Shop to Save Wild Cats
Big Cat Rescue Closes Its Online Store After 30 Years:
A New Era for Wild Cat Conservation
After more than 30 years of running online stores filled with big cat merchandise, we have officially closed our final online shop at BigCatRescue.biz. It’s been an incredible journey, and we are beyond grateful for the support of Big Cat Rescuers who purchased everything from t-shirts and jewelry to calendars and books — all to help fund our mission to protect wild cats.
However, as with all things, change is inevitable.
Why We Made This Decision
In December 2022, the passage of the Big Cat Public Safety Act marked the culmination of decades of work to end the private ownership of big cats and shut down the cruel cub-petting industry. With this success, Big Cat Rescue shifted its focus to protecting wild cats in the wild, where they belong.
When we sold the 67-acre sanctuary property last year for $21 million, we made a promise to invest those funds into income-producing assets — stocks, bonds, real estate, and other investments — to provide long-term, sustainable funding for wild cat conservation efforts around the world. We plan to invest a million dollars a year into threat mitigation, habitat conservation, education and other proven strategies to protect wild cats in the wild; where they belong. This new strategy allows us to maximize the impact of every dollar, helping preserve critical habitats and fund anti-poaching initiatives, research, and education programs that make a real difference.
Managing an online store, however, was becoming more of a distraction than a benefit. As much as we loved offering big cat-themed goodies and sharing our mission through wearable advocacy, the time and resources required to operate and manage the store had become a burden. That’s time we knew could be better spent protecting wild cats and advancing conservation initiatives globally.
But Don’t Worry — We’re Still on eBay!
For those who still want to show their love for wild cats and Big Cat Rescue, we will maintain a presence on eBay for the occasional sale of unique or rare items. While it won’t be as extensive as our past online stores, it will allow us to continue offering select memorabilia and one-of-a-kind pieces for our most dedicated supporters.
Looking Ahead: Investing in a Future Where Wild Cats Roam Free
Our mission has always been bigger than selling merchandise. It’s about creating a world where wild cats thrive in their natural habitats, free from the threats of poaching, habitat destruction, and exploitation. By investing the proceeds from the sanctuary’s sale into income-generating assets, we are ensuring that our impact continues long into the future.
This new chapter allows us to focus entirely on our conservation efforts, funding innovative programs, empowering local communities, and protecting wild cat species from extinction. Every decision we make now is driven by a commitment to safeguard the planet’s most majestic creatures — and we couldn’t do it without your unwavering support.
Thank You for Being Part of Our Journey
To everyone who shopped at BigCatRescue.biz over the years, you played a vital role in helping us achieve incredible milestones for big cats. Your purchases funded critical rescue operations, educational programs, and advocacy work that led to historic legislative changes. Though the store may be closed, your impact lives on through the wild cats we are working to protect.
If you’d like to continue supporting our mission, please consider visiting our eBay page or contributing directly to our conservation initiatives.
Together, we’re making a lasting difference — one that ensures wild cats have a future where they belong: in the wild.
With gratitude, The Big Cat Rescue Team 🐾
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The provided text outlines the organizational goals and operations of Freeland, a non-profit entity dedicated to ending the illegal trade of humans and wildlife. By utilizing a specialized team of law enforcement and technical experts, the group actively disrupts criminal networks while assisting governments and businesses in creating prevention strategies. Their comprehensive approach includes training officers, conducting community patrols, and fostering behavioral changes through public education and awareness campaigns. Beyond enforcement, the organization focuses on environmental restoration and the rehabilitation of animals to ensure the long-term health of global ecosystems. Ultimately, the source serves as an overview of Freeland’s global impact and its ongoing mission to build a world free from exploitation and slavery.
Felinos do Pampa: Conserving the Wild Cats of the Grasslands
The provided sources detail the mission and activities of the Felinos do Pampa Project, a conservation initiative dedicated to protecting wild cats in the Pampa biome of southern Brazil. This research group focuses on species like the Muñoa’s Pampas cat and the southern tiger cat, utilizing tools such as GPS collars and camera traps to monitor their survival in fragmented habitats. Beyond field research, the organization works to mitigate human-wildlife conflict by installing wildlife road signage and constructing predator-proof enclosures for livestock. The documentation also highlights recent viral media coverage and academic studies regarding how urban development and environmental changes affect feline migration routes. Ultimately, the project seeks to balance scientific research with community education to ensure these rare small felids can coexist with local human populations.
The Peruvian Desert Cat Project’s 2025 Annual Report details a comprehensive strategy to protect the endangered Desert Pampas Cat through community-based and scientific initiatives. To mitigate human-wildlife conflict, the organization helps rural families build predator-proof coops and offers veterinary training, reducing the need for retaliatory killings. The project also addresses road mortality through driver education and seeks legal land protection for thousands of hectares of vital dry forest habitat. Beyond physical safeguards, the report emphasizes youth education and local outreach to foster long-term environmental stewardship. Finally, the sources highlight a critical genetic study revealing that even seemingly stable populations in mangroves are suffering from low diversity, necessitating new efforts to restore habitat connectivity.
