Fred's Story

In April of 2023, Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge (TCWR) received a call from the Arkansas Game and Fish regarding a male tiger cub needing immediate placement. The cub, named Fred by one of our longtime supporters, was one of the first big cats confiscated for violations of the Big Cat Public Safety Act (BCPSA), which passed in December of 2022. The previous owner was under investigation as part of a more significant criminal case that would later be known as Operation Early Harvest, where authorities charged 60 individuals with a total of 56 felonies and 54 misdemeanors.

Fred was privately owned by one of the individuals charged. He was forcefully abused, kept as a pet, and arrived at the Refuge wearing a dog harness that was extremely tight on his young body. Authorities informed us that the perpetrators had fed Fred a diet of rats, which was a risk of metabolic bone disease. Thankfully, once at the Refuge, he was placed on a proper diet with supplements to help him grow. Fred spent his first year at the Refuge as a witness protection animal until the case finally closed in March 2024. Fred is one of the most playful cats at the Refuge – his favorite game is playing stalk-attack with his neighbors and keepers. From living in a house to having a habitat to himself, Fred loves his space, complete with trees for shade, logs to scratch, toys to pounce on, a pool to splash in, and a heated den.