Erin Breen: Nevada's Safe Haven
1 Comment
Gage is sleek and has distinctive markings. He is magnificent in every way. And he is a victim of divorce. His owners bought him years ago as an adorable exotic cub, and when their marriage failed, he was one of the “things” left behind.
No one knew what to do with a full-grown Siberian tiger. He’d been declawed and domesticated to a degree. He trusted humans but was too big to be trusted with them. He couldn’t be returned to the wild, and he was too old for a zoo. He found a home at the Safe Haven Rescue near Imlay, Nev.
Just across the walkway is a 10-thousand-foot enclosure housing two mane-less male African lions. Their manes never grew because they had been fixed. After you take them in for a few minutes, you notice one has only half a tail. Ifaw is his name.
“He was rescued from a roadside zoo,” Safe Haven founder Lynda Sugasa said. “He was improperly housed. The cages were too close together, and another animal chewed off his tail, poor thing. We rescued these two together, and they will live out their days together here at our sanctuary.”
The Safe Haven Rescue is 160 acres of remote land about a two-hour drive from Reno. It is home to more than two dozen exotic pets. Each one has an unbelievable story to tell.
Some have been caged in pens that would be like living in a closet for their size. Many haven’t had proper diets or exercise. And most need medical attention.
“It’s sad, but it’s common,” Sugasa said. “People get cute cubs and then they lose interest as they grow. In six months, they are in over their heads and don’t even know how to care for them. I really wish there was no need for us to have such a place to house them, but there is a huge need for space in sanctuaries like this.”
The Safe Haven Rescue is part of a network of sanctuaries across the country filling a growing need. It was a calling for Sugasa, who lives on the site. She said she can’t even imagine doing anything else.
You can read more about the operation, the animals and how to help at www.safehavenwildlife.com.
Erin Breen is an Emmy Award-winning writer based in Reno. You can find her and her new book at ErinMeehanBreen.com.
********************************************************************************************************
Safe Haven Rescue knew darn well that the WAO was not a "roadside zoo." If it had been a roadside zoo, IFAW would have had nothing to do with the WAO, for you see, it's not "fashionable" to be a "roadside zoo" because it equates to "evil" private pet ownership. And we all know, thanks to the animal rights groups, all private animal owners need to be "stopped".
Why did Safe Haven lie? Simply. They were asked to speak on behalf of a Nevada bill that would eliminate exotic pet ownership. It would not be a good idea to say the IFAW and Kovu came from an horrible animal sanctuary that closed because of fraud, misappropriation of funds, and animal abuse because this would not fall in line with the mantra that all private pet ownership is wrong and exotic animals are only safe within the walls of a wild animal exotic sanctuary, like Safe Haven.
Never mind that the WAO for instance, had a several animal escapes, which were never reported to the public. How about all the animal attacks at the WAO? How many animal bites and scratches went unreported? One? Two? Ten?
If you have to lie about the facts surrounding your cause, then you have no cause. Just lies. Please stop lying about the WAO animals, Safe Haven. Those who did not make it out of this horrible sanctuary deserve better.
Months later:
Sadly, the revision of history continues several months later - fortunately, there are folks out there ready to set the record straight!
A response to Mark's comment:
Leave it to WCH to do a little revision of history -- In-Sync Exotics placed the last big cats when WCS failed to do so. Too bad sanctuaries refused to share the truth with their Facebook "fans." Sigh.
Months later:
Sadly, the revision of history continues several months later - fortunately, there are folks out there ready to set the record straight!
September 10, 2013
Mark Hernandez Kovu actually came from the Wild Animal Orphanage -- a Texas defunct sanctuary that was forced to close its doors due to mismanagement and violations of the AWA back in 2010. The WAO took in Kovu and about 22 other big cats from the Rapid City, SD exhibitor back in December 2001--sadly many of the cats died due to poor diet and lack of vet care while living at the WAO. Glad to see Kovu is doing okay in Nevada with IFAW!
September 10, 2013
Leave it to WCH to do a little revision of history -- In-Sync Exotics placed the last big cats when WCS failed to do so. Too bad sanctuaries refused to share the truth with their Facebook "fans." Sigh.
No comments:
Post a Comment