These sources examine the genetic crisis facing isolated wild cat populations, where human-driven habitat fragmentation forces inbreeding and triggers a decline in biological fitness. Researchers identify morphological abnormalities, such as kinked tails and thoracic cowlicks, as visible biomarkers of a deeper "extinction vortex" that includes heart defects and reproductive failure. While the Florida panther serves as a primary case study for these issues, the texts document similar patterns of genomic decay in California mountain lions, European wildcats, ocelots, jaguarundi, Andean cats, cheetahs and Asiatic lions. Conservationists highlight the 1995 genetic restoration project in Florida—which used Texas pumas to diversify the gene pool—as a successful model for reversing these trends. Ultimately, the literature advocates for wildlife crossings and habitat corridors to restore natural gene flow and ensure the long-term survival of apex predators.
A female cheetah named KGP-2 has successfully delivered four cubs at Kuno National Park, marking a major achievement for India's wildlife restoration efforts. This event is particularly notable because the mother is a second-generation resident born in India, proving that the species can thrive and reproduce naturally in its new environment. With these new arrivals, the country’s total population of these big cats has climbed to 57 individuals across different sanctuaries. Government officials and conservationists view this milestone as evidence that the local ecosystem is capable of supporting the long-term sustainability of the species. This growth follows other recent births, signaling a transition from mere relocation to a self-sustaining biological success. Environmental leaders believe these developments solidify the region's status as a premier global hub for cheetah conservation.
The African Golden Cat Conservation Alliance (AGCCA) 2024-2025 annual report details a comprehensive strategy to protect the vulnerable African golden cat across its tropical rainforest habitat. Spanning 19 countries, the organization utilizes a community-led approach that addresses the root causes of illegal hunting and habitat loss, such as poverty and a lack of resources. To discourage bushmeat consumption, the alliance provides local families with alternative livelihoods, including small-holder livestock farms, credit programs, and essential services like dental care. Conservation efforts also involve scientific monitoring through standardized camera trap systems to track population health and evaluate project impacts. Educational outreach to thousands of schoolchildren further fosters a culture of stewardship for this rare species. Ultimately, the report highlights how strategic partnerships and local engagement are essential for securing a future for the African golden cat.
This research investigates the Pampas cat (Leopardus garleppi) population residing in the Mangroves San Pedro de Vice, a Ramsar-listed wetland in northwestern Peru. Scientists used noninvasive fecal DNA sampling between 2019 and 2021 to examine the species' genetic diversity, demographic trends, and trophic ecology. The findings reveal a critically small, kin-structured population of only nine identified individuals suffering from a recent genetic bottleneck and low effective population size. DNA metabarcoding of the samples indicates a diet primarily composed of the native yellowish rice rat, with no major dietary differences found between males and females. Ultimately, the study emphasizes that habitat restoration and functional connectivity are essential to prevent the extinction of this isolated, coastal felid population.
The provided reports detail the extensive operations of the Cat Assistance Team (C.A.T) across South Africa’s Garden Route from 2020 through mid-2025. This organization focuses on humane population control through mass sterilisations, medical care, and parasite treatments for feral and loosely owned cats. A primary conservation objective is protecting the endangered African Wildcat by preventing interbreeding with domestic felines in rural and urban fringes. To ensure the genetic purity of wild species, the team conducts DNA testing and focuses on trapping efforts in high-risk buffer zones. Despite facing operational capacity limits and logistical hurdles in remote areas, C.A.T. collaborates with various veterinary partners to improve community animal health. Their strategy combines direct veterinary intervention with educational outreach to stabilize cat populations and foster better animal welfare in marginalized settlements.
This report highlights several community-focused initiatives designed to protect endangered small wild cats by improving local livelihoods. In Uganda and India, conservation groups are helping residents transition from forest exploitation to sustainable beekeeping, organic gardening, and animal husbandry. Similar efforts in Nepal provide greenhouses to high-altitude villages, where residents protect clouded leopards in exchange for food security. The text also celebrates the creation of International Rusty-Spotted Cat Day to foster global awareness for the world's smallest feline. Finally, it recognizes the Fundación Con Garra in Chile for their successful campaign to reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions. Together, these accounts demonstrate that protecting biodiversity is most effective when it is paired with economic empowerment and cultural respect.
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Carole Baskin
Carole Baskin is the founder and CEO of Big Cat Rescue and author of this web page. Since 1992, she has worked to end the exploitation of exotic cats and now leads the non profit's efforts to protect wild cats in the wild by funding innovative threat mitigation programs that allow humans and wild cats to co-exist in peace.
Big Cat Rescue helps fund the conservation of Marbled Cats in the wild.