Podcasts about Animal Defenders International

Lion Ark: this award-winning documentary feels more like an action movie, complete with secret missions, undercover operations, intelligence briefings, nerve-wracking confrontations, extremely dramatic rescues, and high-speed races against time. But, unlike most action movies, this plot revolves around real life or death… for lions. And, you can watch it right now, because this highly acclaimed film is STREAMING FOR FREE ON UnchainedTV. Click here to watch now: https://watch.unchainedtv.com/lion-ark Now, go behind the scenes with the heroic team from Animal Defenders International, two gutsy globe-trotting rescuers who are fearless as they carry out their mission to rescue lions trapped in circus hell in Bolivia! Spoiler alert: get ready for a joyous HAPPY ENDING! Get involved! Visit www.ad-international.org/adi_home

Lion Ark: this award-winning documentary feels more like an action movie, complete with secret missions, undercover operations, intelligence briefings, nerve-wracking confrontations, extremely dramatic rescues, and high-speed races against time. But, unlike most action movies, this plot revolves around real life or death… for lions. And, you can watch it right now, because this highly acclaimed film is STREAMING FOR FREE ON UnchainedTV. Click here to watch now: https://watch.unchainedtv.com/lion-ark Now, go behind the scenes with the heroic team from Animal Defenders International, two gutsy globe-trotting rescuers who are fearless as they carry out their mission to rescue lions trapped in circus hell in Bolivia! Spoiler alert: get ready for a joyous HAPPY ENDING! Get involved! Visit www.ad-international.org/adi_home

Lion Ark: this award-winning documentary feels more like an action movie, complete with secret missions, undercover operations, intelligence briefings, nerve-wracking confrontations, extremely dramatic rescues, and high-speed races against time. But, unlike most action movies, this plot revolves around real life or death… for lions. And, you can watch it right now, because this highly acclaimed film is STREAMING FOR FREE ON UnchainedTV. Click here to watch now: https://watch.unchainedtv.com/lion-ark Now, go behind the scenes with the heroic team from Animal Defenders International, two gutsy globe-trotting rescuers who are fearless as they carry out their mission to rescue lions trapped in circus hell in Bolivia! Spoiler alert: get ready for a joyous HAPPY ENDING! Get involved! Visit www.ad-international.org/adi_home

We've got two first-time guests on this Furbulous Friday show! First, Christina Scaringe from Animal Defenders International, or ADI, joins us to talk about the plight of big cats and other wild animals living in captivity through trafficking and illegal trade. Christina Scaringe is General Counsel for Animal Defenders International (ADI), a non-profit organization that works around the world to make positive changes for animals. Learn about their efforts, and how you can help at ad-international.org.Next, Paul Connett joins us to talk about the dangers of fluoride, and how it's still being infused into our drinking water. Studies have found fluoride lowers IQ points, but our health department is continuing to use it, in spite of the research. Dr. Paul Connett is a graduate of Cambridge University and holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from Dartmouth College. Over the past 36 years his research on waste management has taken him to 49 states in the US, 7 provinces in Canada and 67 other countries, where he has given over 2,500 pro bono public presentations. Paul Connett has researched the literature on fluoride's toxicity and the fluoridation debate for 26 years. He helped found the Fluoride Action Network (FAN), where you can access the studies talked about on this episode and lots more.Thank you to our sponsors!enviromedicaChildren's Health Defense - Order Robert F. Kennedy's latest book, "The Real Anthony Fauci" today!sunwarrior - Use the code OLR for 20% off your purchase!Vegworld MagazineWell Being JournalThorne - Get 20% off your order and free shipping!

Washington Post: Many countries ban circuses with wild animals. These lawmakers want the U.S. to follow suit.   Mexico, Peru and several other Latin American countries have banned or restricted the use of animals in traveling circuses in recent years. Performing animals are even rarer in Europe, where many nations prohibit them.   There is no such federal law in the United States. But dozens of local bans, as well as Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey's recent decision to fold its tent, have some lawmakers hoping the American political terrain might now be fertile enough to send all circus elephants, tigers and bears to retirement.   U.S. Reps. Ryan Costello (R-Penn.) and Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) appeared on Capitol Hill this week to introduce a bill that would prohibit wild or exotic animal performances in traveling circuses. Flanked by television actors Jorja Fox and Eric Szmanda, the representatives argued that the Traveling Exotic Animal and Public Safety Protection Act — known by the unwieldy acronym TEAPSPA — would end the suffering of creatures that profit-motivated humans force to perform unnatural behaviors and live in cramped conditions.   “I don't think that those practices have any place in the fabric of our society,” said Costello, who added that his constituents are keenly interested in animal welfare issues.   [One problem with shutting down the circus: Where will the animals go?]   The question is whether they and lots of other Americans are interested enough to push for a nationwide ban on circus animals. The bill is only the latest iteration of a proposal that's been introduced in Congress several times before but has never gotten far. Also at the Hill event was former U.S. representative Jim Moran of Virginia, who noted that he was “sorry” it had never passed before but said the idea “did make some inroads.”   There's little question that public sentiment about performing and captive animals, particularly those considered highly intelligent, is changing. The Ringling Bros. announcement in January, which cited a decline in ticket sales, came after local laws and pressure from animal protection groups prompted the show to retire its elephants. Last year, SeaWorld decided to stop breeding orcas, and the National Aquarium in Baltimore is planning to move its dolphins to a sanctuary.   And animal welfare issues, as Costello suggested, have far more bipartisan support than many topics under consideration in Washington.   [Ringling's elephants are retiring. Will their lives be better?]   What's more, backers of the bill say, the Trump administration's zeal for cost-cutting could work in their favor. Circuses with animals are subject to federal inspection under the Animal Welfare Act. Retiring the animals would therefore reduce spending on inspections, making it a “win-win” for the government and for the creatures, said Jan Creamer, president of Animal Defenders International, whose campaigns helped drive the Latin America bans.   “There's an immediate budget cut,” Creamer said. She said a ban would affect 19 traveling circuses with about 300 animals.   A trainer moves a dromedary during a show at the Cedeno Hermanos Circus in Mexico City in 2015, before a ban in that nation took effect. (Henry Romero/Reuters) But there's also an anti-regulatory zeal these days in Washington, and many lawmakers are loathe to dole out sweeping new restrictions to industries — and that includes circuses. One opponent of TEAPSPA is the Cavalry Group, an advocacy group for “animal enterprise,” which last year said the idea “would deprive countless Americans the ability to experience endangered animals up close, such as elephants and tigers.”   The company that runs Ringling Bros., of course, has also lobbied against the bill in the past. Stephen Payne, a spokesman for Feld Entertainment, indicated it would no longer be a priority now that the circus is closing. But, he said, it remains a bad idea premised on inaccurate information about how circus animals are trained and cared for.   “This is clearly driven by animal rights groups, rather than being based in any factual information or talking to people who work with exotic animals,” Payne said. “There are exceptions for film, television, advertising and rodeos. This is clearly driven by these organizations who are targeting circuses.”   Moran and Creamer, for their part, seemed to acknowledge that the idea is not very likely to sail through Congress, though Moran said a lot of “grass-roots activity” would help. In other words: Public pressure — plus a plethora of competing entertainment options — helped bring an end to the 146-year-old Ringling circus, and it would probably take a whole lot of public pressure on lawmakers to lead to a national ban.   Creamer seemed unfazed. Bills her organization has pushed in other countries have gone through “three, four or more evolutions,” she said. The political landscape, she added, “does need to evolve.”   Hi, I'm Carole Baskin and I've been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/   I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story.  My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.     You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile! Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile   You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org   Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue   Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion.  Closing graphic with permission from https://youtu.be/F_AtgWMfwrk  

Had to hire an off duty officer today  because the crazy animal abusers have come to town for a conference called Take the Conversation Back.  It's being run by the Calvary Group, who are considerably better organized and educated than our typical opponent.   Meanwhile, some good news.  Tim Van Norman, from the USFWS, set up a call with us and Christina Scaringe of Animal Defenders International to discuss the import of Hoover the tiger from Peru.  He wanted to grant it but didn't want to base it on our meeting the requirements of the law, because he says it's too easy for the bad guys to make the same claims.  He asked us to SAY that we would donate to tiger conservation in the future like we have done in the past.   We did him one better and donated $5000 when he said 1k would be fine.  Our import permit should be coming in the next 2 weeks if I got his drift.   Also USDA has a new lead person in APHIS who sent us all (the Big Cat Coalition) a letter saying they would educate the bad guys about why cub handling is bad, but were so vague that it seemed they were just trying to blow us off while being able to answer to Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Blumenthal.  Anna Frostic, atty for HSUS and Leigh Henry of WWF both seem to be more optimistic from their respective meetings, than what I feel from this letter.  We will see.   Last night we went to a fundraiser, at the Sena's home on Davis Island, for Patrick Murphy, who is running for Congress.  On the way home we stopped at Sandy's restaurant, Tampa Joe's, to pick up my credit card that I left behind last Sunday when my mother and I went their for lunch.  Howie called my mother, putting her on speaker, to let her know that she could stop looking for it, and to tease me about being so forgetful.  Mom said I've always been this way.   I know I have been since the amnesia, but don't know if I was always this way.   Later in the day:   Half way through Denny Mitchell's tour a backup intern called for coordinator check.  Gale and I both went.  I stayed with the tour until they left the property.   Gale said they were asking the intern specifics about whether or not Teisha really belonged to us and about the other OH cats and taking photos of things that regular guests never do.   A small, thin, blonde, 20ish woman was the one asking all the questions and her friend, a larger woman, with a long blonde braid, was filming her asking and then filming the answers, but they seemed to be trying to act like they didn't know each other.  I glued myself to the thin blonde and she never asked another question, nor did she pull her camera back out, which I had been told she was using for video, but trying to make it look like she wasn't.  She was carrying it, awkwardly, and pointing at me initially, from what I saw, and then quit when I was right next to her for the rest of the tour.   She wasn't wearing the vox, but rather had it and the earbud, coiled up in her hand.  Everyone else at least had it around their necks, although a number of people weren't wearing the earbud.  Denny was talking loud enough that I could hear him in the back and he doesn't play the iPad stories.   I noticed there was one male, tall, bald, middle eastern looking who was engrossed in his cell phone, not wearing the vox, and who kept lingering behind.  He wasn't looking at cats when he lingered.  Just his phone.  A few times I had to leave the blonde just to let him know I was watching him too.  He was clearly with a young, dark haired woman of mid 20s and an elderly woman, who appeared to be her mother, who was riding the golf cart.  I was able to figure out that Cynthia F paid for the trio and the cart.  She also bought stuff at the end and was very polite and interested, according to Denny.  The decoy ;-)   At the Kitten Cabana the dark haired woman seemed put off by what we do with the kittens, which you don't see very often, and seemed to exchange glances with the thin blonde, who appeared to agree.  She had wanted nothing to do with looking at kittens.   As Denny did his wrap up, shortly after that, the middle eastern guy and the dark haired woman went to the far side of the golf cart, away from Denny and the back up, and the middle eastern guy was clearly agitated and showing the woman his phone.  I walked around and got right behind both of them and he stopped talking.   The heavy set friend of the thin blonde took photos of the solar relay up on the post that we just installed, all of the cage signs, all of the donor signs, me and the thin blonde and had a goofy grin on her face like she was at Disney land on her 6th birthday.   I followed them all into the gift shop, where the they had all five huddled together around the photos we sell.  They were talking like they all knew each other.  When I walked up to join them they acted like they were thinking to buy photos but no one did.  Then the three younger women all proceeded to take one of every piece of literature they could find.  The man was still mesmerized by his phone. The woman who rode on the cart, and who probably was Cynthia F, bought two magnets, long after all of the rest of them had gone to their cars.   I noticed that once she was in the dark BMW or Mercedes SUV with the middle eastern guy and the dark haired woman, that the red Dodge mini van where the two blondes had gone, closed their doors and led the way out of the parking lot.  I took a photo of their tag.  The middle eastern guy could clearly see me doing it, as he was one car behind her.   As he pulled out I took a photo of his plate.  He saw me in the rear view mirror, because clearly he was watching for me to do it, and backed up, demanding that I delete the photo.  I told him I'd delete the photo if he showed me his driver's license.  He refused, but said he'd show it to the deputy.  The deputy told us that I didn't have to delete the photo, and tried to talk the guy down, but he was having kittens over it.   I told the officer that I'd be happy to delete it, if the man would show the officer his driver's license.  The officer said he didn't care to see it and began saying again that I didn't have to delete the plate.  The guy then showed his driver's license to me, and asked if I would delete the photo.  I had a hard time reading it, because I was nervous, I have a hard time reading with contacts, and he was all shaky, but it looked like H.   I deleted the image and then he asked me to delete it from trash.  I'd never done that before, so he walked me through it, and I deleted it there too.  Then he was as happy and nice as anyone you could ever meet.  Maybe just a culture thing.  AND, it could have just been that he saw me photograph the other car and that made him suspicious. It's possible the two groups weren't connected.   In the time we spent arguing over the photo of his plate, he asked why he would pay money to come here and I would invade his privacy.  I told him there are animal abusers in town, pointed to the officer and said that's why he's here, and that by watching him I could tell that he had no interest at all in the tour or the cats.  He said he was mad because he had asked the intern where a cat came from and she told him he would have to ask the tour guide.   He claims that is what set him off (and it didn't take much).  He couldn't believe we were so rude.  I pointed out that the rules video they were shown before the tour specifically told guests that they can't ask our back ups questions and that our back ups aren't allowed to be having their own conversations.  He told me he has a thousand dogs back home, and that he's an animal lover and would never harm an animal.  He asked why I had singled him out and I told him that he wasn't the only one acting suspicious and that I had taken photos of them and their plates too.   I wanted to be sure the blondes got that message, if he really is with them.   Summary is:  I don't know if the two groups were together and no way to know, from the Zerve list, who the blonde ladies were.  If it is any indicator Elizabeth D bought her two tickets the same day and both Elizabeth and Cynthia had stated they had been here before.  Elizabeth D filled out the release form on 3/2/16 according to Salsa, which would have been at the time of her ticket purchase.   Other than asking about the OH cats and taking odd photos, they weren't much bother, and probably not worth the time I spent documenting this, but I figured better safe than sorry.   Howie pointed out, after watching checkin, that he was surprised how hard it is to tell our guests from the bad guys.  I didn't find any of these names in our blocked list from FB, nor in Joe's friends list.   Hi, I'm Carole Baskin and I've been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/   I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story.  My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.     You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile! Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile   You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org   Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue   Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion.  Closing graphic with permission from https://youtu.be/F_AtgWMfwrk

