BCR Will Not Go "Out of Business"

Okay, I just had to post one article regarding the push to limit wild animal ownership in the US.  As a side note:  BCR will not go "out of business" if this bill is passed -- in fact, it may "increase" their business.  After all , there will be folks willing to risk owning the animals without the government's blessing, forcing many animal cases to go before the courts.

http://www2.tbo.com/news/community-news/2012/may/16/nwopeno1-big-cat-rescue-backs-law-that-could-one-d-ar-402774/



Published: May 16, 2012

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Big Cat Rescue backs law that could one day put it out of business

By Eddie Daniels

CaroleBaskin spends much of her life with big felines — tigers, lions, leopards and such.

As founder of Big Cat Rescue, a nonprofit educational sanctuary in Citrus Park, she takes pride in the way the sanctuary is operated — with attention to the animals' well-being and the public's safety.

Not everyone is so scrupulous.

Baskin said she wasn't shocked in October when a man in Zanesville, Ohio, intentionally released 56 big cats from a private piece of property. Of the 56 animals turned loose in the southwestern Ohio community, 49 were killed to protect the public — including 18 Bengal tigers and 17 lions.

The man who released them killed himself.

"It is just the tip of the iceberg," Baskin said. "People look at this and go, 'Oh, this was horrible.'

"We know so many places that are exactly like that and are just a ticking time bomb waiting to go off."

Susan Bass, the Citrus Park sanctuary's spokeswoman, agrees.

"It could literally happen anytime, anywhere, locally, in the state or around the country, really," Bass said.

That realization, in addition to a desire to protect the well-being of big cats, is what has driven the staff at Big Cat Rescue to join the likes of the Humane Society of the United States, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, Born Free USA, the World Wildlife Fund and The Ian Somerhalder Foundation in backing a bill pending before the U.S. House of Representatives dubbed the Big Cats and Public Safety Protection Act.

The bill, introduced Feb. 29 by Reps. Buck McKeon, R-Calif., and Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif., attempts to curb, if not completely eliminate, the private possession and breeding of big cats.

It aims to ensure that lions, tigers and other dangerous big felines do not threaten public safety while being kept as pets or used as attractions and in traveling exhibits.

The bill also looks to add a layer of regulation that varies from state to state. Eight states currently don't have laws governing ownership of big cats, according to Born Free USA's website.



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The effort to pass the bill has added much to the plate of Big Cat Rescue, which opened in 1992 and is on 55 acres. Big Cat Rescue, the world's largest accredited sanctuary dedicated to abused and abandoned cats, has more than 100 large felines of various species.

"The amount of work it took to get a really good bill drafted and agreed to by enough people … yes, it creates a lot of work, and that creates a certain pressure, because we are very thinly staffed and work most nights and weekends, and this adds to that," said Howard Baskin, the rescue park's advisory board chairman and husband of Carole. "But it's the most exciting thing we're working on.

"And we feel confident it will pass. It's just, how quickly can we accelerate the process? By putting as much energy as we can into it."

In September, Big Cat Rescue accepted three tigers — Andre, Amanda and Arthur — from Wild Animal Orphanage just outside San Antonio, Texas. They were among 24 tigers the Texas orphanage took in from a New Jersey property that had closed. The Baskins said they heard the animals were kept in too-tight quarters in New Jersey.

The couple said the congressional bill, if passed into law, would eliminate the need for such rescue efforts.

"Our goal is basically to put ourselves out of business," Howard Baskin said. "We would like for there to be no need for any cats to come to us having lived in horrible conditions."

Fourteen representatives are on board as co-sponsors of the House bill, including Kathy Castor, D-Tampa. John Kerry, D-Mass., has agreed to work on a companion bill in the U.S. Senate.

Organizations backing the act are encouraging people to write and call their representatives.

There also is a social media effort. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio, an animal-rights advocate, has expressed support for the bill to his 2 million-plus followers on Twitter.

Ultimately, the Zanesville, Ohio, tragedy might be advocates' strongest evidence of the need for such a law.

"The impact of the Ohio incident — as horrible as it was, and you would never wish it to happen — has raised public awareness," Howard Baskin said. "It has brought national and international attention to an issue that when we would tell people about it, they'd go, 'You're kidding,' because people weren't aware. So one could argue if it helps get this bill passed, you could say those cats didn't die in vain."

Comments

Mark Hernandez

This is not simply a private ownership issue--this is also a zoo and sanctuary issue. When speaking of a ticking time bomb, most people are not aware that zoo and sanctuary animals have escaped their enclosures as well over the years and these escapes are not normally reported to the media or law enforcement unless the situation becomes news (i.e. Oakland Zoo tiger escape). Eventually, when the real story as to why the Wild Animal Orphanage closed its doors forever is made public, everyone will learn what really transpired at this Texas sanctuary that was at one time hailed as the largest and most reputable exotic wild animal sanctuary in the US. If you think there’s a problem with private ownership, wait until you read what happened at this sanctuary!

May 16