TURPENTINE CREEK FOUNDATION INC

With passage of the Big Cat Public Safety Act into law in December of 2022, our goals are two pronged.

First, we must educate the public so they can aid our USDA and Fish & Wildlife agencies in enforcing this new national legislation. We must also educate them on what species the new law does not protect, such as bears, small exotic cats like African Servals and caracals, and small native wildcats such as bobcats. These animals will need people to advocate for them.

Second, we must be ready when the calls for rescue come over the next three years. This means expanding our habitat space. In another two to three decades there will be no more lions, tigers, leopards or hybrids suffering in roadside zoos or cramped private cages, but these other species will still require sanctuary.

We will continue our mission, adapting as needed, to protect animals in captivity that are survivors of the Exotic Animal Trade.

Ending the Big Cat Trade is achievable in our lifetime if we can continue to expand our public educational outreach to aid law enforcement and turn in big cat exploiters.

Rescue:
TCWR will continue to use its 30-plus years experience of rescuing big cats and bears nationwide. After rescue we provide a lifetime home with the best care in the world. This provides homes to the needy while we work to stop the trade.

Education:
By having a dedicated education department, we are able to offer off-site and onsite educational sessions for all ages to raise awareness of the captive wildlife trade and build a community of environmentalists and advocates that can work together for the passing of national legislation to end the Trade and create a more sustainable society.

In 2022 our presentations reached over 40,000 individuals through in person and virtual classes and educational tours.

TCWR has 30 plus years of big cat and bear rescue, providing the animals we rescue the best quality of life possible in captivity for the rest of their lives. We will continue to improve both the care we provide and our educational facilities.

Currently we are conducting a capital campaign to construct the Big Cat Education Center & Museum. This 7,880 sq. ft. building will house divisible classroom space, a broadcast studio for our virtual classes, permanent and changing museum-quality exhibits, a cafe and educational gift shop. The new education center will triple our educational outreach, as well as our visitor rate, thus making our organization sustainable for the coming decades.

•1991: Notorious breeder/black market dealer abandons 42 big cats on the Jackson family’s property. They offer help.
•1992: TCWR becomes a 501 c (3) nonprofit organization
•1996: TCWR establishes a competitive intern program and goes on to train world-class animal care experts over the coming decades.
•2002: TCWR helps to put an end to a breeding operation taking in a total of 28 animals from the facility.
•2005: TCWR provides information for a former intern to write House Bill 2681 and creates a community of advocates to get the bill passed. This law heavily restricted private ownership of dangerous exotic and native animals in Arkansas.
•2009: TCWR rescues multiple animals from the Branson Interactive Zoo and Aquarium after regulations change.
•2012: TCWR leads the rescue of 34 big cats (taking in 28 animals) from a breeder when their owner is too ill to continue caring for the animals. In 128 days TCWR built 20 new habitats to accommodate the new animal residents.
•2015: All habitats at the Refuge are converted into natural enclosures.
•2015: TCWR is verified by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS)
•2016: The construction of the on-site, state-of-the-art Jackson Memorial Veterinary Hospital is complete.
•2017: The final animals from the largest big cat and bear rescue in U.S. History, (The Colorado Project facilitated by TCWR) are removed from a Colorado breeding/cub-petting scheme.
•2017: Through the Colorado Project, the Big Cat Sanctuary Alliance is established.
•2017: TCWR is accredited by the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries, meaning it upholds the highest standards of animal care and safety.
•2018: The Refuge launches their Education Department to spread education and advocacy.
•2018: The Refuge advocates for the Big Cat Public Safety Act, over 3,500 emails sent to government officials to date.
•2019: TCWR rescues 6 big cats from a facility in Oklahoma when the owner was kicked off his property. The 6 cubs had initially been rescued from a notorious facility in Oklahoma after they ‘aged out’ of the “cub petting” scheme. One passed away from a tick born disease he was suffering from during the rescue.
•2019: TCWR performs an emergency rescue when flooding of the Arkansas river displaced two pet bobcats. The bobcats were rescued in an abandoned house with water up to their bellies, which was still rising.
*2020: TCWR transformed the lives of 12 big cats in 3 successful rescues.
*2021: TCWR transformed the lives of 18 animals in 5 successful rescues including 10 big cats seized by the Federal Government from the Tiger King Park in Oklahoma and 3 cubs born to one of the female tigers from that rescue.
*2022; TCWR rescued 3 animals and received unprecedented national exposure. We were featured on This is Life with Lisa Ling: Tiger Queens; our President Tanya Smith was Chair of the Rescue Committee for the Big Cat Sanctuary Alliance (BCSA) and our Animal Curator Emily McCormack was Vice Chair of the entire BCSA.