Carole Baskins Diary

I am thankful to Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook and Great Non Profits 

for giving me a way to empower our 2.2 million FB fans.  People ask us all the time if they can do some sort of fundraiser for us, but there are few options that insure the money actually gets to us and the cats.  FB is launching a Fundraiser feature today whereby anyone can set up and promote a fundraiser, and the charity is picked from a list of approved ones, so that the money goes directly where it is intended.

 

I appreciate that Facebook also recently approved us for a Donate feature.  We used to have a Donate Now button that went to our own Salsa donate page, which is new, as of this year too, but the problem is that people don’t want to leave FB for even a second.  This new Donate feature will cost us 5% (3 for cc processing and 2 to FB) but I think it will mean more donations.  We get about 100 clicks a week on the button, but I have no way to know how many drop out.  The new Donate feature can also be put on posts, so that every post can be an ask, if we want, instead of just a button at the top of our page.

 

I am grateful to our USDA inspectors for speaking out against cub swimming in the Dade City’s Wild Things trial.  It’s a 4 day trial of Kathy Sterns and her son Randy for their abuse of tiger cubs.  Two of the people who had been there and hated what they saw had contacted us years ago and we showed them how to file a complaint.  It’s finally going to trial and both of them came to testify, as did Dr. Luis Navarro, Dr. Laurie Gage, Dr. Doyle, and Dr. Gaj.  In her favor Vernon Yates and their shared vet, Dr. Don Woodman came to mostly complain about me, according to Jenni James. She said the judge said that I am not the one on trial and to knock it off.

 

I’m also thankful that after 140 years of animal abuse, the Buenos Aires Zoo has seen the light and closed.  Their stated reason is that people are changing the way they view animals and it is time to evolve.  Another big thing to be thankful of is that Master Card, after only one day of deliberation, decided to stop promoting swim with dolphins as a reward for using their card based on public outcry caused by PeTA.

 

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.  

 

You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile!

Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile

 

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.  Closing graphic with permission from https://youtu.be/F_AtgWMfwrk

I am grateful to still have my father.  

Today, as I rode in on my bike, I saw him out on his cart and stopped to talk with him.  I don’t do that nearly enough.  He’s been sick and can barely speak.  He looks tired and it breaks my heart.  He worries about all of the work that is always stacked up, so I took the Kitten Cabana roof repair off his list.  I’ve never seen it leak and told him the next time someone says it’s leaking then he should have them prove it to him before he puts it back on the list.

 

I am grateful for flea prevention.  I remember the early days and fleas were enemy #1.  We used flea collars, that Little Feather would go around removing for all of the bobcats, servals, lynx, domestic cats and cougars who lived with her.  I never saw how she managed it, as the group would all disperse when I’d approach, but from a distance I’d see them line up to have the collars removed by the expert queen of the cat yard.

 

We used to dust the ground with Sven Dust, and some flea larvae eating microbes and Boric acid in the buildings and still we would have to flea comb the cats, wash them and never really got a handle on it.  When Advantage first came out, I thought it was magic, but I also feared that putting such strong chemicals on the cats would surely kill them.  Turns out that the chemicals (including Revolution, Program and others) weren’t as bad for them as the fleas were and they have lived exceptionally long lives.  27 of our cats are currently over the age of 20.

 

I am thankful for USA Fence.  I’ve been trying for months to get a chain link fence company to just give me a quote on the new bobcat rehab area and finally they have called back and said they would spec it out.  The chainlink has to be 1 inch or smaller mesh so the rats can’t escape when we feed the bobcats live prey.  It will be one of our most costly endeavors, but as the big cat rescue industry declines (thankfully, due to better laws) we will be shifting focus to more bobcat rescue, rehab and release.

 

I contacted the primary list of rehabbers yesterday via email.  They haven’t updated their site since 2012 and we’ve been asking to be included for decades.  I have offered to partner with them, or buy the site, and if I don’t hear from them, I’ll start one from scratch.  It’s very hard to find a local rehabber and information about what do do if you see a bobcat or cougar.  I will probably revamp the BobcatRehab.com site to make it more search friendly.

 

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.  

 

You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile!

Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile

 

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.  Closing graphic with permission from https://youtu.be/F_AtgWMfwrk

I am grateful for the opportunity to live in paradise

I walked through what used to be a wall, into our living room this morning and looked out over Rocky Creek.  I had a moment of Deja Vu where it was the first time I walked through that opening, when I remodeled this house back in the 90s.  The house has changed, but the view is still spectacularly unspoiled.

 

I am grateful for Salsa’s content management system.  Yesterday I needed to write 70 letters, all different, to our 6407 of our supporters to ask them individually to contact their member of congress.  Our lobbyist, Jason Osborne, had met with their member and now we were asking them to go in and show their support for our bill to ban the private possession of big cats.  That would take me weeks, but I did it in hours.  I thought of a way to make it better this morning and can still edit the letters before they go out in the morning.

 

I am thankful for the volunteers who are caring for the cats this morning so that I can go sit beside my mother, on the back row at church and then take her to lunch.  My Dad is suffering from a cold and won’t be there today.  These Sundays with her are precious and I couldn’t do it if not for the huge support base that makes it possible.

 

My 2016 written comment on the Federal Register

 

sci·en·tif·ic meth·od

noun

 

1. a method of procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses.

 

My experience with hand raised felids vs mother raised felids spans back to 1978, and includes hundreds of domestic, purebred, and 20 exotic species.  This scientific method of observation, measurement and experimentation has led to the testing and formulation of best practices for the raising of captive felids.  My hypotheses; that kittens who are raised by their mothers, until they are weaned, are healthier and live longer, than those raised by human hands has been proven.

 

 

(Jamie circa 1985 or so holding Lamborghini the tortoiseshell Himalayan)

 

1978-1984 MiCarCo Cattery.  Before I knew how deleterious it is to breed to a human contrived standard, I bred and showed Persians and Himalayans in the Cat Fancier's Association.  I had an entire wall of my home covered in ribbons that were won by my cats and produced many grand champions.  I have since learned that there is no reason to be breeding cats, while so many die in shelters, but the experience gained during that time proved, scientifically, that:

 

1. Purebred kittens who were raised by their dams were healthier and had a better survival rate than those who were bottle raised.  The only time a breeder would bottle raise a purebred cat was if the dam rejected the kitten, or if the dam could not provide sufficient milk.

 

Show cats have to be the most docile of their kind in order to tolerate the noise and chaos of a show hall.  They have to be tolerant of being handled by judges without striking out.  Mother raised kittens did fine in those situations and consistently scored higher as they were in better overall condition than bottle raised kittens.

 

1978-2016 Wild Bobcat Rehab and Release.  Due to the amount of time spent at vet's offices, for the issues that go along with breeding to an extreme standard for flat faced cats, I was often asked to take home a bobcat who had been hit by a car or otherwise injured or orphaned. The vet can fix them up in a matter of hours, but then it would be months of rehab before they could be released.

 

I've documented 48 wild bobcat situations and 29 of those were yearling, or orphaned juvenile or infant kittens at various stages of weaning.  When rehabbing wildcats for the purpose of releasing them back into the wild, the primary objective is to make sure they are as healthy and wild as possible.  Yearling and juvenile bobcats, who were weaned by their wild mothers, have always been the healthiest an

I’m so thankful for family members who keep me out of the weeds.

 

 

Literally, Jamie went out into the woods at a release site, hours away from here to pick up a trail cam from where she set Rain and Dancer free.  She prepared the Volunteer Newsletter, which is a LOT of details like how many hours each of our 100 volunteers/ interns worked, updates on all of our rules, having all of the readers re certify on the feeding and cleaning procedures, etc.  All I have to contribute each month is my cat story and a form to collect their answers.

 

My mother spent 3 hours on the phone with Frontier trying for the second time now to get them to change two of our residential accounts to commercial accounts so we can have a static IP address.  Since Frontier took over they just randomly reset all of our IP addresses breaking the connectivity to the explore.org cameras.  I would lose my mind if I had to deal with that.

 

Howie manages the weekly calls with our lobbyist and the IFAW lobbyists.  He deals with the attorneys on our cases against Joe and others.  He slogs through the verbiage of contracts, pours over spread sheets, and sets up my coffee every morning; all so that I can focus on the bigger picture.

