ZooKeepers Losing Life and Limbs 

Within a week of each other, one worker at GW Zoo (the place we sued and won a 1 million dollar judgment) nearly had her arm ripped off and a man with 30 years experience, at an AZA zoo, was killed by an elephant.  Whenever I hear stories like that, I always think how sad for those people involved and how fortunate we are that you guys are so well trained and responsible.

 

I often comment on these news stories because it is an opportunity to remind the general public that these are wild animals and they should be protected in their wild habitats; not bred for life in cages.  That brings out all the animal abusers who point out that we have had accidents here too.  What they fail to note is that those incidents were in 1997 and 1998 and are posted on our own website here:  http://bigcatrescue.org/big-cat-attacks/

 

September 2, 1998 Citrus Park, FL: Black leopard bites volunteer (Mindy Harrell) attempting to pet animal through cage at Wildlife on Easy Street. Wounds to arm required 451 stitches to close.  The volunteer admitted she was breaking the rules and was not allowed to return to the property.

 

December 25, 1997 Tampa, FL: The St. Petersburg Times reported that a man (Timothy Evans) who was bitten on the arm by a cougar in 1996 was suing WildLife on Easy Street.  The suit was dropped when the man’s friend, the pet owner of the cougar (Sherrie Frost) was deposed.  Both were former volunteers, and were suspected in the release of the cougar from WildLife on Easy Street in August of 1996 as he was trying to make a case that the cat he was accusing of the bite was dangerous.  Both volunteers were dismissed from the program and the cougar was recaptured without incident.

 

If you are ever thinking to yourself that our rules are too numerous and that we are too strict, it is because we learned from our mistakes.  Please be careful and keep in mind that these cats can move faster than you can blink.

 

Note that these are not topics for your tours.  People always ask if any cat has ever escaped or if any cat has ever hurt anyone, and if you tell these stories, it will be the only ones they remember and repeat.  It is here so that know that we have been open about it on our website and so that you will know what the bad guys are talking about when they talk trash about us.  Your answer to these morbid questions that people ask should only be what you have seen yourself, or to say, “I haven’t been witness to anything like that, but you can search our website as it is over 9,000 pages of information about the sanctuary.”

 

This was written to the volunteers at Big Cat Rescue today.

 

Hi, I’m Carole Baskin and I’ve been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/

 

I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story.  My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.  

 

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You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org

 

Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue

 

Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion.