Carole Baskins Diary

Bern’s for Mom & Dad’s 55th Anniversary

Not to be outdone by Colly Caldwell who took his family to Bern's Steak House for their 50th wedding anniversary, Vern and I will be taking all of you to Bern's Steak House for our late 55th wedding anniversary, July 1, and Marinko and Katie's early 2nd wedding anniversary, August 16.

 

Bern's also has seafood so everyone should be able to get what they want.  As soon as I have a complete tally, I will call for reservations.  Love,  Mom/Grandma/Nana

 

Photo Dad took of Mom in the early 60s.

 

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.

Photo is me this morning at 197 unhappy pounds

 

 

I’m exactly 30 pounds fatter than I vowed I would ever be when I married my sweet Howard 12 years ago.  I’ve struggled my entire life with my weight and menopause, which set in around 2010, hasn’t helped.

 

Howie has been such a Godsend and does so much for me and the mission to end the trade in exotic cats that I’ve wanted to show love to him in ways that I know he would like.  I despise everything that has to do with home making, especially cooking.  I signed up for a service, called Blue Apron, where they send you three meals a week and instructions on how to create them from scratch.

 

My days start at 7:30 when I eat eggs and blueberries at my desk while getting a head start on the hundreds of emails that have poured in over night.  I do my morning routine that consists of drinking a full glass of water, splashing cold water on my face, doing the brutal 7 Minute Workout and then ride my bike 5 miles to the sanctuary.

 

At the sanctuary I am running non stop between desk work and dealing with cat issues outside.  I pack a salad to eat each day and an apple. I try to make sure my mother and I go for a walk around the 67 acres for her health since she stopped roller blading and playing tennis with me years ago.  I took a very bad fall on the blades a year ago that knocked the breath out of me and haven’t done much of that since.

 

I work at the sanctuary until 6 or 7 pm each night, ride my bike home and now am spending an hour or more cooking.  We eat, then I have to clean up the epic mess that seems to involve every pot, pan and bowl in the house.  By 9pm I collapse on the couch for an hour of mindless T.V. before going to sleep.

 

The down side of Blue Apron is that they send breads and pastas, which we both know aren’t good for us, so after dinner Howie said we need to find a diet plan and stick to it.  He would never say anything about my weight, but I know he doesn’t like the way I look.  He’s drawn to thin red heads.  I’m fat and have mouse brown hair.  Despite me not being his desire, he’s true blue and I want to please him.

 

I have been carrying around a book called The Bulletproof Diet, but just haven’t had time to read it.  I listen to Bulletproof Radio and learn a lot, but I don’t have the basics down on the diet.  Howie suggested I read  for 30 minutes each morning before turning on my computer.  That’s the only way I am ever going to have time to read it.

 

Jamie wants a Keurig coffee maker for her birthday, so I was trying to find one locally and did.  Since it was only 199.00 I wanted to do something more for her and went to Macy’s.  I’ve never bought her expensive jewelry but I’ve got some money in the bank right now, so I wandered over to the diamond counter to see if her birthstone, the ruby, was available in something she might like.  Our tastes are exactly the opposite.  I like bold and bawdy.  She likes delicate and refined.

 

I found a set of garnet ovals with a tiny diamond cluster at the top for $300 and bought them for her.  Everything was 60% off, if I’d set up a Macy’s card, so I did.  Since the savings would only apply for two days I splurged on a set of ear rings and a ring in a bright blue Topaz for myself.  Every time I look at these I will be reminded of my True Blue Husband and how much I want to please him.  Maybe that will help me finally lose the weight and keep it off.

 

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

We had been great friends in 6th - 9th grade at Florida College Academy and he and his family had recently moved back to the Tampa area and came by the Citrus Park Church of Christ.  I didn’t recognize him, but it had been close to 40 years.  We had said “Hello,” and promised to get together some time to discuss the old days, but it hadn’t happened until a couple days ago, that Barry contacted me and said he had to be at the mall nearby today and wondered if he could drop by.

 

I drove him around on the golf cart and re-introduced him to my parents.  I explained about the amnesia and that much of my childhood was lost to me.  He ran through the names of the kids in our class and told me the latest news he had on all of them. 

 

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.

I posted this to our volunteers:  It is with a heavy heart that I must report that Raindance Bobcat has left us to join her mate who died in 1994.  Thank you ALL for giving her the best 22 years any captive bobcat could have.