 

I love them one and all.

 

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.  

 

You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile!

Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile

 

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.  Closing graphic with permission from https://youtu.be/F_AtgWMfwrk

I am grateful for my son in law, Dr. Justin Boorstein

 

He works all day at the Humane Society of Tampa Bay, where they are low cost, high volume.  His pay is minimal for a vet, because if he can survive on reduced pay, for 10 years, working for a non profit then his student loans, which are in the hundreds of thousands, are reduced.  He comes to the sanctuary after work and on his days off to care for our cats. Two days ago he saw The Great Pretender.  The bobcat was 24 years old and had stopped eating.  We figured it was just the end for him, but Justin found 9 bad teeth.

 

It was a long shot but he had to try removing that source of bacteria and discomfort to see if there was any more life left to go. He came back out to check on him last night, as he wasn’t recovering from anesthesia, and it was clear that Justin was upset; thinking that maybe he could have worked faster…There really was nothing he could have done, but it plagues him any way.

 

This morning Gale woke, Jamie, Justin and me to let us know that Pretender had died in his sleep.

 

Precious and The Great Pretender were the next cats to arrive, after our founder, Windsong the Bobcat. For a time they lived in a cage in our home, and Pretender would jump and spit at me every time I walked by to get to my desk. When we did the huge fur farm rescue in 1993, and had bobcats and lynx kittens running wild through the house, we had to cage my desk, so I could work without them peeing all over everything. Precious and Pretender first moved to a porch and then to a concrete slab with a 12 x 24 foot dog kennel on it and then finally to Easy Street where my Dad built them their own spacious 1200 sf enclosures. I always loved and admired The Great Pretender for never even trying to pretend that he was OK with the idea of being caged. I vow to him, and every other wild cat who was bred for life in a cage that I won't stop until that barbaric practice ends.

 

I am grateful for Gale and the fact that she shows up, almost every morning, at 7:00 am to get ready for the onslaught of volunteers who will begin filing in at 7:30.

 

I am grateful for “Bernadette Juarez, the Deputy Administrator, Animal Care (AC) Program at USDA/APHIS. She seeks to improve regulatory practices and develop training and educational resources.  Prior to being named Deputy Administrator in February 2016, Ms. Juarez served with APHIS’ Investigative and Enforcement Services (IES), first as Deputy Director for nearly 5 years and then as Director beginning in 2013.  As Director, Ms. Juarez was responsible for leading investigations of alleged AWA and HPA violations, as well as all other APHIS-administered statutes and regulations, and pursuing enforcement actions where warranted.  Ms. Juarez’s experience enforcing the AWA and HPA began prior to her joining APHIS as a trial attorney in USDA’s Office of the General Counsel from 2002 to 2009.  In over 6 years, she represented APHIS in numerous AWA and HPA administrative enforcement proceedings.”

 

This is why and what I posted yesterday on our front page:

 

USDA Reopening Comment Period on Legal Petition Submitted by Big Cat Rescue and Coalition to Prohibit the Public Contact with Big Cats and Cubs

 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced it is reopening the comment period on a legal petition submitted by Big Cat Rescue, the Humane Society of the United States and a coalition of organizations (HSUS, World Wildlife Fund, Detroit Zoological Society, International Fund for Animal Welfare, Born Free USA, Fund for Animals and Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries) to completely prohibit exhibition facilities from allowing members of the public to come into direct contact with dangerous wild animals.

 

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDAAPHIS/bulletins/1512904

 

https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2016-14976.pdf

 

Big Cat Rescue and the coalition applaud USDA for taking this action to solicit informat

I finished a book on tape called the Happiness Advantage

I was so enthralled with it that I bought a dozen copies for our staff, and need to buy more, as it turned out not to be enough for all who were interested in it.

 

Part of the exercise is to write down three things that I’m grateful for each day.  I do it mentally, because I’m so busy, but I’m going to try and make a habit of daily posts here for things that I am grateful for.

