Luke Richardson of the Tampa Bay Lightning
Lightning Can Strike the Same Place Twice.
Luke Richardson of the Tampa Bay Lightning loves Big Cat Rescue. He comes here so often, he can just about lead the tours himself. See one of his recent visits in the video below: Big Cat Rescue had special guests from the Tampa Bay Lightning. All-Star defenseman Pavel Kubina visited the sanctuary with his family, who were in town from the Czech Republic. Also on the tour were Lightning forward Nikita Alexeev and trainer Adam Rambo. Thanks to trainer Mike Griebel for organizing the tour and special thanks to Pavel for his donation and tickets for the volunteers.These cats were raised together at a road side zoo with the intention of cross breeding them to create white ligers. The zoo owner, who also ran a small circus, died recently and the zoo was shut down by the Boston Anti Vivisection League. Big Cat Rescue, with the help of Jaguar of Tampa, was able to rescue two Jaguars who had been shut up in the basement of this facility for more than a year and has the opportunity to rescue the two cats above if Cat-A-Tats and a monthly allowance for food are provided. It costs 500.00 per cat per month to care for big cats like these and their cages would cost $10,000.00. They can live for 20 years so taking them in now could mean a very long commitment of time and money.Being raised together, these cats long for each other's company. With proper birth control methods this can be done at Big Cat Rescue. Unfortunaely, if Big Cat Rescue is unable to take the cats they will most likely be split up. Male lions are the most prized kills in canned hunts and because it is legal and the ranch can get $2000.00 for the opportunity to shoot this lion as he sits in a transport cage, someone will take him for that purpose. The white female will most likely go to a back yard breeder who will breed her for the white cubs he can sell and the golden cubs will be killed at birth. She will know the anguish of having her cubs ripped from her and knowing that they are mistreated and killed with nothing she can do to stop it.
There are less than 17 accredited rescue facilites in the U.S. that will take in big cats and we are the largest. All of the sanctuaries are full. Ifwe don't take them there are very few other options available to thecats, but we have a commitment to the 100 + cats already in our careand cannot take on the responsibility of two more big mouths to feedwithout your help.Thanks to many of you we were able to rescue them.
Lighting Strikes Big Cat Rescue
Two months later, 19 yearveteran defenseman Luke Richardson, who joined the Lighting last year,honored us with a visit. Hevisited with Operations Manager and season ticket holder Scott Lope,with tigers China Doll and Shere Khan in the background arguing over whogets the first autograph.
4/6/07TampaBay Lightning player, Luke Richardson, has been toBig Cat Rescue so many times that he practically gave the tour himselfon T.V. and it aired before the Lightning Ice Time showon the SunsportsNetwork. 
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