House of Representatives H.R. 1380
February 27, 2019
Turpentine Creek has a dream – that one day we will no longer be needed to save big cats from the exotic pet trade, abuse, abandonment, and neglect. We are very passionate about providing quality forever homes for all the animals that we rescue, but the truth of the matter is that they should never be put in that situation to begin with! The only way that this dream can come true is to pass laws throughout the country that protects big cats and that stops private ownership and the exploitation of young animals for profit in the cub-petting industry.
This week, we took another step towards achieving that dream. On February 26, 2019, the Big Cat Public Safety Act was introduced to the House of Representatives for the 116th Congressional session. The bill was introduced by Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL-5) and was co-sponsored by 53 other House Reps from across the country. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources but has yet to be assigned to a sub-committee.
For that dream to become a reality, we need YOUR help. We need you to email your Congressional Representatives to let them know about The Big Cat Public Safety Act – H.R. 1380. You can visit our Advocacy page to send an email to your Representatives directly! It is straightforward, just enter your name and address and our system will find your representatives, we’ve even written example emails for your Reps! The emails are customized whether they are members of the House or Senate, also if they are past supporters, current co-sponsors, or uninformed about the Big Cat Public Safety Act.
As we get more information about the bill, new co-sponsors, sub-committees, and Senate information, we will be updating the advocacy page and forms. Please check back frequently for updates. It is only with your help that we can end the exotic pet trade in the USA. Please help us achieve our dreams and email your Representatives now.
To celebrate National Wildlife Day (February 22) our education team put together a list of ways you can help conserve wildlife from your own home!
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle – Believe it or not, the coca cola bottle and the water bottle sitting in your trash, can end up in the stomach of an 
Do not buy exotic “pets” – Exotic animals are wild and are adapted to living in the wild without human intervention. These animals may have been taken from their natural habitat, away from others like them, and smuggled into the country. Once bought and sold as a pet they lose the fear of people and rely on them for food and shelter. The desire to own any exotic animal is often short-lived. Many times these animals are purchased as a baby but as they age they become aggressive and unmanageable and become no longer cute in the owner’s’ eyes. Exotic animals require specialized diets and without it they will become malnourished and may develop illnesses and disease.If you are looking for a new pet, consider adopting a house cat or dog from a shelter.
Become an Eco-Tourist – Ecotourism is a rapidly growing industry that is not only working towards keeping the ecosystem intact but helps produce economic benefits for local communities. Becoming a conscious traveler can help save thousands of species from extinction. Which life do you think animals enjoy: being trained to do trick for the entertainment of people or roaming around their natural environment. Animals would not naturally walk on a ball (bear) or stand on their back legs (elephants). Ecotourism takes people to see animals living their every day and you get to witness them peaceful and without worry. Because people are paying the see the animal from a distance in their natural world, these animals are more likely to be protected. If you are thinking of taking a vacation soon, 
What do you picture when you hear the word tiger? Most of the time people will place the tiger in the overgrowth of a forest in Asia, and maybe it’s even stalking its prey waiting for the right moment to attack. There are more than 16,000 tigers in the world, but unfortunately, only 3,800 fit this picture. The rest are in captivity.
Last week, seven team members from Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge made the 712-mile round trip to pick up six tigers from a closing facility in Oklahoma. The owner of the facility had lost his lease on the property after being harassed by a group of individuals. He reached out to Turpentine Creek on Monday, and by Wednesday we were on the road to rescue.
It took nearly six hours (from 8 am until 1:45 pm) to load up the six cats; Diesel was last. He was lethargic and barely moved the entire time we were rounding up his friends. Once we had him sedated, we took blood so that we could figure out what was causing his illness as quickly as possible.
Over the weekend, the team kept a very close eye on Diesel’s progress. By Monday, Diesel had begun to move around more, sitting up and chuffing softly to the animal care team. We had hope that the beautiful orange tiger was on the road to recovery. Sadly, when we sedated him to test his blood again and check on the progress, the test revealed that instead of improving, his white blood cell count had risen further and his red blood cell count had dropped to dangerous levels. After discussing options, our vet advised that it was time to end Diesel’s suffering and let him pass on.
Once the weather warms up, we plan to sedate all five tigers and give them a thorough examination along with blood tests to make sure that they do not also have the blood pathogen that Diesel died from. Since big cats cannot regulate their body temperature when sedated, it is very dangerous to sedate them when the temperature is below 50 degrees. Until we can examine them, we are watching them all closely for symptoms of the blood pathogen.
Turpentine Creek has taken the pledge to reduce our plastic waste. Our mission at the refuge is to rescue abandoned, abused and unwanted big cats, but we also believe it is important to be pro-active in many areas of conservation and environmentalism. In an effort to help with the overwhelming problem of plastics in the environment, we have launched a “No Plastic Bag” initiative for our gift shops.
Solution: Reduce, reuse, recycle, refuse, and rethink the amount of plastic you consume. Avoid using single-use plastics as much as possible and use re-usable items such as water bottles, food containers, shopping bags, toothbrushes, straws, coffee cups, non-synthetic clothing etc. Properly dispose of your trash, ensuring that recyclable materials do not end up in a landfill.
Throughout the week, our animals will be getting Christmas trees as part of their daily enrichment program. Some of the animals, like Daniel and Fergy (pictured above) love to rub and scent their Christmas tree enrichment, others will tear them to itty bitty pieces, and a few will ignore them in favor of their permeant enrichment (boomer balls). It is always interesting to watch the reactions of our animals to the various types of enrichment that we provide them.
In 2016, your belief and commitment realized the first step in ending the stress and risk of anesthetizing and transporting our big cats and bears over 40 miles for veterinary care, with the construction of the Jackson Memorial Veterinary Hospital. In 2018, we took the second step, with the addition of staff Veterinarian, Dr. Kellyn Sweeley. Having a vet on-site enables us to conduct weekly evaluations of each animal’s physical and mental health, to better plan for their long-term care and avoid emergency situations with early intervention.
The countdown to 2019 has begun in earnest. With only four days left of this year, we are already looking forward to the adventure that awaits us in the coming new year. Despite how eager we might be to jump into 2019, we still have a lot of work to do these last few days of 2018. We still have animals to care for, visitors to educate, and bills to pay. We hope that these last few days are filled with pleasant weather, great supporters, and plenty of happy tiger chuffs.
Holli – Black Bear