 

I am grateful to Nest.com for creating Internet based camera feeds.  We have used them for a couple of years, back when they were called DropCam.com for keeping an eye on our cats in the recovery hospital, etc.  Last night I put one on The Great Pretender, a 24 year old bobcat who had to have 8 rotten molars removed.  I was able to go home, eat dinner and watch him on my iPhone 6 + which has a huge screen.  Pulling up the camera on my computer will be the very next thing I do.

 

The company is donating a bunch of cameras.  They think we are interesting and want to use us as an example of ways to use their products.

 

I am grateful for mapping technology.  I’m trying to install a 3000 square foot 48 x 72 modular building adjacent to our current gift shop to expand the shopping space.  I will be able to save tens of thousands of dollars, thanks to google maps, Kinko’s Printers and my ability to draw and measure a straight line.  Before, I’d have to hire a surveyor to meet the county’s demands.

 

I am grateful for being surrounded by the best and brightest.  I’ve said this before, in my head and in Facebook posts, but it’s such an over arching part of what makes me happy.  Of our 14 staff, 80 volunteers and 26 interns, only two of them give me any real pause, and yesterday both of them brought something good into my life by sharing their experiences about health and the benefits of a healthy vegan diet. One is a new vegan and the healthiest she’s ever been and the other is about the most unhealthy meat eater, who thinks she’s dying.

 

Here is the good news, I guess, from today.  We petitioned USDA in 2012 to stop cub petting schemes.  They got about 15,000 letters in support of our position, but seemed to think that AZA zoos didn’t have enough time to object, so they opened the comment period back up again in 2013.  Now, 4 years later, they still haven’t taken action, but rather seem to want to get more of the bad guys to object, so they are opening up the comment period again through August of this year.

 

We will continue to rally animal lovers to let USDA know that cub handling is cruel, dangerous and downright evil.

 

Here is USDA’s letter:

 

This document is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 06/24/2016 and available online at http://federalregister.gov/a/2016-14976, and on FDsys.gov

 

BILLING CODE: 3410-34-P

 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

9 CFR Parts 2 and 3

[Docket No. APHIS-2012-0107]

 

Petition to Amend Animal Welfare Act Regulations to Prohibit Public Contact with Big Cats, Bears, and Nonhuman Primates

 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

 

ACTION: Notice; reopening of comment period.

 

SUMMARY: We are reopening the comment period for a petition requesting amendments to the Animal Welfare Act regulations and standards pertaining to physical contact with dangerous animals. We are especially interested in receiving public comments on the additional questions included in this notice. We are providing information about upcoming virtual stakeholder listening sessions and other efforts intended to gather additional public comment. This action will allow interested persons additional time to prepare and submit comments and further inform our thinking on the handling of dangerous animals.

 

DATES: The comment period for the notice published on August 5, 2013 (78 FR 47215) and reopened on October 24, 2013 (78 FR 63408) is reopened. We will consider all comments that we receive on or before August 31, 2016.

‘Nightmarish Tiger Sweatshop’ Gets Notice of PETA’s Intent to Sue

 

I love you PETA and especially Brittany Peet who has been working with us to file this lawsuit against one of the local tiger pimps.

 

‘Nightmarish Tiger Sweatshop’ Gets Notice of PETA’s Intent to Sue

 

Written by Michelle Kretzer | June 22, 2016

 

This morning, the owners and operators of Dade City’s Wild Things woke up to find PETA’s legally required notice of its intent to sue under the Endangered Species Act in their inbox. The notorious Florida roadside zoo subjects young tigers to swimming events and other forced encounters with the paying public.

 

PETA contends that prematurely separating infant tigers from their mothers, forcing them to interact with members of the public, and confining them to nearly barren concrete pens all constitute unlawful “takes,” defined by the Endangered Species Act as harming, harassing, and/or wounding an animal.

 

If successful, the lawsuit could have a major impact on the captive tiger overpopulation crisis in the U.S., which is fueled by the huge demand for tiger cubs for use in photo ops and public encounters. While wild populations dwindle, there are untold thousands of captive tigers being held in shoddy roadside zoos and in the backyards and basements of private owners in the U.S., many of which are completely unregulated.

 

None of these tigers will ever be able to be released into the wild.

