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The good, the bad, and the ugly - discover what customers are saying about Big Cat Rescue

Welcome to our customer reviews and complaints page for Big Cat Rescue. We understand that making informed decisions about where to invest your time and money can be challenging, which is why we've created this platform for our community to share their honest feedback about their experiences with Big Cat Rescue.

On this page, you'll find a comprehensive collection of reviews and complaints from real customers who have used Big Cat Rescue's products or services. Our reviews are authentic and unbiased, providing you with a complete picture of the company, its products or services, and their customer service.

Whether you're considering doing business with Big Cat Rescue, or you've already had an experience with them, our community's reviews and complaints will give you a valuable perspective on what to expect. Our goal is to help you make informed decisions about where to invest your time and money, and we hope that our platform will be a valuable resource for you.

Please feel free to browse our reviews and complaints and share your own experience with Big Cat Rescue. Your feedback is an important part of our community and will help others make informed decisions.

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2:49 am EDT

Big Cat Rescue Harassment encouraged by founder, and fans

A friend of mine asked for help with an abused savannah she adopted from a mentally ill woman; from Big Cat Rescue. She was a big fan and truly believed the crap she dishes out. She asked on their Facebook page. She was banned, harassed by BCR occultists, whom sent her nasty messages. She cut all ties from that roadside zoo from hell.

She joined a savannah group, and was given the information she needed. She eventually adopted another savannah that needed a home. The two cats have been best friends from day one. Also, it helped the abused kitty more secure and loving.

Once "Tiger King" exposed Carole Baskin for the scum she is, my friend went to an AR organization asking if they still supported BCR. The two posts. I screenshot is how BCR fans are cruel and do not live in reality. Why would anyone think an abused pet should be forced into a sanctuary? What sanctuary would take an fifth and second generation? Why should my friend give away pets she loves? Just a great example of how horrible BCR fans, as well as Carole Baskin who models this disgusting behavior!

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Update by kitcat12
May 25, 2020 7:41 pm EDT

Please read what BCR fans said to my friend for rescuing a savannah mix from an abusive situation. BCR refused to help my friend with an abused kitty. Since it was on their social media site she was ridiculed and belittled by the cult following of BCR and blocked. Obviously my friend is no longer a fan. Recently, when the "Tiger King" was released she asked an AR group if they still support Baskin. This is the response from the cult peeps to the question...

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9:33 pm EDT
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My complaint is Big Cat Rescue, and the founder Carol Baskin, and the more I find out about her and the supposed rescue the more of a rancid flavor it leaves in my mouth. I became aware of Big Cat Rescue while researching Bengals, a hybrid cat I was interested in purchasing one. I found article in which Mrs. Baskin disparaged Bengals, claiming this cat...

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12:10 am EDT
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Big Cat Rescue Fraud

Big cat rescue owned by Carol Baskins goes after many other facilities and falsely accuse them of acts of animal abuse that she herself does. She has had 118 cats died (that we know of) at her facility and it has been proven that she has taken the dead to a taxidermist to be skinned. She lies about how they died (one tiger was strangled to death during transport but she said that it died from cancer). She is still collecting money for several of the animals that are now dead. She is also collecting money for animals that she is not getting. I have seen picture of skinny, malnourished cats living in tiny, rusty, weakly made cages that are never cleaned out (except for what the poop stick can reach). She collects millions of dollars for the cats but then spend it on things such as big diners and parties. She then attacks other facilities for taking in donations that are actually used for their animals and not for their own selfish wants. I hope that people will start seeing the light and stop supporting her. I also hope that she is shut down and her animals are sent to a better facility, or someone more qualified takes over there after she is thrown in jail.

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Update by bigcatlover
Sep 07, 2011 12:10 am EDT

Big cat rescue goes after many other facilities and falsely accuse them of acts of animal abuse that she herself does. She has had 118 cats died at her facility and it has been proven that she has taken the dead to a taxidermist to be skinned. She lies about how they died (one tiger was strangled to death during transport but she said that it died from cancer). She is still collecting money for several of the animals that are now dead. She is also collecting money for animals that she is not getting. I have seen picture of skinny, malnourished cats living in tiny, rusty, weakly made cages that are never cleaned out (except for what the poop stick can reach). She collects millions of dollars for the cats but then spend it on things such as big diners and parties. She then attacks other facilities for taking in donations that are actually used for their animals and not for their own selfish wants. I hope that people will start seeing the light and stop supporting her. I also hope that she is shut down and her animals are sent to a better facility, or someone more qualified takes over there after she is thrown in jail.

