Carole's letter to reporter on Tiger World:
Dear Sara,
Thank you for reporting on the opening of Tiger World. I noted with dismay that the new owner already has babies on the ground and is announcing her intention to breed big cats for lives of deprivation and confinement in other, similar roadside zoos. Legitimate zoos do not buy big cats from places who are breeding cats of unknown origin, such as are all of the cats at tiger world. The only reason these back yard breeders continue to add to the thousands of already unwanted big cats is because people will pay to see them, pet them, bottle feed them or will volunteer to clean cages in order to have such a privilege. It is never done for the good of the cat nor for conservation of the species.
These links can give you the real story behind why places like Tiger World exist. I hope you will continue to investigate the situation and publish the sad truth that is just waiting there to be discovered by someone who cares.
http://bigcatrescue.org/000news/0articlesbybcr/2008DyingToBeHeld.htm
http://bigcatrescue.org/zoos.htm
http://bigcatrescue.org/bigcatexhibition.htm
http://bigcatrescue.org/animal_abuse.htm
http://bigcatrescue.org/000news/0articlesbybcr/zoonosis.htm
http://bigcatrescue.org/laws/lawsbigcatbans.htm
Thank you (from the cats) for your consideration.
—
For the cats,
Carole Baskin, CEO of Big Cat Rescue
an Educational Sanctuary home
to more than 100 big cats
12802 Easy Street Tampa, FL 33625
813.493.4564 fax 885.4457
http://www.BigCatRescue.org MakeADifference@BigCatRescue.org
Sign our petition to protect tigers from being farmed here:
http://capwiz.com/bigcatrescue/issues/alert/?alertid=9952801&type=CU
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Tiger World open, ready to thrill
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Wednesday, July 02, 2008 11:09 AM
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By Sara Gregory
ROCKWELL — Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!
The old Metrolina Wildlife Park re-opened Tuesday with a new name, a new owner and new animals.
Opening Tiger World to teach about conservation and wild animals has been owner Lea Jaunakais' goal for a long time.
"This has been a dream of mine ever since I was a child," Jaunakais said. "I'm so excited to be here today."
Jaunakais led the first tour group through the zoo that houses dozens of large exotic animals, including a baby tiger and lion, both born on Memorial Day.
"These guys are being bottle fed just like a little baby," Jaunakais explained to children on the tour.
Jaunakais, a South Carolina native, bought the farm earlier this year after efforts to open a zoo in Chester County failed due to neighbors' protests.
She was eager to buy the Rowan County zoo when then-owner Steve Macaluso put it up for sale. Because Jaunakais was a volunteer at the Metrolina Wildlife Park, the animals knew and welcomed her.
Tuesday, many came up to Jaunakais to get an affectionate nuzzle and rub on the back through their fenced-in habitats.
Many of the cats "chuffed" at her — that's the noise they make when they're trying to say hello.
"Cats really like to vocalize," she said. "One of the ways the keepers learn to communicate is they learn to make the sounds."
And being the keepers of the food — Tiger World feeds out 330 pounds of raw meat a day to the zoo's carnivores — makes them friends of the animals.
Brutus and Miss Cleo, two Syrian bears native to the Middle East, ate tomatoes and grapes from the mouth of bear trainer Katy McCall. They followed that snack with a gallon of Apple Cider — bears love juice, she said.
Some of the animals are friendlier than others, Jaunakais said. Tuesday, one cat, a male lion named Mufasa, roared to let Jaunakais know she was not welcome near his partner, a female lion named Nala.
"Any time it's breeding season, this is how he acts," she said. "He doesn't want anybody — male or female — near his lady."
Many of the male cats have had vasectomies and can't reproduce. The zoo is looking to breed some of the animals though, to sell to other zoos.
For Jaunakais, the 30-acre zoo is a haven for animals that need help. This includes a blind and partly deaf Canadian lynx and tigers abused by former circus owners. The zoo has rehabilitated 10 animals for other owners in the past few months, she said.
She calls the cage home to a black leopard and an Asiatic tiger the "misfit cage": The leopard came to the zoo with a tumor that turned out to be benign, and the tiger came with a broken hind leg that had to be amputated.
Both of those animals would have been euthanized had the zoo not taken them in, she said, but now they're thriving.
Tiger World is already drawing visitors from far-off places. Lisa Haverlock, her husband and three children came from Rock Hill to see the exotic animals.
"We have a cat at home," she said. "It was neat for them to see the big cats do what the little cats do, too."
http://www.salisburypost.com/Area/070208-tiger-world
