Summary of our Opinion After Researching the Web
Find out more about Joe Schreibvogel and the G W Zoo
The following was posted in 2008-2010 as I was learning that many of the abusive tiger cub acts were all actually owned by the same person.
Tigers In Need is a traveling show which goes into shopping malls with infant baby tiger cubs from a private zoo in Oklahoma and then charges high prices for people to interact with the infant baby tigers. Tigers In Need claims to be a non-profit organization which is helping to conserve the tigers or serve as a sanctuary.
This type of paid interaction with baby tiger cubs is only legal for one month in the baby tiger cub’s life, between 8 weeks and 12 weeks of age. In 2010, the private zoo which provides the cubs, known as G W Exotic Animal Foundation, reported that twenty-three (23) baby tigers died, allegedly due to feeding them contaminated food from China. Former employees have reported animal abuse at the zoo, failure to properly feed the animals, and failure to receive basic preventative veterinary care. The owner of the zoo, Joe Schreibvogel (who also goes by the aliases of Joe Exotic, Aaarron Alex, and Cody Ryan), performs magic shows using animals.
Due to these and other reasons, various people assert that the baby tiger cubs are being unethically and/or illegally bred for this express entertainment purpose, and that the public is being misled, and is inadvertently reinforcing this behavior.
Tigers In Need appears to be the only traveling mall baby tiger cub show in the USA. It is currently marketed by Vicki Welch’s Entertainment, which appears to be the same organization as Beth Corley’s Exotic Animal Rescue, Alex Productions, and Awakening Productions.
Recognized wildlife sanctuaries follow strict guidelines to not breed animals, to prevent contact with humans, and to keep them on premises. G W Exotic Animal Park is not an accredited zoo, such accreditations being done by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
It is unclear what the financial relationship is, either legal or illegal, between the non-profit, non-accredited zoo, the traveling baby tiger cub show, and the magic show.
Chronological Details of Research
My wife just came home from work, and told me that at the Centerpointe Mall in Grand Rapids, Michigan there is a baby tiger kiosk named Tigers in Need which is charging $25 to spend time with tiger cubs and is not allowing any photos of their kiosk. This sounded fishy to her, and she asked me to look up Tigers in Need.
Tigers in Need does have a web site, but there is very, very little information there. Below are some excerpts:
* “A non-profit effort to rescue, care for and raise awareness of neglected exotic animals.”
* “Tigers in need was built in Southern Oklahoma in 1999, starting out as a small refuge to house unwanted big cats. Today it has grown into one of the largest projects in the country. With your help and the help of people all over the world we now have over 150 big cats on site living out their lives in comfort and peace. Please note that we are a non-profit organization, and are not affiliated with any other company.”
* “Our mission is to educate the public about the danger of owning exotics that grow to an unwanted size, to help preserve their environment, and to take in and house unwanted exotic animals that have been in captivity. Also, to educate and help those who have exotics to better care for their animals so they, too, don’t become unwanted.”
* “Text “tiger” to 85944 to donate $10.00 billed to your cell phone.”
* A link to http://www.usza.us
* Florida Office 813-361-9611, email ok2steppin@aol.com
There were no other phone numbers, including for Oklahoma, or an address to send donations, or any non profit credentials.
In Googling Tigers in Need, this web article came up which begins:
* “Great Cat Adventures” is no longer on the marquee for the Davis County Fair next month. That show is being tentatively replaced by “Welch’s Tiger Experience,” an Oklahoma group that can be found on the Web at www.tigersinneed.org“
And another recent article regarding Tigers In Need at another mall:
* “Tigers in the mall sounds unusual, but that’s where you’ll find them this weekend in Alton at the Alton Square Mall. They’ll be in the Tigers In Need exhibit. Sarah Bolyard from Alton Square Mall and Beth Corley from Welch’s Entertainment talked about why they’re bringing awareness to tigers.”
The next relevant site is 911animalabuse.com which says:
Tigers in Need in OK is NOT a Sanctuary
On July 15, 2010 we received a complaint that Tigers in Need in Oklahoma was allegedly charging the public to pay with 7 week old tiger cubs in direct violation of USDA’s policy that only allows contact between the public and big cat cubs between the age of 8 weeks and 12 weeks. The USFWS deems that a real sanctuary does not breed, buy, sell, trade, nor allow public contact of any kind at any age with exotic cats. Any place that allows contact with their cats is not a real sanctuary.
At the bottom of the page, there is a link to the USDA, who is meant to supervise exotic animal exhibits, and where to report suspected law breaking.