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4:09 pm EDT
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Big Cat Rescue Fakes rescues to collect donations

Big Cat Rescue has lied to the unsuspecting citizens that have donated to them. They have tried to divert this attention by discrediting there competition which would be anyone that owns or houses exotic animals. They preach not to buy animals and were one of the largest breeders of exotic cats with ads posted in animals trader magazine and videos and books for sale on how to pick out the best exotic cat for a pet. Seems a bit hypocritical to tell the world not to do something than go ahead and do it yourself. They also claimed that the cats on the property for which they collect donations for are abandoned, abused, unwanted, and neglected. These are nothing more than fictional sob stories made up to swindle you out of your hard earned money. And you would be supporting the very place that causes these animals to suffer. Because they buy and breed most of the cats that they have claimed as rescues. Most of these cats came from loving homes bottle feed and raised in doors. But according to Big Cat Rescue website they were under weight and abused. These lies need to stop. And if you truly love animals you would not support such a place. Carole Baskins aka Carole Lewis has done nothing more than turn her private pet collection and breeding program into a sanctuary to collect tax benefits and get the public to pay for her pets feeding and care. This may sound like here say. How would one prove this well that's easy she says it in her own words you will see her phone numbers on the for sale ads posted in the animals trader and a new broadcast reporting on it as well copy and past this url into your web browser and take a look.

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bigcatlover
Kure Beach, US
Sep 07, 2011 12:18 am EDT

Big cat rescue owned by Carol Baskins goes after many other facilities and falsely accuse them of acts of animal abuse that she herself does. She has had 118 cats died (that we know of) at her facility and it has been proven that she has taken the dead to a taxidermist to be skinned. She lies about how they died (one tiger was strangled to death during transport but she said that it died from cancer). She is still collecting money for several of the animals that are now dead. She is also collecting money for animals that she is not getting. I have seen picture of skinny, malnourished cats living in tiny, rusty, weakly made cages that are never cleaned out (except for what the poop stick can reach). She collects millions of dollars for the cats but then spend it on things such as big diners and parties. She then attacks other facilities for taking in donations that are actually used for their animals and not for their own selfish wants. I hope that people will start seeing the light and stop supporting her. I also hope that she is shut down and her animals are sent to a better facility, or someone more qualified takes over there after she is thrown in jail.

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Pennyn
, AU
Feb 04, 2010 3:44 pm EST

Being Australian I had never heard of Big Cat Rescue before so had a look at Big Cat Rescue.org.
I know this dog will win the vote this week hands down but please do not let it win the competition. For a start I dont think Big Cats are classified as pets so the charity would not fall under you're guidelines. Secondly the woman who submitted this dog pic owns the charity so it smacks of a rort to me. She must know that a big cat isnt a pet or she would have posted a pic of one of her big cats for voting. This woman is also very nasty and vindictive & I strongly feel that Bissell would not be doing themselves any favours by associating themselves with her.
I found this story of theirs on their website and am about to use a whole lot of Aussie Expletives - What a pack of self serving, sanctimonious ###... If I had a big cat I couldn't look afer I wouldnt give it to them for fear of the nasty [censored]e they would write about me...
Regardless of their personal opinions the woman lost her husband for god sake - who the hell are they to make judgements on how another human being chooses to grieve! they should be there for the animal and making personal attacks on people is not constructive any anyway shape or form... (stepping off soap box now)

Excert from the site...
"Marilyn first contacted us in October asking us to take her dead husband's cougar but she didn't want to sign a contract saying she would never own another exotic cat so she tried everywhere else she and her friends could find, but no one wanted or would take the cougar. She finally gave in and signed the contract, but refused to even pay the $250 for a carrier for her. The story she gave the press is that she can't afford the cat, but she lives in a $353, 000 home on what Scott said looks like 25 acres, with horses and in a very posh area. While her husband was dying in the hospital with leukemia and documenting his battle with the disease on YouTube (see Rob Loppi) she was vacationing and remodeling her home and rarely mentioned her husband on her Twitter account until after he died and then it was all "poor, poor me..."

After Narla left she finally did open her door to the press, but just to applaud herself for finding such a wonderful sanctuary. She failed to mention that she dumped the responsibility of caring for Narla for the rest of her life on us and that she exposed the cat to yet another harsh New England winter rather than letting her go last October. In the news there have been dozens of comments posted about what a great pet she was and how Marilyn did such a wonderful thing by shirking her responsibility. It was a missed opportunity to really get the message out that it never works out well for the cat when people try to make pets of them. Hopefully the video Chris shot and that taken by the Animal Planet crew will rectify the situation. Narla is much better off here, but having your fun and then turning your back on your pet when your life changes should not be promoted as the responsible thing to do.