 

When she stopped eating last week we did diagnostics and found some bad teeth and very bad kidneys.  We hoped that by removing the bad teeth, as we did for Little Feather Bobcat who had the same issues, that we might be able to turn it around for Raindance.  We had to use appetite stimulants to get her to eat after the dental, but yesterday she couldn't keep the food down and today she refused any food or even the 'cicles she loves so much.  Cats are so stoic, it's always hard to tell, but she appeared to be in pain and feeling nauseous from her failing kidneys.  You could see it in her eyes and her countenance that she was done with this life.

 

I went to her web page to gather information for her tribute which will be posted July 12 (please don't post on social sites until then) and noticed that neither there, nor on this site, was any mention of how she got her name.  I thought you might like to know.

 

Here is my diary entry from Feb. 14, 1994:

 

*Valentine’s Day and I’m being loved to death by a Bobcat.  Raindance has a coat like water spotted silk and a personality to match.  Only her mate, Bob Martin, was sweeter.  He died a few weeks ago from Lippadosis and Raindance still holds on by a hope and a prayer.  I loved Bob Martin and mourn his passing.

 

Bob Martin came by his name as an inside joke.  We bought him from a furrier when he was only a few days old.  He was being raised by a house cat and was unrelated to all the other kittens we bought from Tom Kavan.  Danny Lewis wanted a pair of kittens to raise, so I selected him and a female (Raindance) from a litter of five, hoping she would be predisposed to large litters.  Neither were exceptional looking kittens, but Bob was fat as a butterball.

 

Five months later Danny was separated from his wife Janice and brought the cats back to us.  We couldn’t believe these were the same two cats.  They were maturing into so much better cats then we could ever imagine.  They didn’t have names so we named the female Raindance and the male Bob Martin.*

 

The problem was that they were SO obese that when they started getting a decent diet here, they lost weight too quickly.  The fat clogged their arteries so badly that Bob Martin died and Raindance just barely survived.

 

Raindance got her name because she loved to splash around in the rain.  She would run and pounce into any muddy puddle she could.  By the time she was done, you couldn't even tell who she was, other than her bright, happy eyes gleaming behind a mud soaked coat.  The other cats would run from her when she was in muddy-up-and-pounce mode.  She quickly became a huge favorite at the sanctuary and it may have been largely due to the fact that she had to be groomed so much, given her proclivity for dancing in the rain.  We stopped handling cats circa 2003 because we felt it sent a very bad message and would make people want them as pets.  They are only lovable like this for the first year or two, and then they become who they were meant to be; top level predators.

 

Despite being hands off with her for the past dozen years, Raindance was still probably our biggest volunteer recruiter.  I can't tell you how many times someone told me the reason they were volunteering here is that they came on a tour and Raindance spoke to them.  She's never been a talker, like Reise Cougar, but she spoke with her heart.  Yesterday I was in awe of a black and gold butterfly, that was bigger than my hand, and seemed to be everywhere on property.  Perhaps her kin, calling her home. We will all miss this exceptional bobcat, but her spirit will forever be in our hearts and in the ether of our mission.

 

Later Note 11/13/2021:  Bob Martin was an inside joke because when I met Don he said his name was Bob Mar

Raindance Bobcat in 1998

 

Her end is approaching and I am so sad I feel like I could totally break with reality.

 

When I woke up today, I laid there in bed in something of a panic because I couldn’t remember Jamie’s birthday.  I knew it was in July and I had just missed my parents’ 55th anniversary for the first time ever, because I had forgotten when it was.  I’m still fuzzy on it.  I sent them a card on July 2, but I think that the anniversary in July 1.  I can’t find anywhere that I have written it down, because I always just knew it and now I don’t.

 

I jumped out of bed and went to look up Jamie’s birthday and found it on her Facebook page.  July 16.  Good.  I still have a few days to get her something.  Most importantly; I didn’t miss it.  I’m taking care of Raindance today and needed to be up early so I could try to feed her in the cool of the morning.

 

She’s been sick and Jamie finally got her eating, but Jamie takes off on the weekends and said she feared that all the work she did to get Raindance eating would be lost if she left it to our weekend crew of volunteers.  I told her I’d take care of it although I don’t remember the last time I fed or pilled a cat.  I have to get three pills in her.  How hard could that be?

