[FEL-L] CO: Pat Craig "bluffing" say othersanctuaries/VernonWeircomments

[Laura Morin]

Interesting thought... USDA and Fish and game maybe should take some responsibility... but what?

Laura Morin
lmorin67 at earthlink.net
www.WildAboutCats.org
Exotic Feline Conservation-Education-Rescue 



----- Original Message ----- 
From: Rodney Nelson 
To: felines-l at catbox.com;lmorin67 at earthlink.net
Sent: 8/22/2006 10:05:21 PM 
Subject: RE: [FEL-L] CO: Pat Craig "bluffing" say othersanctuaries/VernonWeircomments


He Could cut bak on some of the cats as when I was there having to leave my tigers  which now I wished I had found another place for them, un eaten food was laying in the cages and the flies were all over the food. He does have some very fat cats so he could cut back. USDA ....where are they as they are the ones that call Pat to go and get alot of animals that has been confiscated or that the Fish and Game made a person get rid of there animals.
Rod





From:  "Laura Morin" <lmorin67 at earthlink.net>
Reply-To:  felines-l at catbox.com, lmorin67 at earthlink.net
To:  felines-l at catbox.com
Subject:  RE: [FEL-L] CO: Pat Craig "bluffing" say other sanctuaries/VernonWeircomments
Date:  Mon, 21 Aug 2006 20:46:14 -0700
>His cats look Very well fed... maybe he can cut back just a bit on the food
>he feeds to save some money and help the cats lose a little of the extra
>weight since this is lean times....Does he work? Or does he pay himself?
>take a pay cut? or get a job? He must have volunteers who can help out even
>more if needed....just a few thoughts...
>
>Laura Morin
>lmorin67 at earthlink.net
>www.WildAboutCats.org
>Exotic Feline Conservation-Education-Rescue
>
>
>
> > [Original Message]
> > From: Ray <rrooney at ucwphilly.rr.com>
> > To: <Phoenix_Exotics at yahoogroups.com>; <felines-l at catbox.com>
> > Date: 8/21/2006 8:07:09 PM
> > Subject: [FEL-L] CO: Pat Craig "bluffing" say other sanctuaries/Vernon
>Weircomments
> >
> > Sanctuary owner says animals may have to be euthanized
> >
> > BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
> >
> > KEENESBURG - Pat Craig said he is facing a terrible choice: raise enough
> > money to feed the lions, tigers and other large predators at his
>sanctuary
> > while he finds them new homes or euthanize the 155 animals.
> >
> > "Of course, that is going to be the very, very last thing we ever do,"
>Craig
> > said last week during a tour of the sanctuary 30 miles northeast of
>Denver.
> > "But in December, I was sure that within two weeks, I'd be doing that.
> >
> > "You either let them starve to death or you go out there and do the right
> > thing," he said.
> >
> > This isn't the first time that Craig has appealed to the public for help
> > with his Rocky Mountain Wildlife Conservation Center. This time, said
>Craig,
> > who ended last year with a $250,000 deficit, donations won't keep him
>open.
> >
> > "We didn't just lose a little. We lost well over half of our income,"
>Craig
> > said, blaming the lack of donations on the national and global disasters.
> >
> > He has 75 tigers, 12 lions, nine leopards and 30 bears, plus wolves and
> > smaller cats.
> >
> > Others involved in rescuing animals that are victims of illegal trade in
> > exotic criticized Craig's statements, saying they amount to blackmail.
> >
> > "He knows, like us, that sanctuaries are filled to capacity and he's got
>a
> > lot of cats and where are they going to go?" said Vernon Weir, director
>of
> > the American Sanctuary Association. "Once you start killing these
>animals,
> > it becomes an acceptable method for disposing of these animals and we
>don't
> > want this to ever become acceptable."
> >
> > Nick Sculac, the owner of Big Cats of Serenity Springs, a sanctuary near
> > Calhan in El Paso County, said the threat of euthanization is a
>fund-raising
> > ploy by Craig.
> >
> > "He won't do it. It's the only way that he knows how to raise money,"
>Sculac
> > said.
> >
> > Sculac has his own challenges at his sanctuary following the death of his
> > wife, Karen Sculac, earlier this month. Volunteers have said they want to
> > help keep the 128 cats there.
> >
> > Prairie Winds, a sanctuary with 45 big cats in Kiowa, southeast of
>Denver,
> > is closing. Owner Mike Jurich is finding homes for his lions and tigers
>one
> > or two at a time. He said he doesn't have the resources or energy to
>raise
> > the $50,000 he would need to stay afloat.
> >
> > "I feel like I'm parting with my family. I feel like I'm parting with my
> > children," he Jurich. "It breaks my heart to think about it, but it's
>better
> > for them."
> >
> > Colorado has banned big cats as pets since 1985 and has some of the
>toughest
> > regulations, adopted in 2003, for sanctuaries. The state banned new
> > nonprofit facilities, and none have opened since then.
> >
> > The Colorado Division of Wildlife licenses seven wildlife sanctuaries.
> >
> > Nationwide, 20 states have banned keeping them as pets, and the federal
> > government is implementing the Captive Wildlife Safety Act, which
>prohibits
> > interstate or Internet trade of big cats.
> >
> > The Humane Society of the U.S. estimates from 10,000 to 15,000 big cats
>are
> > in private hands, from cages in basements to roadside zoos. Most that
>wind
> > up in sanctuaries came from squalid and inhumane conditions.
> >
> > Sanctuaries are regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which
>only
> > controls how animals are euthanized but doesn't prohibit it.
> >
> >
> > http://www.summitdaily.com/article/2006108200047
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Felines-L mailing list
> > Felines-L at catbox.com
> > http://www.breuckman.com/mailman/listinfo/felines-l
>
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>Felines-L mailing list
>Felines-L at catbox.com
>http://www.breuckman.com/mailman/listinfo/felines-l
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.breuckman.com/pipermail/felines-l/attachments/20060822/cf3e1598/attachment.html