Clay and Xav talk the AFL offseason, the fastest Port player, good food and wine, NBA, what to watch, and play a game of Winesweeper for a donation to Animal Defenders International. Find Xavier at: https://www.instagram.com/xavierduursma21/ Send questions, topics, WYR's, Poor Posture of the Week/Listen to this Fxck Shxt suggestions to clay@welcometothepoddy.com Visit the website at www.welcometothepoddy.com Welcome to the Poddy is brought to you by Bet with Joel (click the link and enter code PODDYEXCLUSIVE50 for 50% off your first week, or PODDY30 for 30% off of the NBA Package). Socials: IG: https://www.instagram.com/claymcmathcomedy/ www.instagram.com/welcometothepoddy/ Twitter: twitter.com/claymcmathcomic twitter.com/WelcomePoddy Facebook: www.facebook.com/WelcomeToThePoddy/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCldd5jGzGXDXW1-H3De0QtA For all the music you hear in WTTP, listen to the WTTP playlist on Spotify at open.spotify.com/user/1240542189/…dHRCqWx96zuymAPw **PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO RATE AND REVIEW US 5 STARS, IT REALLY HELPS!!** --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/welcome-to-the-poddy/message

2014 Annual Report   With your help we are winning in the battle for compassion! Up until 2003 the number of requests for rescues we had to turn down due to lack of space or funds had roughly doubled each year, to 312 that year. We feared it would double again to over 500 in 2004. Instead, it has steadily declined since then thanks to the passage of a federal bill and several state bills that restrict the ownership of exotic cats. This year there were 62 big cats who came to our attention as being abandoned. We were able to take in  7 wildcats plus 2 rehab bobcats. We offered to take 16 of the cats if their owners would contract to never own another exotic cat.  The cats we did not take were those whose owners refused.   There is no point to our taking in cats just so an owner can go buy another cute cub to use and discard.   Animal Care. Rescues   Rescued 9 exotic cats, including Kimba, Zeus, Keisha & Kali the tigers, Mickey the cougar, Sheena the serval, and Ariel the bobcat.  We rescued Ivan the native bobcat, who had lost both front legs in an illegal trap, but he was too badly injured to survive.  We also rescued Cypress the bobcat but she too was too badly crushed from her tangle with a car to survive.  Newborn kittens who are brought to Animal Control are routinely killed because with their immature immune systems they do not survive in the shelter environment.  So we began a foster kitten program with our interns as the fosters.  We have saved more than 170 kittens from being killed.  We raise them until they are 2 pounds and healthy, then bring them to the Humane Society of Tampa Bay to be fixed and adopted out.  See some very cute kitten video here:http://youtu.be/4yMMudueBow and see cute cats meeting the vet here:http://youtu.be/lfXyynkYmfc   By the end of this year,  we have 97 exotic cats and 83 of them are over the age of 12; 74 of those are over the age of 15; and 32 of those are over the age of 20. This is well beyond how long they are designed to live in the wild and much older than most zoo cats. This is a testament to the excellent animal care we provide, but we are dealing with many more age related illnesses and are losing more of our big cat friends every year.  Sadly we had to say “goodbye” to these great friends:  Flavio Tiger 25 (a soulmate of mine), Sasha Lion 20, Precious Bobcat 21, Banjo Bearcat 23, Cleo Serval 17, Nyla Leopard 19, Mr E Leopard Cat 14, China Doll Tiger 19, Amazing Grace Ocelot 22, Kimba Tiger 20, Thing Bearcat 14, TrickE Leopard Cat 13, Shere Khan Tiger 19, Cody Cougar 18, Rambo Jungle Cat 15 and Canyon Sandcat 14.   We never gave up on Little Feather the Bobcat after her stroke:  http://bigcatrescue.org/little-feather/   Windsong Memorial Hospital - Thanks to the generous donation of an X-ray machine, followed by many donors chipping in to fund a proper building for it, the Windsong Memorial Hospital broke ground in 2014 and should be ready for its first big patient by the mid January 2015.   Award Winning Sanctuary    • Top Rated Non Profit at Great Non Profits We have received this award every year since they started awarding it in 2010 due to the many great reviews we get from visitors and donors each year. • We again received Charity Navigator's highest four star rating. • 2014 WEDU Be More Relevant Award winner for best nonprofit video • 2014 Viator Top Rated Partner Award for consistently rating four stars or higher • 2014 Origin Magazine listed Big Cat Rescue in their Top 25 Animal Non Profits • 2014 Give Day Tampa Bay winner of $22,500 in prize money and winner of the most donors on that day. • 2014 Recognized at Charity Navigator's top rated charity of any kind for Tampabay area and #5 in animal charities in the nation. • 2014 Named a Catster Hero   Education - Our Education Director announced that she would be going to Peru to help ADI with the circus issue there, so we hired a new Education Director, Jennifer Leon, and will be focusing more on educating adults who can take action to save big cats before it is too late.   BigCatRescue.org gets about 2.6 million unique visitors per year with 2,653,703 in 2014. Our website is primarily an educational tool and according to Alexa we are ranked 152,097 worldwide and 36,741 most visited website in the U.S. in 2014 which was a doubling of our site's popularity over 2013. We have 877 other sites linking to us.   Some of the pages that were the most popular were: #2 Why it's wrong to buy big cats had 386,628 visitors #4 Why it's wrong to breed Savannah Cat hybrids had 183,095 visitors #5 Why it's wrong to breed white tigers had 169,104 visitors #8 Why it's wrong to breed ligers had 130,927 visitors   Our web site addresses local and global concerns about environment and has over 10,069 pages of information, movie clips, sounds, safe interactive online games with a conservation theme and photos. In any given week the visitors will be from more than 200 countries outside of the U.S. The information provided has helped wildlife rehabilitators identify animals and obtain proper care instruction and helped officials in smuggling cases to identify rare species of exotic cats being illegally traded.  Those are just a few of the ways that we know the site has had an impact this year.   We gave 180 outreach and field trip tours this year.   Legislation/Education - The steady increase in legislation banning private ownership represents recognition by our society that private ownership leads to widespread abuse.  Social values evolve.  