'Tiger King' star Carole Baskin announces closure of Big Cat Rescue sanctuary, animals to be relocated to Arkansas
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FLORIDA: The Big Cat Rescue sanctuary run by Carole Baskin, which was the subject of the Netflix documentary 'Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness', is shutting down, according to a memo from her husband Howard Baskin.
"Big Cat Rescue has entered into an agreement with Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge, an accredited sanctuary in Arkansas, to move most of Big Cat Rescue’s cats to Turpentine Creek where we will continue to fund their care for the rest of their lives," read the memo which was posted on the Big Cat Rescue website. The memo also stated that once all the cats are relocated, “we will sell the sanctuary property and use the proceeds to fund these species-saving projects in the wild.”
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Big Cat Rescue will contribute to the $1.8 million cost
The memo continued, "Supporting our cats in larger enclosures at Turpentine Creek, at much lower cost per cat than we incur by continuing to operate Big Cat Rescue, will free up resources to let us do much more to save big cats in the wild. Having ended most of the abuse of big cats via the [Big Cat Public Safety Act], focusing on the third prong of our mission, i.e., maximizing the amount we can donate to in situ projects to save the cats from extinction, is the best way to fulfill our mission and impact the most cats going forward."
Congress approved the BCPSA measure, which forbade unlicensed people from owning wild animals, in 2021. "With the passage of the BCPSA we expect the need for rescues to decline over the coming decade. If the need were going to continue at the pace we saw up until a few years ago, we would be making a different decision," read the statement. Howard also mentioned that it was “time to be thinking about a transition to younger management to bring new energy to the organization to allow the sanctuary to continue into perpetuity.”
As per Deadline, the letter also states that Big Cat Rescue will contribute to the estimated $1.8 million cost of constructing the enclosures at Turpentine Creek. On their Facebook page, Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge stated that as part of their growth strategy to "build a sustainable future for animals rescue," they "will be taking in 35 cats from Big Cat Rescue."
Carole claimed that her ex-husband was still alive
Recently a video of Baskin made the news where she makes the claim that her ex-husband, who rival Joe Exotic had accused her of killing, was still alive. In a 2021 interview, the CEO of the big cat sanctuary claimed that her missing and presumed deceased spouse had been discovered alive in Costa Rica. Since 'Tiger King' Joe Exotic claimed she killed her ex-husband Jack 'Don' Lewis, who suddenly vanished in 1997, Baskin has maintained her innocence.