Next, I tried searching for the phone number on the internet, and the same phone number was listed for a web site of World Magic. http://bit.ly/9Qjzo9
The web site for World Magic lists numerous venues in Oklahoma. The magicians are named Cody Ryan and Aaron Stone. There contact info is: 405.665.1003 or e-mail worldmagicentertaiment@yahoo.com
Searching on this phone number comes back to the Centerpointe Mall web site, with a press release about Aarron Alex,
“master illusionist”, with five free shows, and “during a particularly … part of the program … children … meet one of our baby animals.
In the press release, Alex Productions is listed as a 501(c)(3) organization (a tax exempt educational non profit). Michelle Roberston is listed as the marketing director for Alex Productions. This event was scheduled for earlier in the April 14-18, 2010.
http://bit.ly/b0w644
Next, checking to see who exactly is at CenterPointe Mall right now, I checked their web site, and find the following event listing:
* July 28th- August 1st, Joe Exotic’s Animal Display, Come visit and get your pictures taken with baby lions, tigers, and bears. For more information please visit www.joeexotic.com
Now, I’m wondering, who is Joe Exotic’s Animal Display? Is that the same as Tigers in Need? Is it also the same as World Magic? Is it the same as Alex Productions?
Googling Joe Exotic, I find on that web site:
* “…as of May 15th 2010 Joe Exotic will only be a magic show. There is not photos or play cages with baby cubs.”
* “Later he and his brother Garold G.W. Schreibvogal, became pet store owners in Arlington, Texas where it became one of the largest independent pet stores in the state.”
* ” the pet store was sold and Joe along with his parents invested the profits to establish the G.W. Exotic Animal Memorial Foundation in Wynnewood”
* “Please notice: We are a federally licensed zoo. This requires us to be inspected by. USDA, Federal Fish and Wildlife, State of Oklahoma… We rescue more animals in one year than any other facility in the world. Some animals come in pregnant, we do rescue babies, and don’t always have babies to go on tour but however we do work with two over seas organizations that protect the bloodline of extinct in the wild animals so WE DO breed a few select pairs and we are very, very proud of our accomplishments and you should be too!”
At this point, I notice that all of the web sites have the same simple format, with black background, and limited links. I could search to see who has registered each site.
There is also a link to the GW Park, now there is a bit more information (on another similar black web site).
* 405-665-5197
* G.W. Exotic no longer does Traveling Exhibits with animals.
* G.W. Exotic Animal Park, RRT 2 Box 67, Wynnewood OK, 73098
* Joe Schreibvogel – Park Director
* You will need to put GW EXOTIC in the re: or your email will not be opened for gwparkstaff@yahoo.com or joe_exotic@yahoo.com
* We do breed a select few but we do not sell.
* In 2003 Joe performed magic shows with tigers to help fund the park. In 2004 he made his own choice not to use anything but rabbits, doves, and people in his magic show. This was his own choice and was not pressured by any animal rights groups to make this choice.
* Our cats are donated to zoos world wide. Some of our cats are in Bulgaria, Thailand, Korea, and many zoos around the United States.
* If you are not in agreement of our choice, Please send a check for $60,000.00 per month to the G.W. Exotic Animal Park and we will stop what we are doing and do it your way.
Next, another article from 911animalabuse.com
23 Baby Tigers Die at G.W. Exotics, Animal Park Claims Tainted Kitten Formula Killing Tiger Cubs
Tainted formula could be to blame for the deaths of 23 baby tigers in Wynnewood. The director of G.W. Exotic Animal Park said Sunday that he and veterinarians struggled since November to figure out why they were dying. A necropsy performed at OSU last week concluded that formula caused a one-week-old male tiger to die, records provided by the director show. PetAg, the formula’s manufacturer, could not be reached for comment, but states on its website that its products are safe when stored and used as directed. The park told Fox 25 the FDA would arrive on Tuesday to pick up samples of the formula in question. What the reporter should be investigating is why a “sanctuary” has 23 baby tigers.
Welch’s Tiger Experience is just the latest cover for Joe Schreibvogel of G.W. Exotics AKA G.W.Park AKA G.W. Exotic Animal Park AKA G.W. Exotic Animal Foundation which is all in the name of Joe Schreibvogel’s deceased brother Garold Wayne. The contact for Welch’s Entertainment, Beth Corley, and the above interations of GW Exotics share a mailing address according to reporter Joseph M. Dougherty of the Desert News. Beth Corley also takes the show on the road under the name of Corley’s Exotic Animal Rescue based out of G.W. Exotic Animal Park in Wynnewood, OK.
