News

See what’s making news with big cats.

Dec 10, 2021

Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge welcomes its newest rescue, an almost two-year-old male African serval. Tanya Smith, President and Founder of Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge, received a ca …

Jun 1, 2021

Member sanctuaries of the Big Cat Sanctuary Alliance are caring for nearly half of the 68 big cats recently seized by the U.S. government from Tiger King Park in Thackerville, Oklahoma.

Jun 1, 2021

Crown Ridge Tiger Sanctuary, Missouri’s only GFAS Verified big cat sanctuary, worked with several other accredited sanctuaries and the U.S. Department of Justice to carry out a large-scale r …

Jun 1, 2021

Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge says it had a hand in rescuing 68 big cats from Tiger King Park previously owned by Joe Exotic, including assisting in the transport of 8 animals to other sa …

May 12, 2021

People are asking about the laws surrounding ownership of exotic animals in Texas, especially since this is far from the first time a tiger has gotten loose. “In Texas, it’s regulated county …

Apr 16, 2021

While it’s legal to breed and exhibit big cats in the U.S. with proper licenses, Tiger King shined a spotlight on questionable conditions in a lucrative and lightly regulated industry. Now, …

Apr 16, 2021

House Bill 3710 was debated and heard by the Texas House Culture, Recreation and Tourism Committee. It’s a touching bill, as in whether people should be allowed to touch wild animals at attr …

Apr 7, 2021

“The Conservation Game” was produced and directed by Michael Webber (keynote speaker at BCSA’s 2019 Conference), and featuring BCSA Advisory Board members Tim Harrison and Carney Anne Nasser …

Jan 13, 2021

A bill that would prohibit public contact with big cats like tigers, lions and leopards and ban the possession of these animals as pets was swiftly reintroduced in the U.S. House today, sugg …

Jan 13, 2021

The national Big Cat Sanctuary Alliance (BCSA) is responding to concerns brought up by a local Big Cat Sanctuary regarding the Big Cat Public Safety Act, expected to be voted on by the US Ho …

Jan 13, 2021

Listen to an interview by Dog Desk Radio with BCSA Program Manager, Kathy Blachowski on the big cat crisis in the United States.

Nov 6, 2020

The Big Cat Sanctuary Alliance (BCSA), in partnership with the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS), and the North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance (NAPSA), is celebrating the 2 …

Oct 27, 2020

Any accredited animal sanctuary owner will tell you: Netflix’s “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness,” fell devastatingly short in depicting the vicious cycle of breeding and animal suffe …

Oct 21, 2020

Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge (a member of the Big Cat Sanctuary Alliance) provides an update on the health issues of the eight big cats rescued from Wildlife in Need, a pseudo-sanctuary …

Sep 25, 2020

A broad, unchecked trend of big cat possession is afoot in the U.S. From coast to coast, an untracked number of private citizens own big cats, amongst other wildlife. “Roadside zoos” are spr …

Sep 25, 2020

Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge (a member of the Big Cat Sanctuary Alliance) has rescued eight big cats from Wildlife in Need, a pseudo-sanctuary located in Charlestown, Indiana, and featur …

Aug 13, 2020

At the Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch along with Lions Tigers & Bears, animals are beating the heat with dips in a pool and delicious ice pops, just like us!

May 27, 2020

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it will issue an advisory that may stop exhibitors from allowing the public to have contact with big cat cubs, according to a release from the Pe …

May 15, 2020

While quarantined with a bout of COVID-19 in her uptown New Orleans home, endangered species protection lawyer Carney Anne Nasser (an Advisory Board member for the BCSA) has had plenty to sa …

May 13, 2020

While Netflix’s popular “Tiger King” series might have entranced audiences worldwide with “murder, mayhem, and madness,” it’s also driving some national attention to Black Pine Animal Sanctu …

May 8, 2020

With “Tiger King” mania sweeping the nation, big cats are coming into the limelight. Missouri is a hotbed for big cat ownership — and abuse.

May 8, 2020

Only one facility in Missouri is verified as a tiger sanctuary by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries: Crown Ridge Tiger Sanctuary in Ste. Genevieve.

May 8, 2020

Now that the world has gotten a good laugh at Netflix’s “Tiger King” docuseries, it’s time to look past the sequins, mullets and tassels and see private exotic animal collections for what th …

May 7, 2020

People who privately own big cats are dangerous to society. They sacrifice the welfare of the animals, they put the public at serious risk, and it is really not so amusing at all.