 

I later found out how hard.  Raindance wanted nothing to do with eating so I had to hold her down and force the pills, in slippery bits of liver, down her throat.  She’s been amazingly tolerant of all we have had to do, with giving her sub q fluids, doing her grooming for her, etc., but by the time I got the last pill down her throat she was snarling at me.  I felt like I had totally undone all the good work Jamie had done and made Rainy very mad at me as well.

 

I was heartened that she came out, after she thought I was gone, and polished off her breakfast.  She took her pills for Becky Gagliardo at noon, as I feared she wouldn’t come anywhere near me for a while.  Again she ate pretty well.  At dinner time she took her pills from me, in little balls of ground beef, but then walked away and didn’t eat any more.  Later I learned that she had vomited everything from today and was again refusing to eat.

 

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.

Maya and Cherokee Die the Same Day

 

I don’t know if we have ever had two cats die the same day.  Today we lost Maya, a Bengal Cat and Cherokee a Bobcat, and had the trauma of sedating Cameron the lion for a mass removal.  It’s 3:36 now and I can finally exhale, knowing that we aren’t having to say good bye to three old friends to today.

 

Maya was the accidental kitten of Draikko the Leopard Cat and Sheeba, a domestic stray.  She and her brother and sister, Kiki and Tiki, were born on 7/16/1996 after a case of mistaken identity caused their mother to be put in the “Bengal Barn.”

 

When my Dad came to work at the sanctuary in 1996, his first project was to build some fountains and a play yard for the Bengal Barn cats.  Draikko, Shalimar and Zazu were the Leopard Cats who lived there and Atlas, Rafiki, Arianna, Kinza, Kaleena, and Zulu were the Bengal Cats who lived there and then there was a domestic tabby cat or two as well.

 

The Bengal Barn was a 70 foot long, single wide mobile home that we had gutted and turned into indoor cages for the cats, with a little window run on the outside of the trailer, so the cats could come and go from the air conditioning to the fresh air outside.  The window runs were only about three feet deep and three feet tall and stretched down the exterior of the mobile home in compartments for each cat or group of compatible cats.

 

One day in 1996 a volunteer came up to me and said that somehow Sheeba must have escaped the Bengal Barn, but that she had put her back with Draikko.  Sheeba had been spayed and kept Draikko from being an absolute spaz, so it had been a good arrangement.  Except for doing the wormings, vaccines and medical care, I didn’t go in the Bengal Barn very often, as I have horrible allergies to cats that require daily doses of Claritin.

 

When Sheeba had kittens, it came to my attention that the tabby cat who had been found wandering and thought to be Sheeba, was a different cat.  No one had seemed to pick up on the fact that there were two tabbies, living in the Bengal Barn that were both being called Sheeba, because they were thought to be one and the same.  I’m sure the people who fed and cleaned in there must have thought it odd that we would have two cats with the same name and never thought to point out to me that odd fact.

 

At any rate, being F1 Bengal Cats, the kittens were wild as the wind, but beautiful.  Kiki and Tiki found homes with volunteers.  Maya found a home with a volunteer, or a visitor; I don’t remember exactly.  When Maya became an adult the person brought her back to me.  She said her father loved the cat, but she sprayed, and pooped all over the house, so he had to keep her on the lanai.  Now her father was sick and could no longer care for the cat, and she remembered that I had told her to bring the cat back if things didn’t work out.

 

Maya, being a Bengal Cat, wouldn’t adjust to new cage mates and we had no space at the sanctuary for her.  I took her home to the island and figured on almost 5 acres of river front property she could be free and live in the yard.  That didn’t last long.

 

Because I am licensed as a wildlife rehabber, I get the weird calls.  This one was from a man, just hysterical that a Florida Panther was stalking his wife in broad daylight.  When I asked where he lived, I learned that he was my neighbor.  I asked him to call me the next time the “Florida Panther” showed up and sure enough, it was Maya.  I promptly netted her and decided she would have to live on my porch if she wouldn’t stop stalking old people.

 

For the next 14 years Maya lived on the porch.  I never was able to pick her up or pet her, but I respected that.  She never did learn to use a litter box, although in her last few years of life she would relieve herself on newspaper…most of the time.  The porch reeked, despite frequent blasts from the pressure washer and digging out all of the dirt in the flower beds and replacing it year after year.