 

“Dade City’s Wild Things is like a nightmarish tiger sweatshop, where terrified cubs are torn away from their mothers, bullied into performing, and then, when they’re no longer deemed profitable, relegated to tiny, virtually barren cages,” says PETA Foundation Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Brittany Peet. “PETA urges families to shun this hellhole and any other business that imprisons and exploits wild animals.”

 

PETA’s allegations are supported by a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture against Dade City’s Wild Things for its numerous violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act, including improper handling of tiger cubs.

 

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.  

 

You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile!

Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile

 

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.  Closing graphic with permission from https://youtu.be/F_AtgWMfwrk

Great Day Lobbying in D.C.

Here was the agenda:

 

The following are the only 3 cases where we have a cat from the state (FL-1, RI-2) of course we have a lot more from FL but TJ's story is good enough to make the case.  For the other states, I listed all the incidents that weren't AZA zoos. I put the dates, in case they ask, but wouldn't mention them. Note: rs zoo = road side zoo

 

DeGette (D-CO-01) -- 10:00

 

6/3/03 2 tigers mauled a keeper at Serenity Springs.  The tigers were beaten w/ shovels and later killed.

 

Delaney (D-MD-6) -- 10:30

 

1/18/09 woman mauled by jaguar at rs zoo

 

6/2/04 tiger escaped the circus, attacked elephant all in the big top with an elementary school visiting

 

Lawrence (D-MI-14) -- 11:00 was very favorable to the bill.

 

8/17/15 Animals of MT brought wolves, bobcats and a tiger to an abandoned factory for a photo shoot.  The tiger began to attack and was chased with a weed whacker and a tarp.

 

7/27/14 woman lost finger to caged lion at rs zoo

 

10/25/95 pet lion killed his owner in front of her child

 

Brown (D-FL-5) -- 11:30 seemed to favor the bill and has an intern in his office who visited many times, starting w/ school group, who begged him to chase us down so she could meet us.  Howie told her it would be her job to stay on the boss until they co sponsored.

 

TJ the tiger was rescued from a decrepit back yard breeder after a person had been killed there, another nearly lost their leg and a teenager had been mauled by an escaped cougar.

 

10/6/14 a construction worker lost his thumb at ZWF, an infamous cub handling operation run by Mario Tabraue.  ZWF funds ZAA lobbyist Frank Vitello.

 

1/3/14 a lion escaped from rs zoo

 

Clyburn (D-SC-6) -- 12:00

 

6/14/16 TIGERS under USDA investigation for recurring ringworm in cubs used for handling and for transport issues between rs zoos in FL and OK.

 

8/10/14 report of mountain lion escaping a pet store, but report was later denied.  Who knows?

 

1/8/03 a pet cougar escaped and was on the run for 3 days

 

4/28/02 pet tiger mauled an 8 year old child

 

6/18/94 a tiger at a breeding farm mauled a 17 year old worker

 

1/1/91 pet lion escaped and mauled a 5 year old and her grandmother

 

Bera (D-CA-07) -- 1:00

 

9/4/15 a 3 month old tiger was found wandering in a neighborhood.  That's the age when they can't be used for photo props any more because they are too big.

 

3/16/13 woman was mauled to death by a lion at rs zoo

 

7/31/98 a tiger bit through the head of a woman who was posing with it for a photo at Marine World where Laurie Gage, the big cat expert hired by USDA worked.

 

10/22/97 a jaguar attacked two trainers in a single week

 

1972 Jodie Foster was nearly mauled to death on the set by a lion

 

Capuano (D-MA-07) -- 1:30

 

5/17/00 14 year old girl was attacked by a tiger at a rs zoo

 

8/17/97 13 year old girl was mauled by a tiger at a photo booth

 

Cicilline (D-RI-01) -- 3:00. 

 

We rescued Max the Bobcat who was an illegal pet.  Owner took him to be declawed, an illegal procedure, and the vet turned him in to DNR.  Months of litigation before the state could send him to us.  He had been a mail order pet from out of state.

 

Narla Cougar was sold from CO to RI as a pet.  When the owner died, his wife wanted to make a rug out of her, but we convinced her to let us take her to FL.

