By Steffanie (a visitor to PoC who wrote long comments related to my article: Is Big Cat Rescue a Sham?)
Introduction by Michael (Admin): Steffanie makes a lot of strong statements. These are her opinions and her statements are allegations and accusations and no more unless proven or accepted and established. I am publishing her words here because they are interesting and they reflect at least to a certain extent the views of a number of other people who have visited PoC. The intention is to provide a fair and balanced viewpoint because Steffanie thinks I might be supporting BCR (I am not by the way). Update: 6 years later in 2020, I feel I am supporting Carole Baskin as I also feel that she has be treated unfairly by news media who don’t research properly and by people who like to abuse big cats and all wildlife. Baskin stands in their way.
This video below is by Joe Exotic a private zoo owner on Carole Baskin. In the opinion of Michael (Admin) Mr Exotic is neither whiter-than-white himself nor good for wild cat conservation (hypocrite?). He is just another private zoo keeper in the US messing around with wild cats for his own amusement while disregarding cat welfare and respect. There are too many in the USA like him. Update 2020: He is in jail serving a life sentence for conspiring to murder Baskin. That’s the measure of the man.
http://youtu.be/nTa6lT3iTa8 – this video was removed by YouTube on a copyright claim by BCR.
Overview
Let us take a look at Baskin. She had a ten year affair with a married man, which caused a divorce. She is suspected of being apart of his disappearance just after he requested a restraining order against the psycho b*t**h. In many of her previous relationship she was physically violent and threatened and assaulted the men in her life. She surrounds herself with con artists and felons to help with her deceptions. She continually lies about her past, so which is it? When did she meet Don? When she was young or later on when Don’s marriage was collapsing? Very classy to screw her step childre out of their inheritance, especially after one of her friends went to the police and confessed she actually did not witness Don signing the document giving Baskin Power of Attorney if he disappeared or died. How convenient he was out of her way soon after.
To answer your question, dam right I am using that Baskin had a ten year affair! Have you been on cheated on? It sucks, and it speaks of her character. That she screwed her step children out of their inheritance, and later to find out that she fraudulently obtained Power of Attorney, also speaks badly of her. She is a master manipulator, a liar, and killed her husband and found a way to convince the public to fund her personal zoo and life style. Give kudos to the b*t**h for all her devoted followers, that blindly finance mostly cats she bred. Sadly, the zoo is shitty. I live in California, and zoos and sanctuaries here are kept at a much higher standard than Florida. I feel sorry for her cats. One day karma will knock on her door, and the old witch will get hers.
On Wild Cat Hybrids
(in response to my article on Living with Wild Cat Hybrids)
Oh, and she does not hate hybrid cats, because she owns a badly bred F1 Bengal as her personal pet. In a post she claimed it was wild, pissed all over the place, was destructive, and she was unable to even pet the crazy cat. So the poor kitty lived on her porch. You can imagine my surprise when I see this dangerous feline wrapped around her neck on her Facebook page! Funny how it was filled with hybrid cat pictures. I think she is a lover. She seems to love her Bengal. I can relate, because I dearly love mine too. So, why should I have to give mine up and that lying b*t*h keep hers?
Most of her cats are from her breeding program, and they were not abused just because they came from the exotic pet industry. The donations is her piggy bank and the paid employees are her family! Oh, they get a decent chunk of change!
Her petition in California and in Florida would destroy people’s businesses, and owners of Early Generation hybrid felines would have these beautiful pets confiscated. What would happen to these beloved cats? They would be killed or transfered to sanctuaries were they would live their lived among lions and tigers. Many of these kitties become attached to their owners, and are used to social interaction. This would be animal cruelty.
Hybrid cats are not wild animals, and make wonderful pets. Many times they experience the same problems other domestic cats do. They are not aggressive, do not use your house as a urinal, they often do not have health issues or behavioral problems. They do not bite or scratch any more than a normal cat, often less. They integrate well with other animals, and have no extra hunting abilities than a normal cat. They are active and smart. If you are stupid enough not to actually read and look at all the evidence of her lies, then you are warped.