You can tell a person by the company they keep. Here are the people who do business with Joe Schreibvogel of G.W. Exotics:
Joe Schreibvogel of G.W. Exotics associates are a collection of the usual suspects — shady animal dealers, brokers, roadside zoos, and exhibitors — many of them chronic violators of the federal Animal Welfare Act. Joe Schreibvogel’s G.W. Exotics also serves as a dumping ground for animals once used in the film industry and in traveling shows. Following are a few of the people and facilities that Joe Schreibvogel’s G.W. Exotics allegedly deals with and has acquired animals from.
The web site goes on to describe a long history of this man and organization including a history of the animals.
An additional link about the deaths is here:
http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/5971504-23-baby-tigers-die
A related page is here: http://www.911animalabuse.com/reportanimalabuse.htm
Next, a letter from a person in Escanaba, including this quote:
* Joe “Exotic”, a man who’s ‘rescue sanctuary’ in Oklahoma has been fined $25,000 by the United States Department of Agriculture for animal abuse and neglect violations.
Summary
So, what is a reasonable person to think about Tigers in Need?
My sense is that all of these organizations are one-in-the-same, that they have most likely violated the law, and even been caught for violating the law. That they admit to breading tigers, and had twenty-three that died, all being on formula at the same time. That Joe (or Aarron?) goes around to mall, and drums up interest in the animals during the spring, and then set’s up a schedule for the baby tigers to come to the malls. Next, the baby tiger cubs are taken around to collect $25 for two people to play. The people claim that the cubs are 10 weeks old, which falls in a very narrow window in which tiger cubs may legal be exhibited. That the money then goes to support the “zoo” in Oklahoma, and to support continued breading of the tigers.
The fact that Grand Rapids Centerpointe Mall is allowing such a disreputable, law breaking organization, into the mall, under the pretense that “Tigers in Need” will get help, is extremely disappointing.
At the very least, the Mall should call the USDA to examine the exhibit, determine the care of the animals, and that they are appropriate age. The Mall should also ask Tigers in Need to leave and not to come back.
The larger question is how to prevent others from hiring this group, given that they appear to rapidly come up with aliases. A second question is how to humanely close this “zoo”.
###
Additional Notes
A couple more links:
Another person describes this group at another mall:
http://reporter.911animalabuse.com/_Baby-Tigers-Exploited-at-Mall/blog/346249/23072.html
This article has a few more details, and puts some of the pieces together:
… a traveling animal show, managed by Joe Schreibvogel, a professional magician whose stage name is Aarron Alex, had arrived at the Mall and would be open to the public through Sunday, April 4. … The Alex Productions staff offers a $25 package that includes two people having an eight-minute visit with a baby animal under direct supervision of a staff member.
Proceeds from those visits go to caring for the animals on Alex’s non-profit G.W. Exotic Animal Memorial Park in Wynnewood, Okla., which serves as a rescue for exotic animals that have been abandoned, abused or neglected.
http://www.muscatinejournal.com/news/local/article_90db4c22-3da2-11df-9168-001cc4c03286.html
Another article about the Alton Square Mall in Alton, Illinois.
The entourage includes two, 7-week-old tigers born after their mother was rescued, a 6-month-old Siberian mix – not available for petting – and a 22-month-old ring-tailed lemur.
At one point midday, a couple dozen people were milling about the area, peering at children petting the babies while a parent or grandparent shot photos, or looking at the variety of tiger-related merchandise.
It is free to walk inside the open, spacious area, but the cost is $25 for two people to go inside one of the large cages and pet one of the cubs. Staff-taken photos also are extra, with varying prices. People are not allowed to photograph the cats from outside the cages without making a donation.
Tara Riedisser, of Wood River, feels the love as she eyes Anne, a 7-week-old tiger cub, Wednesday afternoon at Alton Square Mall. Riedisser took advantage of a rare opportunity to pet and play with the young animal for a fee to support the Tigers in Need refuge in Wynnewood, Okla.
http://www.thetelegraph.com/news/cats-42593-tigers-people.html
Here is the most disturbing account that I’ve found so far:
Gw Exotic Animal Park
(405) 665-5197
25803 N County Road 3250
Wynnewood, OK
73098I worked at GW Exotic Animal Memorial Park for about 4 months. I can tell you, with what I saw with my own eyes, this place is a dangerous park for animals and people! This is not a sanctuary for rescued animals. It is a roadside zoo!