It took decades to ban slavery in England and for women to win the right to vote in America.  Those ideas started out as “radical” and were held by a small minority.  Gradually more and more people understood and agreed until they became a part of our value system that we take for granted today.   The same trend is happening with private ownership of exotics.  Gradually more and more people are realizing that this simply leads to widespread abuse of these animals.  The best evidence of this is the accelerating trend in state laws.   Just since 2005 nine more states have passed some level of ban.  Internationally 40 countries have banned or restricted the utilization of big cats in circuses.  It is time for the U.S. & South Africa to do the same!   We invited our on site guests to call their Senators and Representatives asking them to support the Big Cats and Public Safety Act this year.     Through our CatLaws.com site, powered by Voter Voice, 10,940 of our 77,077 supporters sent 69,615 messages to 886 recipients.  While we wish that more than 14% of animal lovers on our mailing list would take the time to speak up for the animals, the ones who did were awesome.  The 3 most popular letters sent were these:   1. Letters in favor of the Big Cats and Public Safety Act, which would ban the private possession of big cats and ban cub handling. 2. Letters opposing the exhibition of exotic cats and their cubs at fairs. 3. Letters opposing the use of tiger cubs as swimming and pay to play props.   Some of the wins from these campaigns were:   1. 123 Senators and Representatives joined the 3 bill sponsors by co sponsoring the Big Cats and Public Safety Act (HR1998 & S1381) 2. New York banned photos with big cats and their cubs. Imagine what we could have accomplished if just 25% of our mailing list were to take action for the animals?  This is an easy, no cost way for us to have a huge impact collectively.  If you have not yet been active in taking action when we send alerts asking you to email a legislator, regulator or venue hosting an abusive animal exhibit, please make 2015 the year you join in.   You CAN make a difference – the many supporters who do send these emails have proven it!   The most vivid example is our having gotten owners of over 200 malls to agree not to allow cub petting exhibits, saving all those cubs from a miserable life on the road and being sleep deprived as they are handled or restrained for photo opportunities hour after hour.   You can make ending big cat abuse part of the legacy of your life with just a few emails each year.   Big Cat iBooks and eBooks - LaWanna Mitchell is an amazing woman.  She started out as a volunteer and became a remote contractor for us years ago.  She lives in Missouri, out in the country with her horses, and I get emails from her telling me that she just spent the last two hours, up on a step ladder with a blow dryer trying to melt the ice off her antenna because she doesn't want to lose another day of working online.  On those days when she is just completely snowed in, she just can't stop working and has taught herself how to build books in iBooks for iTunes and for Amazon.   She has a number of books published there now, including titles such as China Doll Loves Pumpkins, The Elusive Sand Cat, Meet JoJo, The Black Footed Cat, Shaquille's Shattered Dreams, What Do You See?, The Tigrina or Oncila, and the first of a two part series called Big Cat Care – How to Start a Sanctuary.   This book is for those running a sanctuary who want to learn from our experience, or for those who have already made the mistake of supporting the pet trade so that the animal in your care does not suffer even more after being ripped from his mother. With more than 30 years experience, with every sort of exotic cat, I can assure you that there is nothing you can do to raise up an exotic cat to be a house pet. It just isn't possible. No matter how young you neuter or spay the cats, both male and female, ALWAYS spray when they become adults.   Look for all of the titles above as when you check out, Big Cat Care – How to Start a Sanctuary by me, Carole Baskin, in iTunes   Wins for the Big Cats in 2014   New York Assembly bans public contact with big cats AND their cubs.  “The purpose of this bill is to protect animal caretakers, those interacting with wild animals, bystanders, and the animals themselves by preventing direct contact between wild animals and members of the public,” the legislation reads. What is even more encouraging to animal lovers is the justification for the law:   “In New York and throughout the United States, several roadside zoo exhibitors and traveling menageries allow members of the public to hold, take photos with, and otherwise interact with wild animals in roadside zoos, fairgrounds, malls and other public areas. This activity severely harms the welfare of the animals, endangers the public, and is a heavy burden on law enforcement.   This activity also requires an ongoing supply of young animals. Infant animals are prematurely separated from their mothers to be groomed for human handling, often die due to constant handling and travel, and are even subjected to abusive training and painful declawing or defanging procedures in a futile attempt to make them safe for public contact once they mature. After the animals grow too big for handling, they are held on leashes with no protective barriers. Often they are dumped and sent to substandard facilities.   There is no safe or humane result when direct contact with wild animals is allowed. Other states, including Kansas; Mississippi, and Arizona, have strengthened existing laws to address public contact issues.”   NJ: Stafford Township is making it pretty clear it doesn't want to deal with another “Rocky the Bobcat” situation in the future.  The township council adopted an ordinance that would ban new exotic animals within the boundaries of the municipality. Residents who can prove they already owned exotics before the effective date of the ordinance are grandfathered.   Mexico bans wild animals in circus acts.   Citi joined Porsche and PetsMart in the growing list of influential corporations that have banned the use of wild animals at their events and in their advertising.  Big Cat Rescue had contacted these organization and explained to them why it is so bad to use big cats cubs for photos and ego props and they took immediate action after hearing from our supporters.   WVA:  Gov. Tomblin has signed a bill into law to prohibit the private possession of dangerous wild animals. Introduced by Del. Randy Swartzmiller (D-1), HB 4393 passed the House by a vote of 72 to 23, and the Senate by a 22 to 11 vote.  