I have a Early Generation Bengal and she does not have IBS, aggression issues, she pees and poops in her litter box, she has no behavior problems, is friendly with our other pets, and loves my husband and I. The only health issue she has is allergies, she sneezes once in a while. She is timid towards strangers and one of my teenagers, and she does not like change or the outside. To be honest, that moron Baskin has it wrong with EG Bengals. They are descended from the Asian Snow Leopard, which is a shy creature, and not adventurous. Thus, when my Bengal found herself unexpectedly outside when a screen broke under her weight she howled until my husband rescued her. She was so frightened she howled at me for another half an hour. They are vocal, and will let you know whatever mood they are in and what they want. But they are intelligent enough to know when to shut up too. They are very trainable.
A cat is going to pee everywhere because you declawed them. That is just barbaric and cruel. My guess is most people experiencing that were stupid and made the choice to do so. This causes the cat pain and arthritis. It is actually painful to use the litter box. Declawing should be illegal. I would never do that to my cats. It show what type of person Baskin is that she did this to her cats!
Nothing she says is true about hybrid cats. Since you do not own one all your article is, just like Baskin’s lies is a opinion. Hybrids have fertility issues. Currently, actually thanks to Baskin’s tirade against Savannahs, I am waiting on a litter. The mother, a F3 had to be taken to the vet and given medication to induce labor. She only had two kittens and one passed on. Hybrid cats are known to get uterine infections, and males are infertile until the fourth or fifth generation. Please explain to me, how hybrid cat with known fertility issues is going to create a super cat?
Why do people fear hybrid cats is because of the lies Baskin, HSUS, PETA, WCS, BornFree, and AR groups articles which demonize these felines, and say they are vicious, which is not at all true. It is their fault hubrid cats are shot and killed. They are responible for all the cats being killed by their propaganda.
I can tell you, my Burmese is a better hunter than either of my Bengals. She killed two mocking birds that dive bombed her, and their young. Cats are all good hunters and it is ridicules to say thy are better. We also own a feral, and she is not a hunter. With your logic, she should be, both her parents were feral.
The truth is that hybrid cats are like any other cat just smarter and more active. They intergrate well with other pets, but they bond with their people deeply and they need more attention than your normal cat.
Baskin owns a F1 badly bred Bengal. She claims he is wild. Not from the pictures I saw. She loves him, and lives with her. Well, I want the right to own my cats, and to own my Savannah without intervention of some AR nutters, and a liar, that cannot even cover her deceit half decently. Why should she have the right to own a Bengal, but take that right away from everyone else? Why should she destroy people’s well established breeding programs, and confiscate their beloved pets? All because she was not a successful breeder. She obviously does not believe the lies she is spewing out. Otherwise, her Bengal would be in a cage were it belongs, due to their vicious nature. (Yes, that is sarcasm.) Yes, I am not objective about that b*t**h or all the AR nutters I mentioned. If they had their way they would murder my favorite cat.
BTW, what right does that b*t**h have to in this ban to retroactivity confiscate early generation hybrid cats, from loving homes and murder them if this band passes in California or Florida? I purchased my cats legally, and unlike her, do not expect the public to finance my felines. My cat would not do well in a sanctuary either with lions and tigers, she is a house cat! So dam right I am not objective! I truly have no understanding why you have the need to defend someone like her. People have given you enough evidence of her character, which stinks to high heaven. How you can think anything she does is okay, it makes me question your morals and I have no doubt that your association with BCR.
Please search using the search box at the top of the site. You are bound to find what you are looking for.
Big Cat Rescue and Carole Baskin does not declaw their cats. The ones who are were transferred to them from breeders, circuses. If you go to their website you will see how happy their cats are. They spoil their cats, also no hands on like some people. They also have rehabilitaion of Bob cats who are hit by cars, or abandoned by the mother. They do total vet care, teach it to hunt without the hands on then releases back to the wild.
The article about BCR and Baskin is reasonably accurate. There are many owners of exotics that have told of selling big cats to Baskin for her own breeding programs and personal gain. There are also quite a few folks who have showed documentation over the years of Baskin selling exotic cubs to them. Baskin claims the big cat Khan was a damaged rescue, however there is available video of the cat with its previous owner (very healthy) and with Baskin AFTER PURCHASE (also very healthy). Therefore, anything which her later videos show or claims is the actual condition is what occurred during the time Khan with WITH BASKIN.