I saw first hand the cruelty, danger, and neglect of the animals. Instead of being â an upscale zoo for rescued animalsâ as it claims on its website, I found dead, dying, and injured animals. They were kept in very crowded conditions. The animals were forced to go without food, water, and veterinary care. The cages are shamefully inadequate. The staff is untrained and insufficient, not to mention cruel to the numerous animals!
There are more than 1,000 animals at GW Exotic Animal Memorial Park, including tigers, bears, lions, cougars, leopards, chimpanzees, wolf hybrids, macaque monkeys, and baboons. The animals were starved, sometimes going without food for days at a time. I witnessed animals being hit, kicked, punched, sprayed with cold water, and struck with rakes and shovels. When any of the animals got into fights they were blasted with fire extinguishers! I saw two healthy adult tigers killed for no reason. Two injured horses were allowed to lay suffering for two days before they were slaughtered. I witnessed a tiger attack a lion and chew her entire leg off! I found a wallaby dead in its cage, as well.
Children were even allowed to handle tiger cubs that were infected with ringworm! They declaw all their cubs, which leave them in painful crippling conditions for the rest of their lives. Goats and chickens are used as live bait, and animals constantly escape because of poor cages and careless personnel.
Employees were instructed to falsify USDA-required paperwork regarding feeding schedules and environmental enrichment for primates to cover up the fact that animals went hungry for days at a time and that the psychological well being of primates was not being met.
GW also breeds exotic animals, churning out litters of tigers, lions, bears, and other exotic animals. Some are deformed, likely because of inbreeding or inadequate nutrition for the mother during pregnancy.
Newborns, many just hours old, are removed from their mothers and dragged around the country to shopping malls and fairgrounds to be used in Jacobâ s cheesy magic act and for photo ops where the public pays a few bucks for a Polaroid shot posing with a small cub. Many of the babies died within a few weeks, presumably succumbing to the stress of travel and handling by the public.
http://local.yahoo.com/info-18452742-gw-exotic-animal-park-wynnewood
Another article with a couple more tidbits:
Individuals or companies wishing to sponsor one of the new tigers are encouraged to call 405-665-5197 and speak with Joe Schreibvogel or Colt Baldwin.
G.W. Exotic Animal Foundation is a 501 (c) 3 not-for-profit organization founded by the Schreibvogel family. Its purpose is to rescue, rehabilitate and provide safe-haven (refuge) to unwanted and endangered exotic animals. The 16 acre facility in Oklahoma is the nations largest big cat rescue center.
The IRS lists G W Exotic Animal Foundation as a 501(c)(3) — http://bit.ly/9RzRga
Guidestar, which has information about nonprofits, lists G W Exotic Animal Foundation, and has tax information from 2006, 2007 and 2008.
2008 IRS 990 Form
Total Revenue in 2008 — $510,577
Cost of Animal Feed — $47,866 (Note: Down from $128,604 in 2006)
Net Profit — $62,866
Person Filing the Tax Form — Shirley Schreibvogel, P.O. Box 364, Springer, OK 73548 (580) 222-9522
Officers: Joe Schreibvogel, John Findlay, Shirley Schreibvogel, Gala Howe
http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2008/731/574/2008-731574292-0558d511-9.pdf
From Facebook, Joe takes issue with those that complain about his practices:
Public offer to donate 50 adult tigers or shut the hell up…
My name is Joe Schreibvogel and I am the director of the GW Exotic Animal Foundation in Wynnewood Oklahoma.
You did a story about Big Cat Rescue of Tampa Florida a while back and it was when their staff complained they were frauding the public for donations saying animals were rescued when they were born or bought.
Carole Baskin the owner of this place has pushed me to my limit. I have put up with her lies, slander, harrasment, long enough. She spends most of her time contacting my clients harrassing them getting our shows cancelled, getting us kicked off of contest to win money to care for our animals.
So here is the deal. I want to make a public offer of a donation since My place is (according to her a pit of hell) which in fact is 100 times nicer than hers. The donation is – I want to donate 50 adult tigers to be moved to Big Cat Rescue of Tampa florida to be put in only her care. (not relocated to anywhere else) these cats are not to be called a rescue as they don’t need rescued, it is a donation to her since she seems to be the only person in the world that is doing things right.
There will be money offered to come with them for their care. there will be no moving expense covered. There will be no help of any kind. She is the damn expert let her figure it out. Im tired of working and being bashed and lied about every day of my life. Instead of living off of my missing husbands million dollar life insurance I work my ass off paying bills for animals no one else wants. What I cant figure out is why dont she spend as much time, money, effort in finding her husbands body instead of harrassing us? (because she knows where it is)?
