to build a suitable stage for us. These are the songs we chose:

- In My Feelings (BuBu do you love me?) (Cam)

- Yakety-Yak (Beacher)

- I’m Too Sexy (Hoover)

- The Lion Sleeps Tonight (Nikita)

- Stray Cat Strut (Manny)

- Eye of the Tiger (Seth)

- Bobcat Love (Max & MaryAnn)

- Look What the Cam Dragged In (Bu about Cam’s Turtle)

- Smelly Cat (Narla about Mr. B Cakes)

- Bark at the Founder (Amanda) (formerly Bark at the Moon)

- Cat Scratch Fever (Mrs. Claws)

- Theme from Gilligan’s Island (Skipper, Gilligan, Mr. Howell and Lovey)

- Who let the Tigers Out (Ro Ro Ro) - Priya

We have also created two new dances for the guests to try. The Walkabout Wiggle, performed by all the bobcats and their twitchy tails, and the Safari Slide.

Please be sure to add this to the schedule for the day.

Sincerely,

The Cats of Big Cat Rescue
(Sent via Lori D., Secretary to the Cats)

You will notice at the top of this Big Cat Updates web page there are social media buttons.  It would really help us help the cats if you would post our Big Cat Updates into various groups you have joined on social media and even on your own social media pages.

ALSO, YOU ARE INVITED to join our Official Facebook Group at http://Facebook.com/groups/BigCatRescue/ to enjoy LOTS more photos and videos of the cats, keeper photos, and videos, as well as recorded highlights from the cats' live webcams.