Hybrid cats are no different than what we now call domestic cats. Himmies are technically a “hybrid” since they are a cross between persian and siamese. Maine Coons are technically a hybrid because they are believed to have derived from the crossing of the European Wildcat [Felis silvestris silvestris] and the Skogkatter (also known as the predecessor to the Norwegian Forest Cat or “Weegie”) which was possibly brought to the new world by Norse explorers. Hybridization is the basis of the majority of our current world, whether it is for beauty (as are many hybrid flowers) or eating (such as the varieties of vegetables, fruits, and meats we consume).
A minor correction for the article. The Bengal is derived from a cross between the ASIAN (not Snow) Leopard Cat [Prionailurus bengalensis bengalensis] -or- AMUR Leopard Cat [Prionailurus bengalensis euptilurus/euptilura] and domestic shorthairs (although some longhair breeds have been used). Early generation females are fertile, however the males are not, with less than 10% of the 4th generation being fertile. It is worth noting that the USDA specifies a “domestic” as one that is at least 4 generations away from the wild, and can viably reproduce. The 5th generation is unquestionably “domestic” in the eyes of the scientific community.
No cat is truly domesticated. While they have tolerated the company of humans for a long time, they are not hardwired like dogs to want human contact. It is on their terms, and has to do with the conditions they encounter. You will find, however, that hybrids have a much deeper relationship with their owners, and even other household pets, than exist in most domestic cats. It is a special bond, and it should be RESPECTED and NOT tampered with.
Thank you for contributing to the discussion. I have several pages on the Bengal cat:
https://pictures-of-cats.org/tag/Bengal-cat
I was right! I stick by everything I said. Now, thanks to the documentary, everyone knows she is a murderess, con artist, gold digger, as well most likely a street walker.
Well these are you thoughts. I disagree with you. I think she not the person that you say she is. She is ambitious and a strong character and successful which as created enemies. She does a good job in rescuing wild cats abused by irresponsible self-indulgent people.
You need to get your facts straight before you blame somebody on a creep who makes money on abusing animals. Joe is jealous of Carold and the people who follow big cat rescue because her, and us have tried to shut him down due to the abuse those animals go through. He is in prison now, he will do anything to make himself look good to the public, but we know better.
Not sure what to think. Before this I had never heard anything except good about BCR.I do know that even a millionaire would run out of money footing the bill for this place. Therefore,fund raisers,donations,etc. are a must. If she was once in the business of selling exotics and got out,maybe that is because she realised she was doing harm and decided to fight against such issues.People can and do change their perspectives.About the men in her life,where is the evidence of her “crimes”,not accusations,but real evidence.You have to look at these accusations with some common sense.I did find the following article interesting. It could be the reason for the attack on Carole. http://911animalabuse.com/bradshaw-susan-aronoff/
I agree with you Geri. I saw BCR as an organisation doing good but she has lots of enemies like the author of this article, which is why I published it. But they may all have an axe to grind, a hidden agenda for all I know. The bottom line is that animals are being saved.
I have a feeling that her detractors hate her because she stands for animal rights and people who like to use and abuse animals don’t like someone stopping them.
Wow!
I just spent close to an hour reading a slew of stuff about BCR and Carole Baskin including reputable investigative reports and comments from previous employees as well as individuals who sold their big cats to her.
My opinion is that she is more than shady, her motives have been far less than altruistic, and she is, in all probability, a criminal.
One of the most chilling things that I read was that the stepdaughter had requested that machinery and meat grinders be DNA tested for evidence of her missing father.
Wow, I am pleased you have done a bit of reading about her. I don’t know where the truth is. I just present what I see and what people say. If you say that she is shady I’ll trust that assessment.
It is shame though because at the end of the day she does save the lives of wild cats, doesn’t she? She does some good, doesn’t she? Or is she just using them like the people she criticises?
I’d never heard of Carole Baskin or BCR before I read this article, but if it’s true that she has had any/all of her cats declawed, that’s enough to make me consider her cruel, ignorant and untrustworthy.
Carole Baskin one of those people who makes a lot of enemies and critics but I don’t know where the truth lies. She is an American who high profile in the wild cat rescue business. Don’t automatically presume that the author of this article is telling the truth.
I agree, I’d trust no one who thinks declawing cats is acceptable.
She definitely has serious issues.
Yes, just the fact that there is so much discussion about the veracity of her story is enough to doubt or question it. As you say there are issues.
A money hungry con artist.
Thank you Dee. To the point 😉