These tigers are in top shape and nothing wrong with them except the fact this heifer wants to keep hurting our funding to care for these animals our self. We have over 140 large cats here and work day and night caring for them every way we can. There must be laws to protect a hard working American from harrasment such as this. (I can see why people go postal, No one helps stop the abuse)
She either needs to accept this public offer or get the hell off of my ass. I drove to her place in march and this is what I found www.animalsluts.org now compare that to my place. http://host.newspin360.net/gwanimalpark/now in the last 3 years I have been inspected 17 times with perfect inspections, she has been inspected 5 times with one write up just last month, and this is from her constently turning us in for something.(its time she gets a life)
Its time the news helps the honest hard working American instead of helping the people that get rich off of hurting others. She is doing nothing but taking the money we need to help our animals, Do you call that caring about my animals? if she dont like the way I raise money (the honest way) why dont she either send money to do it right or come get 50 tigers?
I am sick and tired of it
Joe Schreibvogel
From the high set cameras, the zoo appears nice. Here is the correct location in Google Maps, which does not seem to agree with the location given in the web sites and other documentation:
Here is the directions map from the zoo’s web site: http://www.gwpark.org/map.html
Notice from the Google Maps satellite image, that there appears to be two separate areas, the nice area, seen in the 360 images, linked above by Joe, and then another area on west side of the street, closer to the freeway. One wonders what is in this area, and whether it is open to the public, or if, perhaps, it is some sort of a ranch or farm that just happens to be across the street.
Latitude and Longitude of the zoo
34.625302,-97.212342
The same location using another mapping program: http://bit.ly/bUUa8Z
Additional Information
I was feeling curious about what exactly was going on at Centerpointe Mall in Grand Rapids. I hopped in the car and took a ride up there on Sunday, August 1, 2010. According to the Centerpointe Mall web site, the “Tigers in Need” show was going to be there through August 1. I got there, and after looking all around the mall, could not find their kiosk. Finally, as I was leaving, I noticed a poster for the group. Apparently, they have left at least one day early.
I also looked up the several web sites that seem to be associated with this group. Here are a few of the results:
Web Site for This Group
Alex Productions — no web site
Welch’s Entertainment — no web site
http://www.worldmagic.org
Registrant: Rhyne, Brian
Record created on 06-Apr-2010http://www.tigersinneed.org
Registrant: Welch, Vicki
Record created on 30-Jan-2010http://www.joeexotic.com
Registrant: Rhyne, Brian
Record created on 08-Dec-2008http://www.gwpark.org
Registrant: Rhyne, Brian
Administrative Contact: Schreibvogel, Joe
Record created on 26-Feb-2001
Brian Rhyne is listed on the above website as died on 12/23/2001!
The same page notes:
As most of you know, we have a big problem on our hands, as the State of Oklahoma is trying to shut down our road shows. This is how we raise most of our funds to feed the animals, pay our bills and keep functioning throughout the slow winter months. If the state succeeds in shutting down our road shows, we will never be able to keep the number of large cats that we now have residing at the park. Rather than let animals starve, we would begin euthanizing them if we had to.
http://www.gwpark.org/news7.html
I happened across another newspaper story about the group, with the following info:
Awakening Production came to Southland with lion and tiger cubs and a baby kangaroo.
It set up a display where people could see the animals, and if they wanted, pay $25 for two people to spend eight minutes in a cage with tiger cubs and a trainer.
“Getting to touch a baby tiger is a moment in a lifetime,” said Michael Bussey, stage manager for Awakening Production.
Awakening Production came with a 4-month-old white tiger; two 8-week-old tigers, which went into the play cages with visitors; a 13-week-old tiger; two 3-week-old lions; and a 3-month-old kangaroo, said Vicky Welch, road manager and animal caretaker.
Fourteen people, including stage crew and animal caretakers, travel with the animals, Welch said.
Yet another company, “Awakening Production”, which does not have a web site.
In addition, there were a number of comments and responses to the article:
Do you all know HOW MUCH MONEY THEY MADE! At the expense of breeding tigers that they can take around the country…to make money off you fools then they give or sell those tigers when they are too big…they end up in China and so on for their herbal cures….you people need to wake up, your just as guilty as they are…which is more then what I can say to you sorry people that can’t engage your children into more productive activity to protect the environment and rights of animals…..you all get off easy putting your kid in a cage with an abused animal and you think your TEACHING or putting a star on your forehead for being a good parent
…would NEVER EVER put my kids in a cage with a wild animal…..I don’t ever want them to think that it is cute or FAIR to the animal, they do not need to be in cages they need to be in their natural environment…..free….not caged! City of Taylor and Southland should be ashamed for allowing this!