There remain only five states with little to no restrictions on the private possession of dangerous wild animals—Alabama, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina and Wisconsin.   CA:  Los Angeles bans bullhooks, which may only apply to elephants, but the circus can't make elephants perform without the threat of injury, so hopefully this means that the circus won't be coming to LA any more with their abusive lion and tiger acts either.   UK:  Announced its soon-to-be official ban on ALL wild animals in circuses, joining other European nations like Austria, Greece, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The ban is intended to be fully instituted starting in December 2015.  Prior to the all-country ban announcement, over 200 UK local authorities had placed bans on animal circuses with over two-thirds banning all performing animals, according to Animal Defenders International.  An official date for the legislation still needs to be passed but the government is confident that it will. When it does, anyone who breaks the law after December 2015 will receive a heavy $8,000 fine, according to the BBC.   No Animals Harmed in Noah.  Darren Aronofsky says no live animals were used and that he opted to use all computer-generated imagery to create the animals on Noah's Ark, instead of using captive exotics.   Tiger Exploiter Denied Permit.  In our August 2013 Advocat e-newsletter, we asked you to let government officials in Ventura County, California know they should not approve a permit request by tiger merchant Irena Hauser, who owns 5 white tigers, to house them in a residential area of Malibu. Hauser exploits the tigers in the movie industry and transports them for filming purposes. In 2014 the Ventura County Planning Commissioners rejected Hauser's request for a permit.   Fundraising and Marketing - We continue to be very happy with Zerve as our ticket retailer.  In 2013 they sold 12,752 tickets that netted the sanctuary $435,323.00.  In 2014 Zerve sold 18,553 tickets that netted the sanctuary $712,093.00.  The increase was due to selling more of the higher priced tours, ticket price increases and Zerve reducing their fees.   Big Cat Rescue was reported favorably in the news 257 times in 2014.   Some of our national press has included shows on  CNN,  MSNBC, National Geographic, Animal Planet, Discovery and the History Channel in addition to such publications as USA Today, National Geographic and the New York Post and major media coverage in several other countries as well.  Big Cat Rescue has been in the press in 42+ states including AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, GA, FL, HI, IA, ID, IO, IN, IL, KY, LA, MA, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NY, NC, OH, OK, PA, SC, SD, TN, VA, VT, WA, WI & WV and dozens of programs of national or international coverage or in countries other than the U.S.   YouTube and Discovery's Revision 3 continue to send us a lot of traffic.  Thanks to this partnership and cross promotions with Animal Planet, we are experiencing more than 1.6 million views of our YouTube videos per MONTH!  By 2014 year end we had 499 videos with 189,285 subscribers and 92,730,916 views.   YouTube Mini Clip Site:  DailyBigCat was launched Nov. 20, 2010 to provide a channel for the mini clips we upload directly from our iPhones.  By year end this site had 520 videos, 7,707 subscribers and 1,319,063 views.   Facebook:  We surpassed 899,704 fans on Face Book Google +:  This is a new social site for us in 2013 and we have already reached 282,286 fans on this new venue.   A huge shout out to everyone who has donated items from our Amazon wishlist and who has chosen Big Cat Rescue as their charity of choice in  https://smile.amazon.com/   Got Roku?  If you do, then you have more than 600 episodes of Big Cat TV waiting for you for FREE in the Channel Store! Series include our best videos from each year going back to 2007. Big Cat Vets, Cat Chat Show, and Big Cat Rescuers, our weekly big cat reality show.   Big Cat Rescue has an Endowment Fund to provide a secure future for the cats. The Fund resides at the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay.  Periodically the Community Foundation offers a matching program where the nonprofit sets a fundraising goal and when 75% of the goal is reached, the Community Foundation provides the remaining 25%, which effectively is a 33% match of the funds provided by donors.  We set our most ambitious goal ever, $400,000, which is the maximum allowed.  We had three years to reach the $300,000 that represents our 75% target, but thanks to our generous donors reached the goal in 9 months and received the $100,000 grant from the Community Foundation in 2013.   We continued to build our affinity credit card program with Capitol One under which you can choose one of our beautiful cats for your credit card image and 1% of all of your purchases is donated to Big Cat Rescue at no cost to you.   To build awareness of our federal bill we were the top level Diamond Sponsor for the Taking Action for Animals Conference in Washington, DC in June, 2014 where more than 2,000 animal activists converged to learn more about legislation to protect animals.   Saving Wild Places for Wild Cats   In 2014 Big Cat Rescue donated $15,000.00 to conservation programs.   $900 to Walk for Lions in Kenya (from our March for Lions event)   $7,000 to Campaign Against Canned Hunting in S. Africa (from our March for Lions event)   $1,000 to Build a Boma via Nat Geo initiative in S. Africa (from our March for Lions event)   $1,100 to Animal Defenders International   $5,000 Small Wild Cat Conservation Foundation   Helping Other Animal Groups   1. Saving Lions.  March 15th's March for Lions may have just seemed like one heck of a party, but thanks to everyone who came and fundraised for the event, we were able to net $10,000 and we wanted to spend it on ways to help lions outside our gates.   The movers and shakers behind the Global March for Lions were Chris and Bev Mercer of CannedLion.org.  Any time we need the truth on what is happening in Africa regarding lions, we always turn to Chris and Bev.  They have been the leading force against lion hunting and pay to play schemes that pimp out lion cubs, only to sell them into canned hunts as easy targets.  They would never ask for help, but this event made it possible for us to contribute $7,000. to their continued efforts to ban lion hunting.  Chris said this is the equivalent of a small fortune in his world and that he will put it to good use in protecting lions. 2. We were impressed with Nat Geo's Cause an Uproar campaign and donated $1,000. to their BuildABoma.org project.  