 

When Howie

A Walk on the Beach Renews Me

 

Eating dinner at one of my favorite dives, then a walk on the beach and thus will have been an excellent day!

 

Just gave a presentation on Social Marketing to the Marketing Class at Eckerd College and someone left me a sweet note saying how much they appreciate me. 

Wildlife Trafficking is a complex problem. Most of Its solutions require complex coordination of nations and agencies and are generally difficult to achieve although possible.

 

But there is one very, very simple, very very doable action we can take domestically that could have a significant impact that has not achieved broad awareness.  I think the Senator could do a great service to the animals and everyone in attendance by devoting at least part of his keynote talk to the way in which the rampant breeding of tigers in the United States enormously hampers our ability to influence other nations, particularly China, to adopt policies and take actions to stop the trade in tiger parts, rhino horns and ivory.

 

There is a fantastic new resource on the subject of trafficking in the products from these species called "Blood of the Tiger" by Judy Mills.  The book discusses rhino horn and ivory in addition to the tiger parts.  Judy has spent decades operating both at the highest advocacy levels as a representative to CITES and on the ground doing undercover work.  She is privy to conversations that are not found anywhere else.

 

China is "farming" tigers and apparently has plans to do the same with other species.  The Chinese argue, wrongly, that by supplying the "market demand" from the farms they will lower poaching in the wild.  The opposite is true. They will expand the market demand, and increase poaching for two reasons.  First, the animals from the wild will always be viewed as the "premium" product.  Second, it is simply cheaper to poach than to farm.  BUT, when representatives of the US government and NGO's make this case, China points to the thousands of tigers in back yards and roadside zoos in the US and the uncontrolled and untracked breeding and argues rightly that we have no way to know how many of the US tigers are finding their way into the domestic and international trafficking trade, so who are we to demand that China stop breeding? They make the valid point that at least they know where their tigers are.

 

Senator Lesniak previously took action to try to address the lack of tracking with his NJ bill that passed but was not signed by the Governor.  The total solution is a federal bill that would end private possession and breeding of tigers with limited exemptions (like AZA zoos).  That bill (HR 1998/ S 1381) ended the 2014 session with 119 cosponsors in the House and a very positive Senate hearing where the US Fish & Wildlife Service supported the bill and later provided suggestions to the drafters for tightening it further.  It is expected to be reintroduced with some modifications soon.

 

For the upcoming meeting, I think what some participants may not have heard much or anything about is the powerful negative impact that domestic breeding of tigers is having on the credibility of the US as it tries to attack trafficking by leading other nations in the opposition to the Chinese plan to farm these species.  I think explaining this in his talk could do a great service to efforts to preserve these animals in the wild.

 

If this is of interest, I would strongly urge the Senator to invite Judy MIlls to meet with him (she is in DC).  Bill, thanks for asking for my input. - Howard Baskin

 

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 w

If you want to see them squirm, here are the questions to ask. And what I know about the real answer.

 

Michael Sandlin

 

1. Is it true there had been a ban on keeping tigers in Iberville Parish since 1993? Yes

2. Why was a special exception made for you?  I heard it was because of family relationships.

3. What accredited sanctuaries (GFAS or ASA, not Joe's USZA) have offered to take Tony at no charge and even to do so quietly to help you save face?  Big Cat Rescue, Wild Animal Sanctuary and possibly others.  I know that most GFAS cat sanctuaries would do it just to stop our phones from ringing with all of the complaints by those who see the tiger living in a truck stop.

4. Why choose Joe, who is still under investigation by USDA for the deaths of 23 tiger cubs, or Serenity Springs, which is currently in litigation with USDA for substandard care, over places with such great reputations and resources if you love Tony?

 

I know you only have 10 minutes so I will try to keep it to the most pertinent.  Questions for Joe Schreibvogel, but you should ask for proof because I think he is an experienced con man:

 

1. How many big cats live at GW Zoo? The reason to ask that is he claims to only own 47 of them and says the rest are owned by others, so see if you can pin down who they are and how many cats each of them owns.  Beth Corley hasn't been there in years, but someone, presumably Joe, keeps renewing her license to keep as many at 200 animals on one inspection report.  John Reinke or Joe always signs the USDA reports for all of these other "owners" that include a circus owned by Doug Terranova and I suspect one run by Gary Douglas, but not sure of the latter.

