Years ago, I walked out into the public area of my zoo and saw a visitor staring fixedly at one of our big cats. As soon as she saw me, she swooped over and made a "suggestion" (I put the quotes up because there was the implication that, if I didn't agree to do what I said, I was the scum of the earth). She wanted my zoo to donate the cat to a charity that she supported in Mexico, a "sanctuary" (again, note the use of quotation marks) called "Black Jaguar, White Tiger." Not unreasonably, I declined. I mean, I would have said no anyway, even if it had been my choice, but I had already started to hear some rumors about that place, and I didn't like what I heard. We argued for a while, me growing increasingly exasperated, when I finally lost it.
"Lady," I said, "I'd rather see that cat dead than in the hands of that guy." And with that, I walked off. I braced myself for an angry voicemail on our zoo's phone for the next few weeks, but it never came.
Today, it looks like those suspicions were founded. Mexican authorities shut down the facility earlier this week, removing an assortment of big cats in deplorable conditions, some partially eaten by flies... or each other. The cats are being rehomed to zoos across Mexico, where hopefully they'll get better care.
BJWT was founded by businessman Eduardo Serio, who collected big cats, claiming he was rescuing them from zoos or the pet trade. Again, it's not a rescue if you're buying them, it's a sale. He made his facility open to celebrities such as Khloe Kardashian and Paris Hilton, letting them pet his cats (always a warning sign -what happens to those cubs when they are no longer so cute and cuddly?). Complaints had circulated for years about the small enclosures, poor husbandry, and shady practices at BJWT. Serio was quick to threaten anyone who cast doubts about his facility, and I saw many threats of legal action flung out against his critics.
I've grown increasingly frustrated with sketchy sanctuaries like BJWT over the years. They spew vitriol about zoos, while claiming that they are rescues and they are the only ones who truly care about the animals. Many are run by charismatic figures who develop cult-like followings (Doc Antle, I'm looking at you). They think that they can justify all kinds of mediocre facilities, poor living conditions, and questionable practices because "they are sanctuaries, not zoos," they don't have enough money, the animals were in bad shape when they arrived, blah, blah, blah.
Serio always struck me as a charlatan, but I do acknowledge that many of these pseudo-sanctuaries are run by people who meant well, maybe didn't realize how hard caring for animals would be, and wound up in over their head. Good attentions aside (and we all know what is paved with good intentions), the animals don't care. If you're starved to death or neglected by someone who means well, it's just about as unpleasant as if it happens at the hands of someone who doesn't mean well.
The point of a sanctuary is to be a place of rescue for animals in need... not to be a place that animals need to be rescued from.
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