Tiger Talk with Carney Anne Nasser

This episode is Carney Anne's presentation for the 2021 Symposium on Sports, Animals, & Ethics. Many don't know that Carney Anne has a degree in sports law and previous experience working with an NFL team's legal department. So, in this unique opportunity to participate in the intersection of sports law and animal law, Carney Anne delivers a timely discussion about the trend in pro-athlete encounters with tigers and other big cats at roadside zoos and how these encounters not only further exploitation of endangered species and contribute to the exotic pet trade, they technically violate common league rules and contract provisions that are meant to prohibit players from engaging in dangerous activities off-field, off-court, off-pitch, or off-ice. Thanks to symposium directors Profs. Sam Morris (University of Miami-Ohio) and Gabriela Tymowski-Gionet (University of New Brunswick) for allowing this cross-post. NOTE: The episode references slides and photographs. This presentation is also available as a video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcC0v2RkSuI.  --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

On June 24, 2021, Carole and her husband, Howard, and I were in Washington, DC, with award-winning director Michael Webber, Tim Harrison, Keith Gad, Russ Muntz, Jeff Kremer and other professionals who appeared in the award-winning documentary, The Conservation Game. After we returned from a standing-room-only screening for federal legislators, lobbyists, NGOs and other members of the political community in the Capital (as well as a busy day of television interviews -- more so for Carole than for me), Carole and I had a chance to catch up on June 28 to digest the impact that the film has already had despite not being released quite yet, discuss the Big Cat Safety Act (which Carole has championed for more than 20 years), and also dive into her fearless tech-savvy and entrepreneurial spirit which truly sets her apart from most in the animal protection world. While many others continue business as usual, Carole is constantly looking for ways to adapt, evolve, and innovate -- whether it's leveraging emerging technologies like crypto, NFTs, and VR, or fluency in all available social media platforms (from Facebook to TikTok to Clubhouse), I have always admired Carole for bringing her spirit of entrepreneurship to animal advocacy. We also discuss what Carole believes is the most significant change we have seen for big cats since Joe Schriebvogel Maldonado Passage was sentenced to 22 years in prison in January 2020.  --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

It's been a little over a year since I started Tiger Talk during Covid-19 isolation. In that year, we've seen every single roadside zoo owner (Joe Exotic, Jeff Lowe, Tim Stark, Doc Antle) featured in Tiger Talk (but for Mario Tabraue in Florida) end up in prison, indicted for animal cruelty and wildlife trafficking, shut down, fined for federal animal law violations. Just this past week, federal agents confiscated 68 big cats from Jeff Lowe's Tiger King Park (which was 100% of Jeff Lowe's remaining big cat inventory). Thankfully, all of those tigers, lions, and other big cats are headed to reputable, accredited sanctuaries. But most exploited cats will not be so lucky. That's why the documentary work that Alex Tello and Sam Tello at Tellus Films are doing is so important. They bring the stories of the cats and the sanctuaries to life so we all have a greater understanding and appreciation for the work that the sanctuaries are doing and what needs to happen for us to help our sanctuaries out and prevent them from getting overwhelmed by irresponsible big cat owners. Just in the past 3 months, three tigers have been confiscated from suburban Texas neighborhoods -- now more than ever, we need to ensure that our federal legislators pass the Big Cat Public Safety Act. So, join Alex and Sam and me for a discussion about everything from their work to our predictions for the role of technology and AI in conservation and the future of zoos and the role of magicians in America's tiger crisis. We cover a lot of ground in an hour - join us! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

On September 12, 2020, Carney Anne was invited to participate on a panel of experts including Carole Baskin (Founder and CEO of Big Cat Rescue), Dan Ashe (CEO of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and former Director of US Fish & Wildlife Service), Ellie Armstrong (PhD candidate at Stanford University), Carson Barylak (Campaigns Director at the International Fund for Animal Welfare), Steve Winter (Nat Geo award winning wildlife photographer), and Sharon Guynup (Nat Geo award winning journalist who, with Steve Winter, did features for Nat Geo exposing Tiger Temple in Thailand as well as America’s road side zoo industry) for the Freeland Film Festival. Listen as the panel addresses questions about tiger trafficking, welfare, conservation—including links to organized crime. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Episode 23 is a mashup of Carney Anne’s recent Chicago WGN Radio, News 8 Las Vegas, and BYU radio interviews about Tiger King, roadside zoos, legal developments, conservation, legal loopholes, and the lucrative exotic pet trade. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

