• About BCR
  • News
  • News @ BCR
  • Rescues
  • Issues
  • Cat Laws
Wednesday, May 18, 2022
  • Login
  • Register
Big Cat Rescue
  • Get Involved
  • Cub Facts
  • The Sanctuary Cats
  • FAQs
  • Contact Us
  • Shop
  • Videos
  • Donate
No Result
View All Result
Big Cat Rescue
  • Get Involved
  • Cub Facts
  • The Sanctuary Cats
  • FAQs
  • Contact Us
  • Shop
  • Videos
  • Donate
No Result
View All Result
Big Cat Rescue
No Result
View All Result
Home Articles by BCR

Why do people keep dead exotic cats in their freezers?

Carole by BCR
November 8, 2014
in Articles by BCR, News World
0 0
0
0
SHARES
78
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare via Email

Frozen panther found in Loxahatchee home baffles law enforcement

 

One dead panther was buried in a garage freezer. Another was stuffed and mounted on a wall.

The Oct. 16 discovery baffled law enforcement officers who were called to the 30-acre property in Loxahatchee that morning over a landlord-tenant dispute, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Offices.

WARNING GRAPHIC PHOTO: Dead panther in freezer

The deputy who answered that call found himself staring into the eyes of a frozen panther that reportedly had been shot. At first, he thought it was a lion. Then a tiger. Officers later realized that the animal — buried under a pile of mangoes and two frozen birds — was a panther.

Gene Stimmler, 73, told authorities he didn’t know how his pet panther died, but that he was saving its carcass to make a rug. A former employee and tenant of his, who originally called authorities, said Stimmler shot it.

How the panthers died remains a mystery, yet one that state wildlife officials said they are not investigating. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission does not investigate the deaths of non-native captive wildlife, a spokeswoman said.

It’s unclear if the panthers, part of the cougar family, were endangered Florida panthers or a similar species that is less regulated. Stimmler has no current state permit to own a cougar as a pet.

In the past, he had a state permit for two pet cougars. He told investigators the frozen cat died about nine months ago and the stuffed one died long before.

In a telephone interview Tuesday, Stimmler said he’s owned about nine panthers over the years, and all were purchased legally. He said they probably were Florida panthers, but would not say where he bought them.

The Florida panther is a federally protected endangered species that cannot be sold or owned as a pet, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Only 100 to 160 adults are believed to exist in the wild, mostly in South Florida.

The agency was unable to provide information about the Loxahatchee case Tuesday.

For his part, Stimmler defended his actions, calling the incident “ridiculous.”

“This has been hell,” he said. “I’ve had my name dragged through the mud.”

Stimmler’s property on D Road has been home to a menagerie of exotic animals, including lemurs, a monkey and dozens of exotic birds. He runs a landscaping company and plant nursery from his home.

It was a disgruntled former employee who last month tipped off police about the dead cat, according to the Sheriff’s Office report.

Joseph Valenzuela, 48, who lived in a trailer on Stimmler’s property, said he had been working for Stimmler for several weeks and was owed more than $600, the report said. Stimmler denied hiring Valenzuela to do any work for him.

The deputy arrived and advised Valenzuela to find a lawyer to dispute the owed wages, the report said. Before the deputy left, Valenzuela showed him the freezer where the dead panther was buried.

It was frozen “in a live state, eyes open,” the deputy wrote in an incident report.

He called state wildlife officers and county animal control.

Wildlife investigators photographed the dead panther. Stimmler denied having shot it.

But because there were no obvious signs of abuse, the officer did not check to see if the cougar was shot, FWC spokeswoman Katie Purcell said. The follow-up inspection at Stimmler’s home was completed last week, with no major violations reported.

Valenzuela, who has since moved off Stimmler’s property, said Stimmler often drowned unwanted pets and trapped animals from the wild. He said the cougar was missing one day and Stimmler said he had someone shoot it because it bit him in the leg.

“I know he was lying because there’s no bite mark,” Valenzuela said Tuesday. “I have no idea why he shot it.”

In May 2010, state wildlife inspectors warned Stimmler that his panther looked thin and that its water was dirty. That panther was kept in a chain-link cage outside his home. The animal looked ill, but not because of old age. It appeared to be 3 to 4 years old, the inspector wrote in the report.

“The panther’s hip bones were showing, indicating poor diet or parasites,” the FWC inspector wrote.

Cages for his lemurs and a marmoset monkey were too small, and his captive-wildlife permit had expired, the report said. Stimmler was given a warning to fix the problems and he promised he would.

But the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission did not follow up in the following months to ensure the changes were made. The agency only is required to inspect the homes of captive wildlife owners every two years, Purcell said.

 

Staff writer David Fleshler and staff researcher Barbara Hijek contributed to this report.

apcampbell@tribune.com or 561-243-6609

 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/fl-loxahatchee-freezer-panther-20111108,0,568119.story

 

Why do so many abusers keep big cats in their freezers?