We wandered over and looked into one of the cages. There was a man sitting on the floor, holding his toddler daughter. The little girl was terrified of the baby tiger. She was screaming and kicking at the tiger. I think she made contact at one point. The employee never suggested the child be taken out of the cage, nor did the father have enough brains to cut the ‘visit’ short.
Now, repeat that scenario several times a day, in different cities, year round and tell me that these animals aren’t being exploited and mistreated. It made me sick.
This is another sad excuse for an “educational show”, where in reality these animals are being exploited for one reason only – monetary gain. These cute baby tiger and lion cubs will grow up to be 300-500 lb big cats and are destined for a life in captivity or worse, can end up in canned hunts or killed for the black market. There are more tigers in captivity in the United States then there are in the wild. Until laws are passed restricting private ownership and exploitation of these great cats, this type of animal cruelty will continue.
There are many more comments on this page, it seems like it was an ongoing discussion.
http://www.thenewsherald.com/articles/2009/09/12/news/doc4aabdcd7f2446752163884.txt
A web site called “Big Cat Rescue” takes issue with G W Exotic:
http://bigcatrescue.org/latest-news/394-better-email-addresses-to-save-cancun-tigers
The traveling show came to Benton Harbor Michigan in 2008:
“This benefit show will be in honor of the organization: “Uniting a Proactive Primate and Exotic Animal League – UAPPEAL (see http://www.uppapeal.org), an organization fighting for the rights of everyday people who wish to preserve the right in the United States to keep, house and maintain exotic primates and other animals within the private sector,” says Joe Schreibvogel, president of Awakening Productions. “This even reaches out to services providing exotic animals trained and used to aid the disabled.” “I encourage everyone to help us support UPPAPEAL and fight unnecessary laws such as the H.R. 1947 bill which encroaches on individual rights to own or have any contact with exotic animals,” Schreibvogel adds.
G.W. Exotic Animal Foundation is a 501 (c) 3 not-for-profit organization founded by the Schreibvogel family. Its purpose is to rescue, rehabilitate and provide safe-haven (refuge) to unwanted and endangered exotic animals. The 16 acre facility in Oklahoma is the nations largest big cat rescue center.
Note: The correct URL for the web site in the quote above is: http://www.uappeal.org
A transcript from NPR includes both Jane Goodall and a member of UAppeal:
http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=101430578
Now here’s something quite interesting. I looked up the domain name registrar for the “United States Zoological Association, and who do you suppose I found?
http://www.usza.us
Registrant: Rhyne, Brian
Administrative Contact: Schreibvogel, Joe
joe_exotic@yahoo.com
RR 2 BOX 67
WYNNEWOOD, OK 73098-9633
Phone: 405-665-5197
Fax: 123 123 1234
Record created on 24-Aug-2008
Yes, since Brian died years ago, this is yet another of Joe Schreibvogel’s web sites.
One page on the usza.us site has a list of animals and an email address of uszainfo@yahoo.com
If you have space to take an animal, any surplus animals, animals for sale, put them here.
It appears to include listings for baby tigers, baboons, leopards, lynx, etc.
http://www.usza.us/animalnetwork.html
President:
Office Phone number 405-665-1930
Office Fax number 405-665-1050
Joseph Schreibvogel
RRT 2 Box 67
Wynnewood OK. 73098
405-665-5197 Ext 11
joe_exotic@yahoo.com
The United States Zoological Association is listed by the IRS as a charity in Wynnewood, OK which is the same city as G W Exotic Animal Foundation. In appears to have been founded in 2009, and I was unable to find the IRS 990 tax document.
I was curious about the USDA and their interactions with Joe.
The first link details the $25,000 judgement against Joe: http://bit.ly/b1bPud
His Animal Welfare Act license number is 73-C-0139
There is another case on the USDA web site, but in this one Schreibvogel was more of a witness, and the case was regarding a person in Colorado: http://bit.ly/bKwnbj
I found, you guessed it, yet another of “Brian Rhyne’s” web sites:
http://www.animalsluts.org/
Registrant: Rhyne, Brian*
Record created on 10-Dec-2008
This one seems to be an attack site against “Big Cat Rescue” of Tampa Florida. There is also a page attacking a tattoo shop in Escanabe that apparently did a poor job.
