Real sanctuaries don’t breed animals for life in prison
Nov 5 2008
Rock Springs (WKOW) — You may have seen stories we’ve done recently about the big cat rescue in Rock Springs near Baraboo.
Jeff Kozlowski saves abandoned lions.
Joe LaBarbara thinks he really is someone you should know.
You’re looking at one of just two federally licensed big cat rescue operations in Wisconsin.
Jeff Kozlowski spends his life caring for these cats.
He’s got room for 32 on his property, but unlimited space in his heart.
Apparently his cats feel the same way about him.
He doesn’t run a backyard zoo and this is not his personal playground.
These are cats in distress that would otherwise be euthanized.
Kozlowski often turns down rescues because he doesn’t have room or money to handle them.
Kozlowski said, “recently in the past month there was a rescue in Missouri that need to place 60 cats. They were placed at other sanctuaries through the U.S., but you can only hold so many.”
Each cat eats about 10 pounds of raw meat per day.
Add veterinary care, emergency care, and maintenance, and the numbers add up quickly.
Jeff’s always thinking about new ways to educate young people.
So when spring flooding took out roughly 20 or homes in town, Jeff created 20 or so new trick or treat stops to replace them — one for every cat he has here.
Kozlowski also said, “the main thing we want them to understand is they’re not pets. They’re not made to jump through firey hoops and do tricks at magic shows. You know. I agree 100% they should all be left in the wild. All these cats were captive born and that’s why they’re here.”
Kozlowski opened Wisconsin big cat rescue this past April after spending two years gathering permits, making sure the county understood his plan and completing construction.
Now it’s a way of life.
Sometimes, accidents do happen.
For example, Snowball and Avalanche were born this summer, quite by accident.
Jeff called the vet and kozlowski is not expecting a similar surprise anytime soon.