2. What are the ages of your cats? On his census he listed 2 born in 1999 and 3 born in 2000 and all of the rest were younger. Compare to real sanctuaries and you will find our average ages are 15-20, because we aren't breeding cats.  He has to keep a census, in case USDA wants to see it, so ask to see it.

3. How many big cats were born on his grounds in the past 20 years? The spreadsheet I'll send you will show 131 cats born there between 2001 and 2011.  (We bred cats here, back in the 1990s, before we knew that they can't help conservation in any way, and still have 12 alive from back then.  The rest of our 97 cats have been rescued.)

4. How many cats have you sold or given away?  Given the fact that Joe keeps offloading cats to places we consider pretty awful, and so many cats seem to just disappear, why is this the best place for Tony?

 

Please don't copy Joe with the following as we are building a case against him, but feel free to question him about the specifics.

 

Some Places Joe Sent Cats

 

1. 10/24/10 Joe sent a Tiger to Wildwoods in PA

 

In 2012 USDA cited Wildwoods for keeping a tiger in a cage only 72 in high and not big enough to move around freely.  Photos show tiny, barren, concrete and steel cells for tigers

 

Exhibits:  USDA inspections, three photos of tiny, barren cages

 

2. 6/21/11  Joe sent a leopard to Jeremy Hinkle (Joe’s spelling “Jeromy”)

 

As of 2011 Jeremy Hinkle had racked up13 bad USDA inspections in 5 yrs

 

Exhibits:  USDA inspections, news from 2011

 

USDA inspections included:

• Failure to provide veterinary care to animals who had broken legs

• Dangerous disrepair in big cat cages

• Failure to provide shade to the tigers

• Filthy conditions and rat infestation of feeding areas

• Failure to provide clean drinking water

• Improper handling of drugs and medications

• Storing a dead lion in the freezer with the animal food

 

3. 6/25/11 Joe sent three tigers to Noah’s Ark.  He sent a 4th tiger, but no date

 

Park manager says that these tigers were misrepresented to her as cats Joe rescued and did not have room for, but all of them had been born at GW Park and used as photo props.  Lost over $100k 2009 and 2010, raising issue of whether they were being sent to a place that could assure good care long term.

 

Exhibits:  USDA inspections

Dinner with my darling at Whisky Joes on the Causeway See our sign at top left? They are a supporter of the sanctuary. Vets and Reporters I am up early today because Dr. Tammy Miller Michau and Dr. Liz Wynn Swearingen want to sedate Simba Leopard to look at his eye. He has a hole in the cornea that I wanted to treat w/ eye drops, rather than sedate him for extensive surgery. He’s so old and I expect to lose him every day, so it seems unfair to put him through this, but now they are saying it could be a fungal infection and that could hurt him a lot more, so we are going to sedate at 9 am this morning. 10 am: Dr. Miller thinks his eye is healing better than expected and opted to not do surgery today. Whew! Another bullet dodged. Before leaving I had to respond to a time sensitive report in the UAE: Hi Carole, I feel as if you are more qualified to answer this journalist's query. Do you have time today? Best, Judy From: Megha Subject: Urgent journalist request: Comment about condition of circus animals in the UAE: Hi Judy, Julian Rademeyer suggested I contact you. I'm a journalist at 7DAYS - the only independent daily newspaper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. I'm working on a story you might be interested in and wanted to share, as well as ask if you might be able to comment. It's about a lion and two tigers that have been living in deplorable conditions for months at a circus site in Dubai. Attached is a picture of the lion and below are links to the videos of the tigers (being made to practice tricks with the trainer using a rake and a shovel to direct them). The circus shut three months ago but the animals have been living in these stuffy conditions (pictured) all this while. The current temperature is 32 degrees celsius and we've had several severe dust storms over the past few months. Since the media attention about their living conditions, the tigers have disappeared and a witness claims to have seen people making offers to buy them in public about an hour away from the circus site. I was hoping you would be able to share your thoughts with me, from a global perspective, on the impact of these conditions on the animals, and what it means for the species. Any UAE-specific data you may have would be useful too. My deadline is end of play today - Monday, March 23. However, if you are able to assure me of a comment after the deadline I will hold the story another day. Please note, the links to the videos are currently unlisted and confidential. Thanks very much for listening. Look forward to hearing from you. Best wishes, Megha P.S. Sorry I haven't read your book, but I hope to get my hands on a copy over the summer now that I've learned about it from Julian. Dear Megha, Judy Mills asked if I would share my perspective on how lions and tigers, being treated this way, affects global populations. The conditions you show are truly deplorable and my heart aches for cats being so deprived of everything they need to be the magnificent animals they are. Seeing the training that goes on behind the scenes is something most people are never going to see. If people knew the animals are beaten, starved and sometimes even killed in the process, they would not go to circuses or wild animal performances. The evil people who use wild animals for such ventures are smart enough to hide what they do and to lie about it. They will always tell their audience that they only use positive reinforcement and praise. The fact of the matter is that they must carry something with them into the ring, when in front of a crowd, to make the cats think they have the weapons that were used during training. The whips look like long sticks to the cats and are the reminder to do the trick or be hit. 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 thi