This is just nasty vitriol and I think if that is the sort of thing she says publicly I can only imagine what she is saying and doing behind closed doors...
I agree that Big cats shouldnt be kept as pets. In Australia its illegal even zoos have to go through thorough certification prior to owning any wild animal... but attacking people who wont give you money is just childish and savage...and really just public bully tactics..

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WakeUpC22
, HK
Jan 19, 2010 5:38 am EST

Of course you disagree with criticism of your organization.

It's YOUR organization.

But don't take my word for it. If you want more proof? Go here and read the commentary.
http://advocacy.britannica.com/blog/advocacy/2008/04/big-cat-rescue/

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BigCatRescue
Tamp, US
Aug 11, 2009 7:42 pm EDT

Exactly the opposite is true. Big Cat Rescue is trying to end the abuse and abandonment of big cats and our opponents only tactic is to try and discredit our good name. There is no way to justify what they do so this sort of libelous slander is the only devise left to them. Find out the truth about Big Cat Rescue by checking with real accrediting agencies such as the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries, Guidestar and Charity Navigator. A visit to our own web site will tell you all about our past and our evolution. BigCatRescue.org

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7:48 am EDT
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Big Cat Rescue deceptive business practices

The owner of big cat rescue corp. uses deceptive business practices to draw in donations and slander the competition. She uses an alternate website called www.911animalabuse.com where she slanders anyone that is in the same business as she is. She hides the business ownership but you can easily tell that she owns the site because when you make reports about big cat rescue on the site they are pulled down immediately but you can slander any other animals business on there and they will leave it up so long as it hurts those businesses and not big cat rescue corp. These questions go unanswered to why she can claim rescues that aren't rescues and collect donations. Why she can claim she is an accredited sanctuary when she exhibits animals which is against "TAOS" standards. TAOS is not a government org. which means little to know to most sanctuaries anyway. And her slanderous and downright criminal behavior and business practices when it comes to others in the same field of work. Someone needs to do a story about her and how she's capable of getting away with making millions off of these animals and the backs of other sanctuaries whom she slanders on her www.911animalabuse.com website.

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Update by christopher chittenden
Nov 06, 2013 4:03 pm EST

That's because Big Cat Rescue has political power. In with some of the largest places like PETA places that kill animals and collect donations and do very little actual rescue work. Just juice the dogs and toss them into the garbage cans behind the animal rescue's. Majority of the cats there are purchases. Which I wouldn't have a problem with until you claim you rescued them from horrid conditions. The cages there are disgusting place smells of urine and feces. "supposedly because they don't go in the cages to clean" near impossible to not go in and have a clean cage. The wire is all rusty water bowls full of algae it's more of a concentration camp then a rescue. There are places that set the standards and this isn't one of them. Anyways i'd go to some real rescues with real needs.

Update by christopher chittenden
Apr 10, 2010 5:53 am EDT

Copy this link and see the truth about big cat rescue! What a sham. And to be able on tv to say duh we were the pet trade and they really made less of a deal than it really is you lied about where you got your cats and you admit it well my old biz was selling big cats so i rescued those under the blanket corp of big cat rescue and then collected donations to pay for my pets and you suckers fell for it. Anyone who donates to this place is a boob!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3U9lwrzk13c

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sue profeta
, US
Mar 28, 2016 9:04 pm EDT
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I have seen the size of the cages the animals live in and they are just that a cage. They are not free to roam to be healthy in any way. There is no life to live for ay animal. Someone who has to put down others to make themselves look better is hiding something. That's all there is to it.

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slynn1
Orange, US
Jul 07, 2014 11:40 pm EDT
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BCR is horrid and should be shut down! They are backing amendments to ban hybrid cats! First, she and her laughable rescue of big cats, which is just a front for fraudulently misuse donations, so she can enjoy a high flying lifestyle. I have seen her enclosures, and they look cheap. It seems to me that with the donations, they should better care of their big cats! Why does she just admit that this is her personal zoo! She wants to ban all hybrid cats throughout the country starting with Florida and California. This horrid women, refuses to grandfather the hybrids adopted or purchased before her ban, if it passes, early generations 1-3. These she wants in sanctuaries for cats or euthanized. She basically wants to commit genocide on hybrid cats! Her fellow sponsors wants to use California early generation hybrid cats as their own salad bar, and kill the rest! What kind of organization that loves animals does that? Savannahs and Bengals make wonderful pets, and I think since they look exotic people think they must be wild. BCR takes advantage of this, and uses propaganda to further their cause. Anyone that believes that lying murdering [censored] is stupid. She has no morals or ethics .

