In Support of Carole Baskin

Many people are buzzing about the Netflix "documentary" Tiger King. As we are based in Vegas, CWI has worked directly on the issue of the display of exotic animals by Jeff Lowe. We want to state unequivocally that we support the Big Cat Public Safety Act. And to remind everyone that Big Cat Rescue is a Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS) accredited sanctuary, which is a difficult accreditation to receive and only awarded to sanctuaries that demonstrate excellence.

In our opinion, Tiger King failed to adequately convey the fact that EXOTIC ANIMALS SHOULD NOT BE BRED AND KEPT IN CAPTIVITY. That point should be the main one anyone is left with after viewing. Sadly, all we see are posts containing salacious, half-baked gossip. Please, stay focused on the animals and support the Big Cat Public Safety Act to put an end to the private ownership of dangerous wild animals and the evil cub petting industry.

Further, as CWI is a female-run organization, we are especially appalled by the treatment of Carole Baskin both in the series and across social media. While many are heroizing dangerous and immoral individuals like Joe Exotic and Jeff Lowe, they are choosing to slander a woman who has dedicated her life to ending big cat cruelty. Director Eric Goode, an exotic animal breeder himself, made sure to glamorize criminals like Joe and Jeff while portraying Big Cat Rescue and Carole in the worst possible light. View our joint statement with NYCLASS Executive Director Edita Birnkrant here.