This will build two bomas to help protect lions from being killed for harming livestock. 3. We have long been impressed by Animal Defenders International because they are a small organization that has been winning huge victories for animals.  What really brought them up on our radar was the amazing work they have done in the past few years to ban circus acts that use wild animals in 40 + countries.  If you saw Blackfish and thought, “big cats need a movie like that,” then you have to see Lion Ark.  We saw it and were so enamored that we sent $1,100. to help with their efforts to free all big cats from circuses. 4. Before the March for Lions even began we sent the early money we raised, in the amount of $900. to Walking for Lions to be a major sponsor for the cycling event from Kenya to Botswana to raise awareness of the plight of lions.  So, thanks to your generosity we are raising awareness, supporting boots on the ground, giving locals a way to live with lions, rescuing lions from circuses and letting everyone know that when you pay to play with a cub, the cub is always the one who pays with his loss of life and liberty. 5. Big Cat Rescue was recruited to offer our expertise, guidance and funding in the expansion of facilities to house jaguars who are rescued from being killed and sent to the Belize Zoo.  The zoo does not breed their cats, but cannot release the jaguars either because there are too many in the area and they get in trouble with people. 6. Created 22 Intranet sites, which are sort of a sanctuary-in-a-box site, for other sanctuaries to use.  These came complete with every training video, training manual, chart and idea that we use to run Big Cat Rescue.  We do this for free for sanctuaries that do not breed, buy, sell, trade nor allow contact w/ wild animals. 7. We were a sponsor for Animal Coalition of Tampa's Stride for Strays, as we are every year and donated countless tickets to other animal rescue groups to use in their fundraisers. We are so pleased to provide assistance to organizations that are saving big cats (and little cats) across the globe!   Then and Now - Below are the 2014 audited financial statements of Revenue and Expense for the past five years. We pride ourselves in keeping our fundraising and administrative total expenses below 20%. Because our tour revenue exceeds our fundraising and administrative costs, 100% of donations go to Program Expense.   The majority of the increase in Program Expense in 2012-2013 was the cost of lawsuits we filed in furtherance of our mission against what we believe to be one of the most notorious exploiters of tiger cubs.  We won a million dollar judgment against this breeder/exhibitor for violations of our copyright and trademark in 2013.  He filed bankruptcy personally and on behalf of his zoo.   However, by consent agreement his personal debt to us is not to be dismissed in bankruptcy, and the zoo bankruptcy has been dismissed.  So currently we are working through the process of seeking to recover our judgment against whatever assets we can.  Without the generous support of our donors we could not have sustained this successful effort. Thank you!   Who We Are - Officers and Members of the Board of Directors   • CEO and Founder  Carole Baskin (not compensated by BCR for her role as Director) • President and Chairman of the Board Jamie Veronica (not compensated by BCR for her role as a Director) • Secretary & Treasurer Howard Baskin (not compensated by BCR for his role as a Director) • Director Mary Lou Geis (not compensated by BCR) • Pamela Rodriguez (not compensated by BCR) • Darren Kipnis (not compensated by BCR) • Keith Lawless (not compensated by BCR) • Kim Mahoney (not compensated by BCR) • Vince Pavese (not compensated by BCR) These members met for regular board meetings at the sanctuary.  The board met 4 times in 2014.   Staff:   • CEO and Staff Manager:  Carole Baskin • President, Editor & Creative Director: Jamie Veronica • Operations Manager & Volunteer Coordinator: Gale Ingham • Videographer and Social Networking: Afton Tasler • Director of Donor Appreciation:  Jeff Kremer • Gift Shop Manager:  Honey Wayton • Project Manager: Chelsea Feeny • Education Director:  Jennifer Leon • Cage Builder and Maintenance:  Vernon Stairs • Cage Building Apprentice and Maintenance:  Scott Haller • Cage Building Apprentice and Maintenance Part Time:  Chuck Stairs • Grounds Keeper, part time: Jarred Smalley • Bookkeeper:  Barbara Stairs • Assistant Bookkeeper:  Katie Nikic • CFO:  Howard Baskin • Public Relations:  Susan Bass • Web and Social Media: LaWanna Mitchell   All of our animal care is done by volunteers or by staff who also volunteer time before & after work.   Big Cat Rescue had 89 volunteers at the end of 2014 who clocked in 40,547 man-power hours, in addition to 54 interns who clocked 32,400 man-power hours, plus 4,793 Volunteer Committee member hours. In total this amounted to 77,740 man-power hours provided roughly the equivalent workforce of 37 more full time staff.  Between paid staff, part time staff, contractors and volunteers we averaged the equivalent of 52 full time staff.   Interesting breakdown of volunteers: We have 89 volunteers; 69 women and 20 men. The youngest 18 years old, the oldest 76 years old.   Between January 1, 2012 and September 1, 2014 Big Cat Rescue provided $428,774. in scholarships to provide housing, transportation, utilities, food, training and entertainment to 102 interns arriving in Tampa, FL from 12 countries and 23 states.  We added six more acres to the sanctuary by buying property on the south side for more intern housing.  This brought our staff and intern housing units to 8 and we bought a new, 7 bedroom home, bringing that total number to nine.  One of these units cannot be used yet, due to a life estate by the seller.   Staff and Volunteer Training   Several of our staff attended the Safe Capture Course, as we do any time they are in Florida.   Continued turning our volunteer training classes into video classes.   Get our Financial Reports:  See our IRS 990 and audited financial statement for Big Cat Rescue at http://bigcatrescue.org/finances/   Hi, I'm Carole Baskin and I've been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/   I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story.  My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.     You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile! Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile   You can see photos, videos and more, updated daily at BigCatRescue.org   Check out our main channel at YouTube.com/BigCatRescue   Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion.