#BlackLivesMatter. This episode is a departure from our usual big cat content; but it is the only content I felt was appropriate to share in the days following the murder of George Floyd and the hate crime against Christian Cooper. As an animal lawyer, I have been using federal FOIA and state public records laws to obtain law enforcement and other government agency documents, records, video, and photographs for the past decade. It is my hope that by sharing that information here, you will feel empowered as an advocate for racial justice and the other social changes that you feel passionate about. For access to your state’s open records law, visit this page: https://www.nfoic.org/coalitions/state-foi-resources/state-freedom-of-information-laws. If you have further questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at info@carneyannenasser.com. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Life of Pi. Gladiator. Water for Elephants. These are all movies that used big cats or an elephant and they each involved horrible abuse behind the scenes. On episode 21 of Tiger Talk, I talk to Lewis Crary, the Assistant Manager of Animals in Films and Television at PETA. Lewis and I used to work together in the Captive Animal Law Enforcement Department at the PETA Foundation many years ago and we reconnection to have a discussion about how American Humane Association's (AHA) "No Animals Were Harmed" designation is utterly pointless--starting with the shocking reality that the AHA is actually funded by the Screen Actor's Guild. We get into some specific examples of movies you've all heard of and the horrible abuse of big cats, elephants, and great apes used in those movies. We come to the conclusion that there is no humane way to use exotic animals in entertainment and the industry standard going forward needs to be CGI. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

For Tiger Talk's 20th episode, I bring you a conversation with Jessica Blome, the lead attorney on a precedent-setting Endangered Species Act citizen suit that resulted in a court order for the removal of tigers and lions from a horrific roadside zoo in Iowa where animals were being starved and denied veterinary care while being forced to live in feces encrusted cages. The "Cricket Hollow Zoo Case" paved the way for numerous other endangered species act citizen suits that have resulted in the rescue of literally DOZENS of tigers. More ESA citizen suits are pending as we speak -- including against Tim Stark and Jeff Lowe, who you saw featured in Tiger King. So, Jessica and I will answer what an ESA citizen suit is, how it works, and what other legal tools animal lawyers like her are using to put these bad actors out of business for good.  --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

On this episode of Tiger Talk, I’m sharing a conversation I had on the Rocket Podcast (“Accelerated Geek Conversation”) with co-hosts Brianna Wu, Christina Warren, and Simone de Rochefort. We talked about Tiger King, themes of misogyny and sexism in the docuseries and the resultant backlash against Carol Baskin, and close it out with how Brianna and I connected through our participation in Porsche auto racing. It’s fun, informative, and fast paced! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Rachel Nuwer is an award-winning science journalist who makes prolific contributions to sources like the New York Times, Nat Geo, Audubon, and more. I first met Rachel while she was doing research for an excellent investigative piece called The Strange and Dangerous World of America’s Big Cat People (available on longreads.com), and subsequent chats leading up to her New York Times article, Why Tiger King is Not Blackfish for Cats, and her podcast with Outside Magazine journalist, Peter Frick-Wright called Cat People. Rachel’s book, Poached: Inside the Dark World of Wildlife Trafficking, is yet another of her contributions to science journalism and she is part of the growing groundswell of reputable journalists who are calling out Tiger King for the lack of apparent integrity with which it was made. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

