🦁 Cool Cats & Kittens Club 🐯 Tiger King Thread 👑

[voe]

Welcome To The Thread About
Conquering Tiger Kings!


🐯 Table of Contents 🦁
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Content Warning
⚠️Tiger King is graphic!⚠️
This discussion has to be PG!
To keep all ages engaged & safe,
please don’t discuss violence, gore,
or other graphic topic even if relevant.
Do not link to any site or source that uses
any adult language or depicts animal abuse.

Welcome Animal Advocates To This Important Club!
This is a place to discuss the ethics of keeping big cats,
the moral dilemma of sharing cute controversial content,
and how to change our behavior to protect captive wildlife.
We Are Here To Love Big Cats And Vow To End Their Suffering!

Through coordinated effort, we can accomplish this steep goal!

Become A Member / Champion An Important Cause / Get A Gift

Reply this pledge here, then send a trade for your welcome gift!

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I, [name], promise to defend animal activists, even when I don't agree with them. Big cats make great virtual pets, but do not belong inside houses, or on leashes. I will never interact with a wildcat stolen from their mom to entertain me, nor will I knowingly support material made at the expense of a wild animal.


[voe]

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Carole Baskin, Jan Creamer, & Pat Craig
all founded sanctuaries to preserve the natural
and meaningful lives of captive-bred, exploited wildlife!
While I have fundamental disagreements with each of them
we all agree that animals deserve to be treated with respect,
with regard to their natural instincts and unique wants/needs.
The people who devote their lives to improving animal welfare
deserve to be taken seriously, for all the amazing work they do!

No dissing carole baskin or wishing harm on anyone allowed here!

The Big Question
So is this supposed to be a big cat lovers club? Yes- and much more.
I'm sure by now we've all heard there are far more tigers in captivity
than there are living free in the wild- but who or what has caused this?

The Answer? Tiger Kings
Netflix introduced many of us to Carole Baskin & Joe Exotic on 'Tiger King'
the protagonist and antagonist of the underground world of tigers.
The production took aim at people keeping exotics in the US,
however, the international market for exotic animals
is largest in the world 2nd only to drugs.

How Did We Let This Happen?
We all love big cats, you wouldn't be here otherwise!
We draw pictures, collect virtual lions, make fursonas-
we probably think we would sacrifice anything to protect them.
What if you found out that your casual everyday actions harmed big cats?

I grew up supporting zoos, following every animal account I could.
In 2017 I followed a very popular account with a 'rescue' in Mexico.
Nobody seemed to visit aside from celebrities & wealthy donors, &
he and his supporters seemed set on ruining the work & reputations
of animal activists with threats & harassment online. I asked myself,
why would they block all the people who just asked relevant questions-
such as "where is the mom of these cubs, was she rescued too?"

The Big Picture- It's A Scam!
Eventually you'll realize nearly every instance of baby animals being taken
from their mom to be touted on social media as 'rescued' or 'abandoned'
is in fact an intentional effort to exploit them for donations and profit.

'But that can't be true! They seem happy! They get loved/played with!'

By convincing you that these animals were saved from suffering, that
they and/or their captive born offspring 'help conservation', or that
they in some way actually benefit from regular human interaction
they hide their abuse, neglect, and/or exploitation in plain sight.

They'll omit preventable medical issues and deaths, overcrowd
in bare minimum enclosures which results in fighting & injury,
separate cubs from mothers to imprint on human caregivers,
and even kill/illegally traffic them when they're no longer
useful as props/too dangerous to interact with humans.

How Can We Help Save These Wild Animals?
I’m sure you’ve seen content all over social media-
innocent seeming enough to like and share and ogle,
However, certain content depicting humans & animals
can be harmful to like & share, or take part in creating.

We all must understand how online activity fuels the crisis.
This thread was made to discuss how we can change our own
behavior, and try to influence that of our peers to improve the
socially accepted ways to love animals, how to treat them right.

Become a keyboard knight, a social justice warrior, join 'PETA'
That's how majority of others will see you, as an extremist.
As long as you do your research and know what is right,
insults of that nature should not hurt your feelings.
It is crucial to change the minds of the majority-
We are their voice and their only chance!
With legislation like TEAPSPA & BCPSA,
we can provide dignity to wildlife.

[quote]Learn the Difference to Make a Difference
Through research and empathy, while still taking into
consideration the nature of these animals as it contrasts
to our own (to limit personification) understanding the
horrors the majority of these animals go through will
help you can learn to easily identify abusive and
exploitive content, as to discourage those
around you from perpetuating it.

What Constitutes Exploitation?
Being forced to behave in a way that is so
unnatural to an animal's instincts or their
way of life in the wild that they would
be unable to raise young or survive
without human help/assistance
for human entertainment.

What Constitutes Abuse?
Aside from the obvious ways animals are
mistreated by humans, there are more subtle
ways in which we cause them distress which
aren't as apparent to everyone as violence.

What Constitutes Neglect?
Obtaining any animal without the means
to provide them a safe and *natural life
is considered a form a neglect- ignoring
an animal's natural instincts included.

It Is Truly Impossible To Filter Everything We Consume Online!
But we can at the very least try to make it a safer place for animals.