Thank you to the heroic efforts of Animal Defenders International for another successful collaboration with Big Cat Rescue. Now 3 retired circus tigers have a safe and loving place to call their forever home. You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile! Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile BIG CAT TV is a close look into our day-to-day operations, the conservation efforts we support, and the exotic feline residents of "Big Cat Rescue" in Tampa, FL. USA. Big Cat Rescue is an educational non-breeding, accredited, sanctuary and a registered non-profit 501c3 so your donations are tax deductible! Subscribe here: http://youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=BigCatRescue Donate at http://bigcatrescue.org/donate/

Jan Creamer—president and co-founder of Animal Defenders International (ADI), which specializes in educational efforts and campaigns internationally that tend to focus on animals in entertainment and other realms—recounts growing up […]

Jan Creamer is the president and co-founder of ADI, Animal Defenders International, an organization that has been around since the nineties when Jan and her husband Tim Phillips founded it, and since then Jan and Tim have changed the lives of countless animals all over the globe. One of ADI’s enormously successful campaigns is Stop Circus Suffering. Thanks to Jan, Tim, and ADI, the use of wild animals in circuses has been banned in 45 countries thus far. From Serbia to Scotland to Singapore, wild animals no longer have to live the torturous lives of constant confinement, transport, abuse, and nonstop suffering. In order to get these bans passed, ADI spends years doing undercover investigations in each country. Once they have enough evidence showing the terrible lives these animals are forced to endure, including being stuck in tiny enclosures, without room to move, for their entire lives, they present it to the people, the media, and the government. The government then makes it illegal to use wild animals in circuses and the ban becomes law. But, that isn’t enough. Animal Defenders International stays in each country until every single circus hands over their animals. They hand them over to ADI (sometimes with resistance) who then moves them to temporary sanctuaries, brings them back to health, and then eventually relocates them to permanent sanctuaries all over the world. It’s and absolutely incredible feat that they have accomplished. There’s never ever a good reason to have a wild animal in a circus. Aside from the fact that they're abused and treated horribly, it is absolutely inhumane and cruel to force them to live lives on the road, in small cages and trucks and trailers. Most of them are in spaces not much bigger than their body, and that's where they spend 95% of their time. The time not confined is when they are forced to perform, which none of them want to do and that's usually where a lot of the beatings and abuse takes place. Tigers are in small barred covered cages for 22 hours a day. Elephants are chained and can’t move more than a couple of feet for their entire lives. And all of these animals are in transport constantly. Every day or few days, they're traveling somewhere new on the backs of trailers, trains, and trucks. ADI's conducted undercover studies in all of these countries for years, and every time that they're behind the scenes, they film violence and abuse at every circus on the planet. It doesn't matter what country, what they claim their laws are, the abuse is the same across the board. Jan, Tim, and ADI have truly changed the way that the world views animal entertainment. They’ve shifted culture all over the planet. They aren’t stopping either; they’ve just built an ADI sanctuary in South Africa, and have many more countries on their list. There are still too many that don’t yet have nationwide bans, including the US.

Hoover the tiger was rescued from the Peruvian circus and brought to Big Cat Rescue in 2016 with collaborating efforts of the Animal Defenders International. Watch some behind the scenes footage of the circus, his seizure, and his journey to his forever home. You can help feed the cats at no cost to you using Amazon Smile! Visit BigCatRescue.org/Amazon-smile

Founder and President of Animal Defenders International (ADI) Jan Creamer, and ADI's Vice President, Tim Phillips, stop by the podcast to talk about their amazing work in getting abusive circuses that use animals shut down across the globe.For over 40 years, these two remarkable people have worked tirelessly to end the suffering of animals. With offices in Los Angeles, London and Colombia, ADI is known for their long term undercover investigations inside cruel industries, gathering evidence that creates awareness and public support for legislation to end the suffering of animals and because of ADI’s campaigning, national restrictions on performing animals in traveling circuses have been enacted in 45 countries and ADI currently has a federal bill to ban the use of wild animals in all circuses before the US Congress.In Bolivia and Peru ADI tracked down and raided every circus and rescued every animal, saving close to 200 animals. ADI’s team is currently helping the Guatemalan authorities enforce their circus ban and has already saved 9 tigers and 6 lions from circuses.ADI is in the process of opening its own Wildlife Sanctuary in South Africa specifically to give circus animals, like lions, back the life that has been denied them.Click on SHOW NOTES to get information on all the ways you can help ADI, either through donations or powerful volunteer work! And part of the interview does talk about what it takes to be an ADI undercover investigator. Fascinating information that rarely gets discussed. Jan Creamer was one of 100 visionaries nominated by the Albert Einstein Foundation to mark 100 years of Einstein’s theory of relativity.Main website: www.ad-international.orgKey issues page: http://www.ad-international.org/issues/Award-winning Lion Ark documentary: http://www.lionarkthemovie.com/Stop Circus Suffering: http://www.stopcircussuffering.com/Social media handles:Facebook: @AnimalDefendersTwitter: @AnimalDefendersInstagram: @animal_defenders_internationalFollow Jennifer Peterson and And Justice For Animals:Website: AJFAWebsite Instagram: AJFAInstagram Jennifer Peterson Website: Jennifer Peterson WebsiteEmail: andjusticeforanimals@gmail.com

Jessica the founder of Kind Traveler, a new digital travel platform (arriving 2015) that rewards travelers for making donations to local and global charities with exclusive offers from today's greatest hotels and unique properties. Our mission is to transform the incredible collective of everyday travelers into a financial force that betters the health and wellbeing of individuals, the environment, and animals. Passionate about sustainability, wellness, travel, and social innovation, I'm also a contributing writer for Fast Company, Hospitality Design, One Green Planet, Green Lodging News, Spa Finder, Examiner, CBS Los Angeles, and the BLLA (Boutique Lodging & Lifestyle Association). As a proud vegan and animal welfare advocate, I practice yoga and ballet when I'm not working on Kind Traveler initiatives! Her career began as an earth science and math teacher with UCSD's Pruess School, a unique charter school for low income students who strive to become the first in their families to graduate from college, educating 130 students each day. She then spent 10 years as an Associate Publisher and Advertising Director with popular print & digital fashion and lifestyle magazine start-ups including 944 Magazine and Foam Magazine in San Diego and Los Angeles. Her entrepreneurial journey began as the five-year Principal of LA-based brand consultancy, Publicly Loved, where her clients included luxury real estate moguls like CIM Group and Marriott Hotels. With a heart for travel, sustainability, social impact, and animal welfare, she has contributed as a journalist to Fast Company, CBS Los Angeles, Hospitality Design, One Green Planet, Green Lodging News, CEO.com, Spa Finder, Examiner, Destination Luxury, Darling Magazine, and the BLLA (Boutique Lodging & Lifestyle Association). As a speaker, she’s presented on the stages of TEDx and regular contributes as a panelist with various professional hospitality associations and events including the Travel & Adventure Show, Lodging Magazine’s Green Lodging Conference, the Enlightened Entrepreneur Summit, and the Boutique Lodging Association’s annual leadership summit.  As a child, Jessica always had a longing to help animals. Over the last six years you could find her searching for homes for LA’s homeless pet population on death row and educating the public on the importance of spaying and neutering as a volunteer with Best Friends Animal Society, Carson Cats, and Much Love Animal Rescue. As a passionate voice for animals, she's served as a reporter interviewing celebrities such as Bob Barker, Willie Nelson, Ian Somerhalder, and Russell Simmons to create awareness around the importance of avoiding circuses that involve animals, ending the illegal wildlife trade, and the need to end factory farming with Animal Defenders International, Humane Society of the U.S., WildAid, and Animal Hero Kids. 