The State of Oklahoma has filed ten charges against Joe Schreibvogel, a part of which appear to have been dropped. http://bit.ly/9oR8kY
Another web site goes on to list a number of alleged facts about Joe including that the animals were poorly treated at the zoo. The cite includes the following:
Former volunteer Tracey Beasley is now stating Joe tole her he wanted to “Breed, Breed, Breed” in order to gain the title of the world’s largest cat sanctuary.
Beasley added, “I think the only reason he hasn’t been shut down is because of the number of animals he has. Where would they all go? It would be difficult to place that many big cats, so he feels relatively safe…for now.”
http://www.gossip-boy.com/Joe_Exotic.html
Apparently, another group had an undercover investigation into the zoo. There was a follow up article in a newspaper.
The video was backed up by a federal complaint that led to G.W. Exotic paying a $25,000 fine and agreeing to an 18-month probation starting in January 2006. In that case, federal regulators charged that G.W. Exotic employees verbally abused inspectors, housed animals in shacks made of concrete blocks and plywood, and stored food in a broken freezer spattered with blood and teeming with maggots.
http://www.pitch.com/2007-05-17/news/mall-abuse
Here is the link to the web site with the article and video. It appears that the complaints are already listed above on this page.
http://www.peta.org/feat-gw_main.asp
In fact, PETA has a number of web pages detailing the same sorts of information that I found other places on the Internet, including this page about the “roadshow”.
http://www.peta.org/feat-gw_roadshow.asp
http://www.peta.org/feat-gw_rapsheet.asp
http://www.peta.org/feat-gw_log_breeding.asp
http://www.peta.org/feat-gw_log_employees.asp
Malls the are listed as having hired Joe
Birchwood Mall :: Brazos Mall :: Capital Hill Mall :: Centrepointe Mall :: Concord Mall :: Central Square Mall :: Carlsbad Mall :: Colony Square :: Crossroads Mall :: Delta Plaza Mall :: Easthills Mall :: Easttown Mall :: Findlay Mall :: Grand Traverse Mall :: Golden Triangle Mall :: Harbre Valley Mall :: Heartland Mall :: Hutchison Mall :: Illinois Center :: Impirial Mall :: Indian Mound Mall :: Kyoba Mall :: Logan’s Port Mall :: Jamestown Mall :: Lakeview Mall :: Lansing Mall :: Levis Commons Mall :: Monument Mall :: Mall of the Mainland :: Marquette Mall :: Music City Mall :: North Gate Mall :: Northland Mall :: Orchards Mall :: Paul Bunyon Mall :: Pierre Mall :: Quincy Mall :: River City Mall :: Roswell Mall :: Southland Center :: Sandburg Mall :: Southpark Mall :: Sunset Plaza Mall :: Times Square Mall :: Thunderbird Mall :: Valley View Mall :: Velda Rose Mall :: The Village Mall :: University Mall :: Westgate Mall :: Westland Mall :: Westshore Mall :: Katy Mills Mall :: Gurnea Mills Mall :: Grapevine Mills Mall :: Pasadena Town Square Mall :: Baytown Mall
http://www.worldmagic.org/
Aliases and Doing Business As or D.B.A. or DBA
Tigers in Need
Welch’s Entertainment
Welch’s Tiger Experience
Alex Productions
Awakening Production
Corley’s Exotics — http://bit.ly/90pPEY
Corley’s Exotic Animal Rescue
Beth Corley
Big Cat Rescue Entertainment Group Inc.
World Magic
Illusions of the Night
Mystical Magic of the Endangered
Joe Exotic
Joe Exotic’s Animal Display
Joe Schreibvogel
Joeseph Schreibvogel
Aarron Alex
Cody Ryan
United States Zoological Association
GW Exotic Animal Foundation
G W Exotic Animal Foundation
G.W. Exotic Animal Foundation
GW Exotic Animal Memorial Park
G W Exotic Animal Memorial Park
G.W. Exotic Animal Memorial Park
GW Exotic Animal Park
G W Exotic Animal Park
G.W. Exotic Animal Park
GW Exotics
G W Exotics
G.W. Exotics
GW Park
Note: Yet another web site:
http://www.aarronalex.com
Registrant: Rhyne, Brian**
Record created on 26-Feb-2010
There may be some additional domains under Brian Rhyne’s name as well:
http://www.domaintools.com/reverse-whois/?all[]=Brian+Rhyne&none[]=
Where in the USA is the Tigers in Need show?
