2023 BCSA Conference

The Big Cat Sanctuary Alliance is proud to present the fourth independently hosted and produced Big Cat Sanctuary Alliance Conference. The 2023 theme is “Roaring Ahead: Charting the Path Forward After the Big Cat Public Safety Act.”
Join sanctuary professionals to learn about the work being done to protect captive big cats and the impact the Big Cat Public Safety Act will have on rescue efforts in the future.
Keynote Speaker:
Dr. Andrew Kushnir, “The Nomad Vet” will speak about the challenge of rescuing exotic animals from war-torn Ukraine and the long journey home for four lion cubs rescued from the illicit exotic pet trade.
Other conference sessions include:
- International rescues
- The small cat crisis
- Disaster preparedness and response
- Building your board of directors
- Donor retention and growth
INCLUDED IN YOUR REGISTRATION:
Conference registration includes all conference sessions on Wednesday and Thursday, catered lunches and snack breaks both days, a banquet dinner on Wednesday, October 18th, and transportation by coach bus to and from Lions, Tigers, & Bears for a sanctuary tour on Thursday, October 19th, which will include appetizers and drinks.
Breakfast and a nightly evening reception are included in room reservations if you stay at the conference hotel.
Dinner on Tuesday night and Thursday night are not included.
CONFERENCE HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS:
Embassy Suites by Hilton San Diego Bay Downtown
601 Pacific Highway, San Diego, CA 92101
(619) 239-2400
Please Note: a mandatory destination fee of $25.00 is added to each nightly reservation. This fee includes access to premium wi-fi and a nightly $25.00 credit to be used in the on-site restaurant or gift shop.
GROUND TRANSPORTATION:
The hotel does not provide a shuttle from/to San Diego International Airport. We encourage conference attendees to use a rideshare service like Uber or Lyft for the short, 4-mile trip to the conference hotel.
Other transportation options include car rental, taxis (https://www.san.org/to-from/Taxis).
Please note: parking at the hotel is not included in your room rate, and will cost an additional $55 per day if you are staying at the hotel, or $20 per day for event/day parking for those who are not staying at the hotel.
Rental car companies at the airport are: Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Fox, Hertz, National, Payless, Sixt, Thrifty, and ZipCar. All on-site rental car companies are located at the Consolidated Rental Car Center, to which a free shuttle bus runs from the terminals 24/7.
* Vaccination against COVID-19 is strongly recommended to attend.
Conference Sponsors and Vendors
A very special thank you to these additional supporters of the 2023 BCSA Conference:
Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics, 4imprint one by one, and an anonymous private donor.

(Any funds raised above and beyond the cost of the conference will be used to support future learning opportunities/other activities of the BCSA.)