Ariel the Bobcat

Some of you may have heard that the animal abusers are running smear campaigns against us with lies about Ariel the bobcat.  They have been inciting people who don't know any better to contact the FWC, telling them to revoke our rehab permit and confiscate Ariel because we are forcing her to kill rabbits and that we plan to send a totally unprepared pet out into the wild to die.

 

FWC's Captain Hooker called me and asked what was going on and who it was at the FWC who had approved of such a plan.  I reminded her that it was she who told us we had to go through the process of rehab, just to be sure that Ariel wasn't a good candidate for release.  When I reminded her of the circumstances, she remembered and said, "Well, that doesn't sound anything like what these people are accusing you of."  Welcome to our world.

 

Just so you have the back story, in July a woman called and said her son had a bobcat his dog had dragged in, as a kitten, four years ago.  She had been living in the house as a pet.  Now he was expecting a baby and was afraid the bobcat would harm the child, so he wanted to find a home for Ariel, but he wasn't licensed to have her.

 

In the state of FL it is illegal for anyone to take a wild animal from an unlicensed person, so I contacted the FWC, explained the situation, and since Ariel was a native bobcat, Captain Hooker told me we could bring her in under our rehab permit and try to rehab her.  At the end of the rehab time limit, which would be up the end of this month, we would see if she was ready for release, or if she could be released to our captive population, under our captive wildlife permit.

 

We gave rehab our best shot and Ariel can kill in a confined space, but she will boldly walk right up to anyone she thinks has food, and that is never going to work in the wild.  It will get her killed, and could very well get someone hurt.  While I had Captain Hooker on the phone I asked if we can now move Ariel into our captive population.  She asked for a letter from our vet, which I have sent her, so we should know shortly if the FWC will allow Ariel to stay with us.  We are always in a tenuous situation with the FWC because they can take any of our animals and send them to their "go-to" guy, Vernon Yates or any other backyard breeder of their choosing.  In Ariel's case, they could take her from us and turn her loose in an area for hunters to shoot her.

 

We are doing all we can to do the right thing for Ariel and hope that the FWC will see our adversaries for what they are;  a bunch of liars who don't care about animals.  The FWC sent an inspector out yesterday and he agrees that Ariel is not a candidate for release and said she can stay with us for the rest of her life.

 

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