Big Cat Rescue, is a 501c3 non-profit educational sanctuary, devoted to rescuing and providing a permanent home for exotic (i.e. wild, not domestic) cats who have been abused, abandoned, bred to be pets, retired from performing acts, or saved from being slaughtered for fur coats, and to educating the public about these animals and the issues facing them in captivity and in the wild. Big Cat Rescue is a non-profit sanctuary to 80+ exotic cats. What makes us different is we are working to END the trade in wild cats. So can you!
* Big Cat Rescue is dedicated entirely to abused and abandoned big cats and focused on ending the trade in them as pets, props and parts.
* The nonprofit sanctuary began in 1992.
* The sanctuary is home to appx 80 exotic big cats
* The cats at Big Cat Rescue are here for a variety of reasons, including:
o Abandoned by owners who wrongly thought they would make good pets
o Abused by owners in order to force them to perform
o Retired from performing acts
o Saved from being slaughtered to make fur coats
o Rescued as babies after hunters killed their mothers
* Big Cat Rescue has more than a dozen species of cats, many of whom are threatened or endangered in the wild, including:
o Tigers, Lions, Leopards, Cougars
o Bobcats, Lynx, Servals, Ocelots, Caracals
* Big Cat Rescue’s mission is to provide the best possible home for the animals in our care and to stop the flow of exotic cats needing sanctuary by educating the public about the plight of the animals and supporting stronger laws to protect them.
* The non-profit organization is:
o Accredited by the Global Federation of Sanctuaries
o Certified by Independent Charities of America as a “Best in America Charity”
o Member of the World Society for Protection of Animals
o The sanctuary is situated on 67 acres in the Citrus Park area of north Tampa.
Florida law requires that all charities soliciting donations disclose their registration number and the percentage of your donation that goes to the cause and the amount that goes to the solicitor. Our registration number is CH-11409 and non-program expenses are funded from tour income, so 100% of your donations go directly to save the cats. We are a 501 c 3 charity as determined by the IRS Federal ID#59-3330495. Our 990s are available online at GuideStar.org with a complete breakdown of how your donations are spent.
To provide the best home we can for the animals in our care and to reduce the number of cats that suffer the fate of abuse, abandonment or extinction by teaching people about the plight of the cats, both in the wild and in captivity, and how they can help through their behavior and support of better laws to protect the cats.