Howie responded so eloquently I wanted to preserve it here:  Think about other "mood shifts", or perhaps more accurately "evolution in societal values".  Civil rights, gay rights, marijuana use, dog fighting.  If you were to graph the number of people who adopted the changed belief, I think in most cases you would see a long line that grew painfully slowly over decades and then see a tipping point where it starts to accelerate, perhaps not technically exponentially, but at an accelerating rate.

 

Carole and I were struck by something three years ago.  We have attended every TAFA conference.  The first was 2005 and we laugh at how naive we were as we struggled to learn about legislation from zero knowledge.  Year after year the senior folks at HSUS would give a talk that was like trying to pump up the troops at the Alamo.  Tough year, lot of disappointment, but some victories we need to celebrate and press on because we will prevail.  Then, in 2012, the big plenary speech had a totally different tone - it was like "holy shit, do you believe how many laws we got passed this year??!!!".  It was something like 200 laws as I recall when they added up state, local & federal.

 

We really feel we are in the beginning of the accelerating years and it will not be that many more years until people will look back at tigers in the circus and tigers owned by private individuals and think about that the way we think about women's suffrage or slavery.  We get visitors from England and other countries who already think that way - they are stunned at the private ownership.  And the list of countries banning big cats in the circus is steadily growing.   One of the best examples is what Feld pointed to  - the increasing number of local ordinances banning the circus or bullhooks.  See attached list.

 

Laurie Gage has repeatedly said to me that what we need to stop the cub petting is a tiger version of Blackfish.  Love the name Blackfeld!   I don't know if  have the capacity to do something like that, but if you get any opportunity to follow up with Manny I would urge you to encourage it.

 

We have built our cash back up after our purchases of real estate and barring some unforeseen event or turn in the economy I expect 2015 to be another good year in part due to a bequest that has $300k scheduled for 2015.  This year we have less  planned in the way of capital expenditures unless the last parcel of contiguous land became available, so I expect to add more to reserves.  I am not sure how much funding it takes to create a Blackfeld, but we would consider investing, preferable anonymously since we still have one tiger.  I would love to have Manny come visit and talk to us.  - Howard Baskin

 

Local Jurisdictions Banning Circuses in the U.S.

 

California

 

• Corona - Bans wild or exotic animal displays.

• Encinitas - Bans wild or exotic animal displays.

• Huntington Beach - Bans display of exotic animals.

• Marin County - Regulates animal acts.

• Newport Beach - Proclamation from Mayor that city will not display wild or exotic animals for entertainment.

• Pasadena - Bans display of wild or exotic animals and rodeos on city property; restricts displays of domestic animals.

• Rohnert Park - Bans wild or exotic animal displays.

• Santa Ana - Bans wild or exotic animal displays.

 

Colorado

 

• Boulder - Bans display of exotic animals.

 

Connecticut

 

• Stamford - Bans carnivals, circuses, and wild west shows.

 

Florida

 

• Hollywood - Bans animal displays.

• Lauderdale Lakes - Bans exhibition of wild and exotic animals.

• Pompano Beach - Bans animal displays on City property except for educational purposes; regulates display of animals on private property.

 

Idaho

 

• Ketchum City Council - Bans the use of traveling non-domestic and exotic animals from performing.

 

Indiana

 

• St. John - Bans performing animal exhibitions.

 

Maryland

 

• Takoma Park - Bans animal displays.

 

Massachusetts

 

• Braintree - Town meeting members voted not to allow