I recently had the humbling privilege of doing a podcast episode with Cat Jacoby and John Pulley from Fierce Freedom, one of the nonprofits that is on the frontlines of combatting human trafficking in the United States. I believe that the animal protection movement has a lot of progress to make in forging synergies with other social justice movements, and on this podcast episode that I did with Fierce Freedom, we talk about the lessons from Tiger King that can be applied equally to fighting wildlife trafficking and human trafficking. I’ve learned so much about how insidious this human rights violation is right here in our backyards and I hope that, after listening to this special episode of Tiger Talk, you’ll head over to fiercefreedom.org to subscribe to their podcast, learn more, and support the important work that people like Cat and John are doing to end sex and labor slavery in the United States—particularly right now as human trafficking is on the rise during the Covid- 19 pandemic. As Martin Luther King said, "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Today we are joined by Brittany Peet, Deputy General Counsel of Captive Animal Law Enforcement at the PETA Foundation as well as Jay Pratte, who is our first repeat guest on Tiger Talk. You’ll remember Brittany from Tiger King, and you’ll remember Jay as the independent expert we talked to in Episode 9 of Tiger Talk. Jay is one of the leading experts in big cat and bear welfare, husbandry, and behavior, and provided key expert opinions in litigation that has resulted in landmark decisions that will change the legal landscape for all tigers in roadside zoos in the United States. Naturally, I had to start by asking Brittany about her thoughts on Tiger King — but we quickly get into the good news about other animal abusers that experts like Brittany and Jay are helping put out of business. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Ed Stewart is the heroic director and cofounder of the 2200-acre GFAS-accredited Performing Animal Welfare Society in San Andreas, California. PAWS is home to elephants who have been rescued from circuses, tigers who have been rescued from abusive owners, a number of other animals — and a special bear named Ben. Ed and I bonded in 2012 during a cross-country FedEx flight with Ben, a 600-pound bear PETA had rescued from a roadside zoo in North Carolina. My conversation with Ed takes us through the stranger-than-fiction life of an exotic animal advocate and expert — and I hear for the first time that the makers of Tiger King interviewed Ed, but decided not to include his expert commentary in the reality show. As always, our talk is real and raw. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Professor Delcianna Winders is one of the foremost experts on the federal Animal Welfare Act in the United States. Prior to joining Lewis & Clark Law School where she is the director of the animal law and litigation clinic, she was the Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for Captive Animal Law Enforcement at the PETA Foundation. Delci takes us on a legal journey through the Animal Welfare Act, using Tiger King Joe Exotic as case study of all of the ways the US Department of Agriculture is complicit in animal suffering. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Alex Tello is the producer and director of the Furthest from the Wild series, which takes viewers behind the scenes of exotic animal rescues. He follows their stories and their rehabilitation, and through that work has come to the conclusion that captivity just doesn’t work. He shares his opinions about Tiger King, and some of the ways in which it failed. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Noelle Almrud, Director of Black Beauty Ranch and the Big Cat Sanctuary Alliance, gives us insights into how her network of sanctuaries is being affected by Covid-19 and why there may be more backyard tigers in Texas than there are left in the wild. How’d we get here and what can we do to end the cycle of breed and dump? --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Mike Webber is an award-winning motion picture producer/director who has produced numerous films for studios like 20th Century Fox and Lion’s Gate — and he has some very strong feelings about Tiger King. As Webber’s documentary films have swept film festivals and received the highest praise from film critics and someone who has been studying and documenting America’s big cat trade for over a decade, he is uniquely situated to critique the ethics (or lack thereof) in the making of Tiger King. Mike Webber’s award-winning 2010 feature-length documentary, The Elephant in the Living Room (available for streaming on Amazon, Vudu, and Apple) iTunes) takes viewers on a journey deep inside the controversial American subculture of raising big cats, venomous snakes, and other dangerous animals as pets. It is THE documentary to watch about private ownership of exotic animals in America and the film became the topic of an NBC 20/20 special feature. Webber was the key note speaker at the 2019 Big Cat Sanctuary Alliance conference because of his expertise and commitment to ending the exotic pet trade in America. This is a candid conversation about ethics in film and the worst ways in which Tiger King misled viewers. This is an unedited and unscripted conversation and neither of us pulled any punches. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Tim Harrison is the foremost expert on dangerous wild animal encounters in the United States. He will take you behind the scenes of numerous dangerous animal incidents and rescues — tigers in Harlem, Gabon vipers in Ohio, pythons in Pennsylvania. We dive deep into the world of exotic animal auctions and the cause and effect relationship between reckless shows like Steve Irwin’s reality shows that promoted hands on contact with exotic animals and increased public interest in purchasing them as pets. If you want to learn more, check out the award-winning documentary, The Elephant in the Living Room, on Amazon, iTunes, or Vudu. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Jay Pratte, leading independent expert for big cat and bear welfare, sat down with me to talk about the recent news that a tiger at the Bronx Zoo has COVID-19. We dive into what this means for the zoological and sanctuary communities, and answer questions about the difference and relationship between ACCREDITED zoos and ACCREDITED sanctuaries. They play different, but important, roles and Jay is going to get all of your questions answered! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Tanya Smith (founder of the GFAS-accredited Turpentine Creek sanctuary in Arkansas) and her colleague, Emily McCormack, take us behind the scenes of one of the biggest big cat rescues in the history of the US. They help us understand where these cats have been, how they are traded like baseball cards, and the critical condition many are in if they are lucky enough to end up in a reputable sanctuary. Tanya and Emily don’t pull any punches and neither do I. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Today’s podcast is from my Facebook live video where I answered all of the additional Tiger King questions I’ve received since my live webinar on Monday, March 30th. Check it out and tweet me @carney__anne with additional questions or comments! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

I sat down with International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) Campaigns Director, Carson Barylak, and Wildlife Programs Officer Meredith Whitney to talk about what the life is really like for a tiger used in the exotic pet and entertainment industry. It’s information you need to have in order to make informed decisions about which facilities you choose to visit, and these two big cat experts explain what we can all do to help end the abuse. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

National Geographic environmental investigative journalist, Sharon Guynup, and I sat down on March 30 to discuss our critique of Tiger King and answer questions about roadside zoos and trafficking of tigers in America. Those who care about big cats can visit bigcatalliance.org or sanctuaryfederation.org to find a reputable, accredited sanctuary or learn more about the standards they all must adhere to. We invite you to join us in urging federal legislators to pass the Big Cat Public Safety Act to help end the abuse of tigers for entertainment in the United States: https://awionline.org/compassion-index#/309 --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Kate Dylewsky, Senior Policy Advisor for the Animal Welfare Institute, discusses pending federal legislation that could be the nail in the coffin for roadside zoos in the United States, recent legislative victories, and the important role that localities and states play in bringing an end to America’s tiger crisis. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Tammy Thies is the founder of GFAS accredited, award-winning, sanctuary called the Wildcat Sanctuary. Her sanctuary is not open to the public, and she shares her expert insights into key differences between roadside zoos and sanctuaries and how the Coronavirus will impact America’s tiger crisis. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Today we are talking to Jeff Kremer, data mining expert extraordinaire who has worked at both an accredited zoo *and* an accredited big cat sanctuary in Tampa, Florida. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

In April 2019, Joe Exotic, one of the most notorious tiger traffickers/breeders/dealers in the country was convicted of numerous federal crimes, including wildlife trafficking and murder for hire. A federal judge sentenced him to 22 years in prison on January 22, 2020. Federal court is not open to the public, but I was there and this is what happened. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app