Emily Peachey - Emily stars in the brand new movie "American Pastoral". She is known for her work in the teen drama "The Fault in Our Stars" where she won acclaim for her role as a teenager dealing with the heartbreak and drama of youth. She's also been on MTV's "Awkward"Animal Defenders International - This group saves animals from abuse across the world. They recently released a documentary called "Lion Ark" which portrays the rescue of circus animals in Bolivia.

Emily Peachey - Emily stars in the brand new movie "American Pastoral". She is known for her work in the teen drama "The Fault in Our Stars" where she won acclaim for her role as a teenager dealing with the heartbreak and drama of youth. She's also been on MTV's "Awkward"Animal Defenders International - This group saves animals from abuse across the world. They recently released a documentary called "Lion Ark" which portrays the rescue of circus animals in Bolivia.

Bob Barker turned 91 years old the day this episode was aired. When I interviewed him I was inspired by his enthusiasm and support for animal advocacy groups. I am sure all our listeners will be equally inspired. I strongly urge anyone who loves and wants to help animals to listen to this interview. Television Celebrity Bob Barker is one of the best friends animals have ever had. His love for them is heartfelt and generous. Hear how at 91 years of age he is heavily involved in helping Animal Defenders International save circus lions from a cruel life in Peru. Catch up with what Bob Barker is doing for ADI and other advocate groups on this episode of Max A Pooch’s Awesome Animal Advocates. Questions or Comments? Email Max A Pooch: maxapooch@petliferadio.com More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - Guess What Bob Barker is Up To? Would you Believe Helping Animal Defenders International Save 30 Lions in Peru on Pet Life Radio

Tim Phillips is co-founder and Vice President of Animal Defenders International. Tim discusses two very timely topics. The first is the horrific findings from an investigation ADI has made about monkeys that are supplied to the U.S for experiments in Laboratories. The second subject Tim discusses is the historic bill that was recently introduced by Congressman Jim Moran (D) of to end use of wild animals in travelling circuses that he recently introduced in Congress. Tim discusses what can be done to stop the transfer of monkeys by Air France from their homes to research facilities in America and elsewhere. He also provides insight as to the trauma and stress wild and exotic circus animals face traveling and performing. Questions or Comments? Email Max A Pooch: maxapooch@petliferadio.com More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - The Bad Kind of Monkey Business on Pet Life Radio

About Animal Defenders International Animal Defenders International (ADI) was founded in 1990 and is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. With offices in Los Angeles, London and Bogota, ADI campaigns across the globe on animals in entertainment, providing technical advice to governments, securing progressive animal protection legislation, drafting regulations and rescuing animals in distress. ADI has a worldwide reputation for providing video and photographic evidence exposing behind-the-scenes suffering in the industry and supporting this evidence with scientific research on captive wildlife and transport. ADI rescues animals all over the world and educates the public on animals and environmental issues. ADI's mission is to educate, create awareness, and promote the interest of humanity in the cause of justice, and the suppression of all forms of cruelty to animals; wherever possible, to alleviate suffering, and to conserve and protect animals and the environment. For more information, please visit http://www.ad-international.org  

My guests are: Escape Artist, Steve Santini ("Deals From The Darkside") Advocate, Jan Creamer ("Animal Defenders International") To hear this show: http://www.latalkradio.com/Sheena.php For more info: http://www.sheenametalexperience.com

My guests are: Escape Artist, Steve Santini ("Deals From The Darkside") Advocate, Jan Creamer ("Animal Defenders International") To hear this show: http://www.latalkradio.com/Sheena.php For more info: http://www.sheenametalexperience.com

My guests are: Advocate, Jam Creamer ("Animal Defenders International") Advocate, Tim Phillips ("Animal Defenders International") Choreographer, Christine Suarez ("Suarez Dance Theater") To hear this show: http://www.latalkradio.com/Sheena.php For more info: http://www.sheenametalexperience.com

My guests are: Advocate, Jam Creamer ("Animal Defenders International") Advocate, Tim Phillips ("Animal Defenders International") Choreographer, Christine Suarez ("Suarez Dance Theater") To hear this show: http://www.latalkradio.com/Sheena.php For more info: http://www.sheenametalexperience.com

For many, the circus brings back fond memories of lions, tigers and other exotic animals performing incredible feats of entertainment. But in recent years, the ability of some circuses to properly care for such large beasts has come into question, and this renewed scrutiny has not been limited to the United States. Actress, animal advocate (and native New Yorker) Jorja Fox, who plays the popular character Sara Sidle on the mega-hit series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, spoke with "Pets In the City" host Diane West about Ms. Fox’s work on behalf of 25 lions and other circus animals which she, Bob Barker, and other celebrities helped fly from Bolivia to the USA through Animal Defenders International and "Operation Lion Ark." Listen to the incredible journey of the lions on this ongoing rescue-and-relocation project as well as some juicy clues about what it’s like to work on the set of CSI, the traits Ms. Fox shares with her character Sara, and Ms. Fox’s thoughts about the long-distance TV marriage between Sara and Gil Grissom (actor William Petersen). Will Grissom return to the CSI lab in Las Vegas? Tune in to see what "Sara" says! More details on this episode MP3 Podcast - Fox Saves Lions: CSI’s Jorja Fox And Other Celebrities Investigate The Scene of Criminal Treatment of Bolivian Circus Lions And Keep ‘Operation Lion Ark’ Afloat with Diane West