 

Tiger Rescue Colton, CA (2002 10 tigers were seized and in 2003 13 young tigers were confiscated and 58 cubs found in the freezer) You gotta wonder, “Why?” http://www.savethetigers.com/

When Joe Schreibvogel was found to have had 23 tiger cubs die in 2010, you have to ask yourself, “How did the USDA figure that out?” Unless there were cubs in the freezer there isn’t any reporting that would have revealed that and to our knowledge there was no employee or volunteer who turned him in. Since it is still an open investigation (we checked Nov 2011) we don’t have all the facts, but I am betting that there were cubs in the freezer.

http://911animalabuse.com/gw-exotics-animal-foundation/

When “Wild Bill” in Homasassa, FL died his wife was later found to have a tiger in her freezer. She said she was cutting them up and feeding them to her living tigers, who were then confiscated, but why did she have tigers in the freezer to begin with? Tigers run 300-500 lbs and take up a lot of space so it would be very expensive to keep them frozen unless they were being kept for some lucrative purpose.

Wild Bill’s Sanctuary

When a man in NY was found to have been chaining his wife to a wall and abusing big cats in his basement the authorities found dead exotic cats in the freezer.

Anthony Barone

Pat and Robert Engessor of The Zoo were cited for a dead tiger cub was found in the freezer, having died of an unknown (“probably infectious”) respiratory illness.

Jungle Safari AKA The Zoo Pat and Robert Engesser

When a cat dies at Big Cat Rescue we do a necropsy to find out why and the cat may be kept in a hospital freezer briefly until we have the cat cremated by a company called Honor Thy Pet, but it cannot be kept in the food freezers (USDA regs) and usually isn’t kept on site for more than a few days or weeks at most. Most other facilities do not do necropsy reports (autopsy) and they just claim to bury their dead as cremation for a 500lb cat is really expensive, so why do they have big cats in their freezers?

A six year USFWS investigation called Operation Snow Plow revealed that these privately owned big cats were ending up in slaughterhouses and being killed for their parts.  Most of the people who were caught in that investigation are right back  in business.

Previous Post

Wildcats Find New Sanctuary at Shambala

Next Post

Actress’ tiger that mauled caretaker came from notorious Colton

Carole

BCR

Big Cat Rescue is Caring for Cats and Ending the Trade

Related Posts

News World

Enrichment Program @ BIG CAT RESCUE!

May 7, 2022
68
Alex Tiger Pumpkin
How To Start A Sanctuary

Enrichment

May 7, 2022
6k
King Tut, sometimes called Tutters Butters is giving Keeper Tory that "Whatever" look. ~Keeper Tory Wright
Rescues

King Tut

May 4, 2022
4.7k
Cheetahs Maul Dmellow
Articles by BCR

AZA vs ZAA

March 11, 2022
2.8k
Breeding KIlls
Articles by BCR

Breeding Kills

March 5, 2022
1.7k
Next Post
Zeus-Tiger-nap-2014-06-12

Actress' tiger that mauled caretaker came from notorious Colton

Leave a Reply

  • Default Comments (0)
  • Facebook Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Help Feed Big Cats

One of the best ways to help is through general donations that can be used however it is most needed at the time.To make a general donation just click the Donate Now button below.  This is the best way to give as it has the lowest credit card processing fees and is immediate help for the cats.

Give to Big Cat Rescue

If you prefer to donate via Pay Pal, please use this link: Pay Pal

Recent Articles

  • Film May 9, 2022
  • Enrichment Program @ BIG CAT RESCUE! May 7, 2022
  • Enrichment May 7, 2022

More From BigCatRescue

  • Big Cat Rescue is Live 24/7 on Webcams
  • Rescue Missions
  • About Big Cat Rescue
  • Big Cat Rescue News
  • Reviews
  • Our Recent Work
  • Sanctuary FAQs
  • Big Cat TV

Sanctuary Cats

  • Jaguars
  • Leopards
  • Lions
  • Tigers
  • Bobcats
  • Canada Lynx
  • Cougars
  • Ocelots
  • Savannah Cats
  • Servals

Ways to Help

  • Newsletter SignUp
  • Donate Now
  • Shop
  • Wish List
  • Volunteer
  • Contact Us
  • View AMP Version

Save Big Cats

Donate to Big Cat Rescue
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • Sign Up
  • About BCR
  • News @ BCR
  • Videos
  • Big Cat Facts
  • Cub Facts
  • Sanctuary Cats
  • Shop and Save Cats
  • Volunteer
  • Donate
  • Abuse Issues
  • Contact Us

© Copyright 2021 BigCatRescue.Org. All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.AcceptReject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
SAVE & ACCEPT

Add New Playlist