May 4, 2020

It’s not just humans, but animals of all shapes and sizes that are in need during the current pandemic. The goal of Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge is to raise $28,000 on May 5th (#GivingTu …

Apr 28, 2020

While for-profit zoos like Joe Exotic’s “zoo” have created a crisis of thousands of tigers living in captivity, nonprofit sanctuaries like Big Cat Rescue that don’t breed and don’t allow cub …

Apr 27, 2020

Throughout “Tiger King”, viewers are introduced to a collection of roadside zoos across the country and one animal sanctuary, but what the series failed to explain to viewers is the signific …

Apr 20, 2020

Here’s what two journalists, who’ve documented the captive tiger tourism industry for years, had to say about Netflix’s Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness.

Apr 16, 2020

The Netflix documentary series “Tiger King” sheds light on the culture of tiger ownership in the U.S., but doesn’t reveal how prolific this culture really is. This video explains the patchwo …

Apr 16, 2020

“While we are glad that the issue of captive big cats in the U.S. is currently at the forefront of popular culture, we would like to refocus the conversation toward the problem rather than t …

Apr 15, 2020

The Wildcat Sanctuary is seizing the moment created by the “Tiger King” series to try and make a difference for big cats in captivity by launching Tiger Amnesty Week.

Apr 15, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic has proven to be a weird time for Black Pine Animal Sanctuary, which is a member of the Big Cat Sanctuary Alliance and is accredited by the Global Federation of Anim …

Apr 9, 2020

Thank you again to Kitty Block and Sara Amundson of The Humane Society of the United States and the Humane Society Legislative Fund, respectively, for their insight into the inhumane treatme …

Apr 7, 2020

Turpentine Creek is a nonprofit located on 450-acres about seven miles south of Eureka Springs. It says it does not buy, sell, trade, loan out or beed their animals and does not offer cub pe …

Apr 7, 2020

Kitty Block, President and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States and CEO of Humane Society International, calls Netflix’s “Tiger King” a wake-up call for ending private possession o …

Apr 6, 2020

The responses of Carolina Tiger Rescue and the Big Cat Sanctuary Alliance to the “Tiger King” docuseries were recently featured in an article in The News & Observer.

Mar 31, 2020

The abuse and exploitation of captive big cats in the U.S. is a serious problem that endangers both the animals and the public. The Netflix docuseries Tiger King shines a light on this impor …

Feb 26, 2020

The work of BCSA and our member sanctuaries was recently highlighted by Kitty Block, President & CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, and Sara Amundson, President of the Humane So …

Feb 11, 2020

The rescue and relocation of tigers Luna and Remington to an accredited sanctuary is a success story for the animals and for members of the Big Cat Sanctuary Alliance (BCSA), which works to …

Nov 10, 2019

There are more tigers in American gardens than there are left in the wild. Alex Hannaford meets the owners who live cheek by jowl with their pets, and also those ensuring the big cats are tr …

Feb 27, 2019

A bill preventing people who aren’t qualified to own dangerous big cats such as tigers, lions, leopards and cougars was reintroduced to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Feb 13, 2019

A tiger alarmed a woman who was sneaking into a seemingly abandoned Houston home to smoke marijuana on Monday. Now it has found a new home of its own. The Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch, …

Jan 23, 2019

The Big Cat Sanctuary Alliance, representing 17 professional sanctuaries that care for big cats and four partner organizations, applauds the News & Record for its editorial (Jan. 6) that sta …

Jan 2, 2019

Recently, New Jersey became the first state to ban the use of wild animals in circuses. And now, only a week later, Hawaii has followed in its footsteps.

Dec 14, 2018

Wild animals won’t be performing at circuses in New Jersey anymore. Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation Friday making it illegal to use wild and exotic animals in traveling acts.

Dec 4, 2018

Chanel has agreed to ban fur and exotic skins from its collections, saying it wanted to maintain ethical standards and following pressure from animal rights campaigners.

Nov 19, 2018

China is a critical market for animal contraband. Some scientists fear the official commitment to conservation may be wavering.

Nov 13, 2018

China has appeared to backtrack on a controversial decision to lift a ban on trading tiger bones and rhinoceros horns, saying it has been postponed, state media reported on Monday.

Nov 5, 2018

When it comes to hiding exotic animals, wildlife officials say they’ve seen it all. From tigers stuffed in a duffel bag to cobras concealed in a potato chip can, animal smugglers have become …

Picture of person holding a rhino horn
Oct 29, 2018

The Chinese government, reversing a 25-year ban, announced on Monday that it would allow the use of rhinoceros horns and tiger bones in medicine, a move that environmentalists described as a …