OT: Lions and Tigers and Wolves in Wisconsin

polarpooch

polarpooch

Active Member
This is a Big Cat rescue facility in southern Wisconsin that I visited last weekend...50 big cats, 7 wolves, 3 bears and lots of miscellaneous exotics people thought would make good "pets"...We brought 140 pounds of chicken to feed them...they ate it all.
This lion is missing an eye (he was a drug den lion--nice, huh?)
 
lovethesea

lovethesea

Active Member
It turns my stomach to see these beautiful creatures treated like this by ignorant people. Unfortunately there are probably no substantial penalities for such behavior. :mad:
By the way, besides the obvious, what is a drug den lion??
very sad, very sad!!:(
 
aarone

aarone

Active Member
i love lions and tigers and bears...oh my. sorry about that one. Anyways i love the big cats. the lioness is my favorite animal. Did you get any pics of that?
aaron
 
polarpooch

polarpooch

Active Member
aaron,
I have other pics I took with my SLR. I haven't gotten those back yet. I'll post a lioness when I get the others back...
lovethesea,
a drug den lion is a lion used to guard drug homes, or places where significant drug deals are done. From what I understand, the animals are usually beaten severely to make them "meaner".
Many of the big cats at this place are "photo cats", which is when someone buys a cute little tiger cub, and sets up a stand advertising "pictures with a tiger cub--$20" along the side of a road, or at roadside zoos. Unfortunately, the tigers get bigger, and they are discarded, because they are no longer safe and useful to the photographers.
You're right, virtually nothing happens to the jackasses who do this.
I agree with Tyr-Sog, the former owners would make wonderful catfood.
 
lovethesea

lovethesea

Active Member
sick, just sick that people think that these animals were put on this planet just for them to use and discard. How on earth could you try to make a lion meaner? I would thing that whomever is the one trying to make him meaner lost a bet or something because, I sure would NOT want to be the one beating him.
We have a few a these shelters in Missouri. Small, but do good work.
Carole.....where is the place in Clearwater? We are in that area
(Indian Shores specifcally) for awhile every August. Do they accept donations for people to come to their facility?
 
D

daniel411

Guest

Originally posted by polarpooch
We brought 140 pounds of chicken to feed them...
Great to hear! I'm sure they can use all the donations they can.
 
polarpooch

polarpooch

Active Member
The animals are really amazing, so are the people who volunteer their time there. I visited with one of the vets who works up there.
It was really incredible to see these animals up close...they would rub up against their cages looking for a little love, and make almost barking like noises when we pet them (through the cage wire, of course!).
My friend, the vet, told me that there are approximately 20,000 lions, tigers and other big cats in the US being kept either as attractions or pets.
Very sad.
 
marine fanatic

marine fanatic

Member
A fair came through this area last year and they had a big pen with about 5 juvenile lions in it. EVERY single one had really bad diarrhea. I aksed the guy who was working the pen and he claimed it was normal (yeah, i'm an idiot). I also noticed a cattle-prod that he had in his little "guard shack" for moving them back into the travel pens. I agree this treatment of animals is sick in the absolute meaning of the word. I remember reading in the newspaper a few days after Roy was attacked and people were saying the tiger should be put down......like wth, the animal loses all instincts when in captivity?? I mean, I'm sorry Roy was attacked...but sooner or later a wild predator that is forced to perform is going to rebel.
I love the old saying....."Meet the animal on it's own terms and you will find you are not so very strong"
 
lovethesea

lovethesea

Active Member
love that area, Indian Shores is our "home"away from home.
A little slice of heaven.
Sounds like the Monkey home is not a great place to visit. Probably scarey for kids. Sad that places like this have to even exist. They have probably been so abused before they got there that they are very unpredictable.
Pelican Landing in the Sand Key area? Great area too.
:)
 
ashenwolf

ashenwolf

Member
I lived in Wisconsin for 14 years and never heard of this place. But i am glad tehre are people out there who are helping to treat these animals to a better life. The animals are simply beautiful, wolves especially ;) ;) ;)
Glad to hear yuo brought them some food too! Beautiful pictures, post more if you can :)
 
polarpooch

polarpooch

Active Member
Ashen Wolf,
What part of WI did you live in?
This facility is in Sharon, WI--near Lake Geneva/Illinois border (south east WI). Formerly called JES Exotics.
I'll post more pics when my 35mm film is developed.
 
kreach

kreach

Active Member
Such beautiful creatures... it just makes me sick to think of the way they (and others like them) have been treated.
Several years ago, I police officer I knew was working as part of the city's animal control unit. They confiscated a tiger that a guy had been keeping as a pet and my husband (boyfriend at the time) and I got to go see her up at the shelter.
The poor tiger was 150 lbs under weight because the guy had been feeding her dog food. She had never eaten a scrap of raw meat in her life until she came to be at the shelter. Because of the inadequate nutrition, her spine had a lump in it… and the vet said that because of that, she would never be able to attain her full recommended weight because her spine couldn’t support it! :mad:
And if that wasn’t enough, she had been kept in a cage that was essentially like a dog run. She barely had enough room to turn around in it, from what the officers said. Just made me sick. They were going to prosecute the guy for animal cruelty, but I doubt he got more than a slap on the wrist. :mad:
She was so beautiful and so sweet, licking our hands through the cage mesh and bowing her head so that we could scratch behind her ears. Good news is that she went on to a cat sanctuary like the one polarpooch visited. :D
 
polarpooch

polarpooch

Active Member
Daniel411--
That story is really sad.
I was driving behind a truck with a trailer last summer. The trailer had some animals in it...I thought it must have been dogs. I was mad enough that the open air cage/trailer had dogs in it...but when I got closer I saw THREE lions--just flying down the interstate in a rusty cage on a wooden trailer. The truck was about 20 years old...the occupants looked utterly clueless.
I called the State Patrol, and they confiscated the animals. I have no idea if they made it to a sanctuary.
Just about a month ago, a guy came in to where I work and asked our receptionist is she wanted to see a baby lion. He had one in his car. SHE called the cops that time.
What the heck is the matter with people?!
I have more pics coming Thursday...will post some others to this thread then....
 
ozadars

ozadars

Member
these tigers, lions and other big animals arent wild caught, right? If they are captive bred then i m glad no damage to the nature. But poor animals
:( . If you will keep them in a cage, why do you buy them. I think these wild animals should be left in the wild. In Turkey there are few people keeping tigers and lions but even some big zoos (in Turkey) which provides large, natural area dont have most of these animals.
In the USA, do people keeping other interesting animals like zebras, giraffes, rhinos and hippos?
 
polarpooch

polarpooch

Active Member
ozadars,
I'm with you...wild animals belong in the wild. Now as for wild fish...well...I...am not going there, because I have some wild caught fish!
Typically all these cats are captive-bred. Some of our zoos here are "sanctuary" type zoos and are very nice. But some are pretty sad, if you want the truth. Many states here don't have laws governing the sale of wild animals, so you see this kind of terrible thing happen more often than you think.
San Diego, California has the best zoo I've ever visited...large, expansive area with lots of "natural habitat" for the animals. It has Pandas, rhinos, sloth bears, jaguars, giraffe, hippos, monkeys/chimps/gorillas...and lots of other animals. Worth the trip to see it, in my opinion.
 
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