The baby tigers in the mall show appears to move around quite a bit, setting up in a mall on a Wednesday, and pulling out on that same Sunday.
February 10 – February 14, 2010 — Central Square Mall, Grand Rapids, Minnesota
http://www.grandrapidsmn.com/news/article_67a33f9e-07e1-5ada-8306-ceb80bf28f52.htmlFebruary 24 – February 28, 2010 — Hutchinson Mall, Hutchinson, Minnesota
http://bigcatnews.blogspot.com/2010/02/corleys-exotic-animal-rescue-is-coming.htmlFebruary — Rapids, Minnesota
June 9 – June 13, 2010 — Pierre Mall, Pierre, South Dakota –
http://www.capjournal.com/articles/2010/06/15/news/doc4c106fb60e197973288041.txtJuly 14 – July 18, 2010 — Alton Square Mall, Alton, Illinois –
http://www.thetelegraph.com/articles/cats-42593-tigers-people.htmlJuly 28 – August 1, 2010 — Centerpointe Mall, Grand Rapids, Michigan
August 18 – August 21, Legacy Events Center, Davis County Fair, Bountiful, Utah
http://bit.ly/cAYpzw
All of the animal industry from national parks to sanctuaries are a business, and there is nothing wrong with making money. BUT can’t it be ethical?
I fear that conservationist who use bottom-line reasoning as the key argument for saving the animals they love are actually dooming them to extinction”- Richard Leakey
“Lions, Tigers and Scams” takes a look at the cub petting industry.
This is one of the main reasons why there are so many unwanted big cats filling up the few good sanctuaries/rescues in the Unites Sates.
For the money this industry brings in, one would hope that it is going to actually help the cats or save them in their natural habitats, but it isn’t.
A true sanctuary is a place that does not breed, sell, or pull baby animals from their mothers to be dragged around from State Fairs to Car Shows and all places in between for the public to hold. They sell this off as entertainment, (maybe it is for some) and maybe we no longer care about the welfare of the animals involved or the bigger picture? I’d like to think we do. The dealers & breeders bank on our ignorance and that is wrong.
Joe’s Web Sites
Record created on 26-Feb-2001 — http://www.gwpark.org
Record created on 24-Aug-2008 — http://www.usza.us
Record created on 08-Dec-2008 — http://www.joeexotic.com
Record created on 10-Dec-2008 — http://www.animalsluts.org
Record created on 30-Jan-2010 — http://www.tigersinneed.org
Record created on 26-Feb-2010 — http://www.aarronalex.com
Record created on 06-Apr-2010 — http://www.worldmagic.org
Pictures of Joe Schreibvogel
Joe has his pictures on various of his web sites plus in his videos.
http://good-times.webshots.com/album/561097260IkaKoN— Includes a picture of the magic show truck.
http://mysp.ac/bWxUrh– Video of Joe’s performance of the Metamorphosis illusion
This is Joe:
USDA Phone Call on Wednesday, August 4, 2010
I received a call back from the USDA about my concern.
I talked with Joseph Nelson of the USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service Animal Care. They have about 80 employees on the east side of the country. There is at least one in Michigan. They will respond to any complaint, such as that “the animal didn’t have any water” or “the animal looks overweight”. To contact them, call 919-855-7100. To send in a complaint, the best way is to fax it to 919-855-7123 and put it as attention to Dr. Goldentyer. They will then contact the local inspector to go out and have a look.
He also walked me through how to find the inspection reports online. Joe’s USDA License Number is 73-C-0139 To get to the inspections:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov
Click on the left side on “Animal Welfare”
Click on the right side on “View AWA Inspection Reports”
Click in the center on “Find an Inspection Report”
Type in the license number
Then click on the large PDF icon to download the reportMr. Nelson noted that the inspection report may not be in chronological order, so it was important to look them all over.
The reports are very, very general. It looks like it is important to be very specific in the complaint. For example, did the baby tigers get shots? They are supposed to at 4, 8, and 12 weeks. Are they too young for handling? Are they too old for handling? Maybe, are they being bread intentionally, and then used for entertainment purposes.
I suspect that another entity to ask would be the IRS. It doesn’t appear from the 990 form that Joe pays anyone, and that everyone volunteers, even for his magic shows. That doesn’t add up, as the employees report being paid. Where is the money going exactly? It seems like there might be a whole separate set of books.
If Joe wanted to clear that up, he could provide an attachment in the 990 to show all the employees, the compensation, the income from the magic shows, the income from the mall shows, fair shows, etc. All of that detail is missing, and due to that, it looks very suspicious.
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