Island Thyme Soap Company Hearts Big Cat Rescue
Giving Back
We heart Big Cat Rescue.
Big Cat Rescue is one of the largest accredited sanctuaries in the world dedicated to abused and abandoned big cats. The rescue, situated on 68 acres just North of Tampa is home to about 60 lions, tigers, bobcats, cougars and other species most of whom have been abandoned, abused, rescued as orphaned babies when hunters kill their mother, saved from being turned into fur coats, or retired from performing acts.
A portion of the proceeds from each subscription will go to help the cats at BCR.
Like Nikita lioness, who was found chained to the wall in a crack house during a drug bust in Tennessee. Because she had been confined to a concrete floor, she had huge swellings on her elbows that took months to heal. She had been declawed, which will cause he pain as she ages. She was so thin that you could carry her under one arm. She would only eat white rabbits, so she had a plethora of nutritional issues to deal with as well. She now weighs almost 500 lbs! You can watch her live, 24/7 here.
Like Hoover, a former Peruvian circus tiger seized by Animal Defenders International (ADI) and Peruvian wildlife. Hoover was on track to be rescued along with another tiger during a nationwide law enforcement operation in 2014. The circus went underground. After months of searching, a member of the public tipped off ADI’s team to the location of the illegal wild animal circus. A dramatic rescue ensued and Hoover’s road to freedom finally began. ADI contacted Big Cat Rescue about becoming Hoover’s forever home and after what turned out to be a year long process and BCR finally received the green light from USFWS to bring Hoover to his furever home. You can watch Hoover here, live, 24/7.
And like IIlithia the three year old serval, BCR's most recent addition. A three year old African serval, who despite her owners doing everything right, keeping exotic cats as pets just never works out.
Read lllithia's story on BCR's website:
There are 50 more stories like these. These gorgous creatures don't belong in basements, roadside zoos, photo ops, circuses. or even in the home of well meaning people. They belong in the wild. And when they can't be released in the wild, they belong in an accredited sanctuary where they can live the remainder of their lives in the care of volunteers and staff like at Big Cat Rescue.
What sets Big Cat Rescue apart is that in addition to being known for their extensive research and implementation of best practices in wild cat care, they also work to end the abuse at it source, the private possession and trade in exotic cats, through legislation and education.
How you can help the big cats.
- The most important thing you can do today is to take action to help get the Big Cat Public Safety Act passed in THIS congress. It's is the most important piece of legislation to ever be introduced to protect lions, tigers, and other exotic wild cats from being kept as pets and in miserable roadside zoos. Call your rep today!
- Buy some soap here and choose to BIG CAT RESCUE to benefit from your purchase!
- If you have an Amazon.com account, sign up for Amazon Smile to have .5% of your purchases donated to Big Cat Rescue.
- You can also go directly to Big Cat Rescue to donate directly to the sanctuary.
- BCR has some of the BEST Facebook Video feeds ever, and if you watch, simply sharing the videos helps reach more minds and hearts. Usually you can follow along for a live Morning Wildcat Walkabout with one of the keepers as they check in with many of the Tigers, Lion, Leopards, Jaguar, Cougars, Lynx, Servals, Bobcats, Savannah Cats and an Ocelot that Call Big Cat Rescue was Rescue Home!
https://www.facebook.com/bigcatrescue/
Dr. Justin Boorstein started out at Big Cat Rescue in December 2005 as an Intern who was studying veterinary medicine. He became licensed to practice in Florida and shares some of his experiences as a Veterinarian working with big cats. He works at the Humane Society of Tampa Bay and rose to international fame as the doctor for the Zombie Cat or Zombie Kitty. Zombie Cat, was a cat named Bart, who had been hit by a car, thought dead, buried and then clawed his way out of the grave to be discovered very much alive 5 days later.
https://www.facebook.com/justinboorsteinBCRVET/
Afton has been a Green Level Keeper at Big Cat Rescue for years, and has a terrific sense of humor. She is the media producer and you can hear her laughing all across the sanctuary with an infectious laugh.
https://www.facebook.com/AftonTaslerBCR/
Big Cat TV is their Youtube Channel
https://bigcatrescue.org/big-cat-tv/
Did I mention they also have a "KItten Cabana" of with a kitten cam? This live cam provides a glimpse into some of the smaller felines at Big Cat Rescue. They are rescued domestic kittens that are bottle fed and socialized until they are big enough to be placed in permanent homes by the Humane Society of Tampa Bay.
So if you ever need a few minutes to just decompress, you can catch all the cuteness here.
https://explore.org/livecams/big-cat-rescue/big-cat-rescue-kitten-cabana
Big Cat Rescue is accredited by the Global Federation of Sanctuaries and has been rated 4 Stars by Charity Navigator (their highest rating) every year since 2011, which only 6% of the thousands of nonprofits they rate achieve, and has the highest overall numerical score of any animal based charity at an amazing 100%!