Here Are Some Common Red Flags For Content Involving Wild Animals:

1. Constant Influx of Baby Animals
a) An account is regularly posting new baby animals to draw attention,
with no explanation as to why they are breeding or where they're procured
b) There doesn't appear to be a mother present tending to her own young,
the mother was not rescued with cubs or has mysteriously rejected them.
c) Baby animals which would be hostile or fearful of humans in the wild
being regularly handled by humans when it is not medically necessary.

2. Wild Animals Being Treated Like Pets
a) Animals which would normally be harmful to or fearful of humans
being handled by the public, put on a leash, trained for entertainment.
b) Wild animals living in a human dwelling for no medically valid reason,
they are 'not suited to a zoo or sanctuary', or they were 'hand reared'.
c) A human has taken an animal from the wild and began caring for it with
no regard to preserving its natural instincts, and it has imprinted.

3. Zoos Breeding For Conservation
a) A zoo has a conservation program which takes offspring from mothers
for 'survival' and allows them to imprint on staff members or the public.
b) A zoo regularly breeds animals classified as endangered or threatened
with no legitimate species plan, only to ship animals born to other zoos.
c) A zoo has a conservation program but allows animals which would
be impacted by habituation to interact with staff or the public.

Not Everything Is Black & White, Exceptions, Exclusions, Etc.
There are several gray areas when it comes to humans interacting with
exotics, and to make matters even more complex, there are hybrids!


1. Hybrids
a) An animal is hybridized between a wild and a domestic species,
the animal thrives from contact with other domestics and humans.
b) A wild animal is procured for the purpose of hybridizing with a pet,
but the wild animal is dignified with a natural outdoor enclosed life.
c) A hybrid does not thrive around humans or domestics and is offered
a dignified natural outdoor enclosed life sterilized for the safety of all.

2. Captive Bred Exotics
a) Lizards, snakes, turtles, fish, and amphibians which are able to thrive
being neither harmed nor benefiting from regular human interaction.
b) A wild animal has gone through semi-domestication and is able to thrive
in a human dwelling with minimal accommodations to meet its needs.
c) An animal is semi-domestic and is unable to thrive in a human dwelling
but craves human interaction, and has an adequate outdoor enclosure.

3. People Gonna Do Whatever
a) A person has acquired enough wealth to procure and ethically keep wild
animals and doesn't breed, use, or allow the public to interact with them.
b) A sanctuary has worked hard to save and build natural lives for the wild
animals and only interacts with them in private to dispense routine care.
c) A facility rescues animals that are not impeded by human contact with
minimal interaction with the public under educational circumstances.

[voe]

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Support These Amazing Facilities

These are safe spaces for wild and endangered species.
They may take donations on their respective websites.
Additions always welcome, please feel free to reply!
AZA accreditation doesn't guarantee placement here.

501c3 Domestic & Wildlife Sanctuaries:

Big Cat Rescue - Carole Baskin - Tampa Florida

Return To Freedom Wild Horse Conservation - California

Howling Woods Wolfdog Rescue - New Jersey

SaveAFox Rescue - Mikayla Raines - Lakeville Minnesota

Zoos Rescuing & Dignifying Animals:

Oakland Zoo - Oakland California

[voe]

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[sludge]

this is such an amazing thread it's so nice to see. it genuinely sickened me to see tiger king seen by so many as a funny wacky show about some weirdo instead of realizing the extreme population/homing problem of our big cats and many other exotic animals! 💛

I, Finn, promise to defend animal activists even when I don't agree with them.
Big cats make great virtual pets, but do not belong inside houses, or on leashes.
I will never interact with a wildcat that was stolen from it's mom to entertain,
nor will I knowingly support material made at the expense of a wild animal.

[useless witch]

I hope it's okay that I do some tiny edits to the copy paste xD
--
I, Natasha, promise to defend animal activists even when I don't agree with them.
Big cats make great virtual pets, but do not belong inside houses, or on leashes.
I will never interact with a wildcat that was stolen from their mom to entertain,
nor will I knowingly support material made at the expense of a wild animal.
--
I don't exactly believe in calling animal "it" as they're living creatures with minds just like we are ♡

[voe]

Welcome new members!
Thank you for joining, I’ve sent you some welcome gifts!
The first post has been updated to include you-
as well as more empathetic language on the form!

[inertialivzard]

I, Haruko, promise to defend animal activists, even when I don't agree with them. Big cats make great virtual pets, but do not belong inside houses, or on leashes. I will never interact with a wildcat stolen from their mom to entertain me, nor will I knowingly support material made at the expense of a wild animal.

[Snaa-zzy]

I, snaa-zzy, promise to defend animal activists, even when I don't agree with them. Big cats make great virtual pets, but do not belong inside houses, or on leashes. I will never interact with a wildcat stolen from their mom to entertain me, nor will I knowingly support material made at the expense of a wild animal.

--i also believe big cats deserve the respect they need, as they are living creatures. doesnt matter if theyre evil beast or so, they live to what they need to survive off of--

[Vulpey]

I, Vulpey, promise to defend animal activists, even when I don't agree with them. Big cats make great virtual pets, but do not belong inside houses, or on leashes. I will never interact with a wildcat stolen from their mom to entertain me, nor will I knowingly support material made at the expense of a wild animal.