 

We also introduced ourselves to who is the newest aide to Rep Kathy Castor.  She gets 100% on animal bills so it was just to meet the new girl.

 

We dropped in on Rep Patrick Murphy and met w/ Candace Walls, who are both big animal advocates.  He already co sponsored, so we were just saying thank you.

 

Also met with  who works for Rep Carlos Curbelo, who signed on at the request of Rep Murphy.

 

The last meeting was w/   He replaced James and seems to really want to move our bill forward.  He says Senators are far less likely to stick their necks out before a committee hearing, and cited the Crush Video law that already passed, but needed some tweaks to

What a busy day!

I woke up at 6am, which never happens, even though I go to bed at 10pm.  I figured I’d better get up though since the monthly AdvoCat had to be sent out today at 10am and I had not written a single word of it yet.

 

Got it done and launched, then Judy Mills and Debbie Banks of EIA, met w/ Howie and I over Skype for an hour and a half, to discuss doing a side event at the CITES CoP17 in Johannesburg, SA, to raise awareness about tigers.

 

Ran from that straight to a closing on the sale of 310 Thomasdale Av in Haines City.  Jamie called me from there, in a hurry for me to return to the sanctuary because Gale has already left for the Taking Action for Animals Conference in D.C. and Jamie wanted to take some of the interns bobcat tracking where Thor was released last month.  She will switch out the cards in the camera traps while there.

 

I have a week and a half of contacts left, so I had to call my eye doctor and order more.  I’d much rather do it myself at Contacts.com but he needs the money, so I order through him.  He can’t take credit cards, so that means mailing a check.  All a huge hassle, but I figure he doesn’t have that many more good years left to work.

 

Judy has been saying she can’t go to CITES because she’s a consultant who doesn’t get paid when she doesn’t work and she’d be gone 2 weeks.  No one could train Jamie better to take over all this tiger protection in the wild stuff, so I offered to do her job for her (reporting for MacArthur Foundation on Climate Change) and let her keep the money.

 

We were discussing what sort of giveaways or enticements to get people to come to the tiger event, which would include a 10 minute tiger movie and a 10 minute tiger talk.  I suggested we white label 100 bottles of wine with NOT Tiger Bone Wine and an educational piece about how farming tigers is driving the extinction of tigers.  We offer them to the first 100 people who come to and stay through the entire event.  Then contacted the hotel to see if they can provide wine.

 

Yesterday I wore myself out, dragging Nest cameras and an extension cord all over the place to see if I can pick up a good enough signal to broadcast for Nest.  It would be a great way to reach a new audience.  I have a lot more dragging around to do today, but it’s 90 degrees and I’m not sure how much more I can stand.

 

Then I got this nice note:

 

Hi Carole and Jamie,  I hope all is well. Just wanted to let you know we have submitted everything to Animal Planet today and are just waiting for feedback from their internal development team. Once they have looked over it, it will be passed on to the commissioner.

 

This can take a few weeks (given the number of pitches they receive) but we have a good relationship with them so I am hopeful that we can chase this soon if we don’t hear anything in the next few weeks. I will keep you posted, the team have done all we can here so we have everything crossed.

Feel free to get in touch at any time but I will update you soon.

 

Have a great day!  Kind Regards,  Naomi Channell. Casting Producer 344 - 354 Grays Inn Road. London

 

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.  

 

You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile!

Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile

 

You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily a

Today I turned 55

My first thought was that I thought I’d have accomplished more by now.  I was kind of surprised by that thought since I’ve grown our real estate holdings (personal and for the sanctuary) to over 6.6 million dollars and because I’ve come to see the day when sanctuaries are competing to rescue big cats because so few end up in need of rescue; thanks to laws that ban private possession.

 

I guess everyone feels this way when they see the last of the grains of sand sinking through the hour glass funnel.

 

We are under threat of a tropical storm right now and Jamie and Justin are planning to fly in from NJ today, so I hope the winds are not as bad as predicted.  Howie and I would like to go to lunch and a movie to celebrate my birthday, but it will be hard to relax knowing that the weather is threatening ALL of my kids 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.  

 

You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile!

Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile

 

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.  Closing graphic with permission from https://youtu.be/F_AtgWMfwrk