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blondewithabrainil
Aurora, US
Apr 08, 2013 10:58 am EDT

I just wanted to let you know that I contacted BCR through their Facebook page and asked some questions. Simple ones like, can you tell me how many of your animals were purchased as opposed to how many were rescued? I asked about the misleading story on their website about a cougar they got from IL (my home state) where the story insinuated that they rushed up to IL and rescued these two mountain lions (cougars, pumas) because a man was killed by a pet lion and his wife killed herself. Their story made it sound like she killed herself the same date as she found him and that the animals were in terrible shape. This was far from the truth. I live in IL and the woman died much later than the incident with her husband and the cougar they insinuate they saved was not the one who killed the man at all - he was shot by local law enforcement the day of the man's death. Almost within minutes someone claiming they were "not affiliated with BCR" responded to my questions with links to info on the BCR website and stated all of the false info out there was from one or two people who hated BCR's owner. When I posted links to two separate stories done by two Tampa news agencies there were no more posts. I did not think anything of it and went to bed. When I woke up this morning I checked to see if there had been any more posts. Much to my surprise, all of the posts including my original questions and the responses from "someone not affiliated with BCR" were completely gone. Now that sounds even more suspicious to me. If they are indeed false accusations, why would they not publicly refute them? If there was some truth, an honest organization would simply set the record straight on what was true and what was not. We are extremely disappointed as we had planned to travel to FL to take our daughter to BCR believing them to be a true rescue and sanctuary. Now, we have no choice but to understand this is not true and will not be making the trip.

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bigcatlover
Kure Beach, US
Sep 07, 2011 12:15 am EDT

Big cat rescue owned by Carol Baskins goes after many other facilities and falsely accuse them of acts of animal abuse that she herself does. She has had 118 cats died (that we know of) at her facility and it has been proven that she has taken the dead to a taxidermist to be skinned. She lies about how they died (one tiger was strangled to death during transport but she said that it died from cancer). She is still collecting money for several of the animals that are now dead. She is also collecting money for animals that she is not getting. I have seen picture of skinny, malnourished cats living in tiny, rusty, weakly made cages that are never cleaned out (except for what the poop stick can reach). She collects millions of dollars for the cats but then spend it on things such as big diners and parties. She then attacks other facilities for taking in donations that are actually used for their animals and not for their own selfish wants. I hope that people will start seeing the light and stop supporting her. I also hope that she is shut down and her animals are sent to a better facility, or someone more qualified takes over there after she is thrown in jail.

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Joe Schreibvoel
Wynnewood, US
Sep 26, 2010 10:59 pm EDT

If anyone belives the hype that she cares about animals you are blind, read the proof, you will be shocked,

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Joe Schreibvoel
Wynnewood, US
Sep 26, 2010 10:58 pm EDT

Big Cat Rescue is a scam, I did a real investigation on it, live video, photos and have all the real documents located at www.911animalabuse.org and trust me this place is a pit hole.

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WakeUpC22
, HK
Jan 19, 2010 5:36 am EST

You got the "premier" part right.

They are premier in the sense that they spend top dollar advertising and getting user donations.

And also these animals are well cared for in order to get emotional saps to donate to their cause.

Want more proof? Go here and read the commentary.
http://advocacy.britannica.com/blog/advocacy/2008/04/big-cat-rescue/

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Sophie Simon
Lutz, US
Jan 09, 2010 6:29 pm EST

Some of these claims are absolutely ridiculous! Big Cat Rescue is a premiere organization. The animals are so well cared for, so loved, completely on view for anyone to see their care. It's unfortunate that malcontents try to discredit such a wonderful sanctuary.

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Save_The_Earth
, PH
Oct 12, 2009 7:53 pm EDT

Yep Big Cat Rescue is a sham. You only have to ask a legit rescue about them and you will see they are no better than any road side zoo.

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BigCatRescue
Tamp, US
Aug 11, 2009 7:45 pm EDT

Exactly the opposite is true. Big Cat Rescue is trying to end the abuse and abandonment of big cats and our opponents only tactic is to try and discredit our good name. There is no way to justify what they do so this sort of libelous slander is the only devise left to them. Find out the truth about Big Cat Rescue by checking with real accrediting agencies such as the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries, Guidestar and Charity Navigator. A visit to our own web site will tell you all about our past and our evolution. BigCatRescue.org

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