Tammy Thies–founder and executive director of The Wildcat Sanctuary, a nonprofit rescue refuge in Minnesota specializing in exploited, aging, and illegally-owned wild cats—recalls how her work in advertising (an earlier career) took her to a photo shoot featuring two Bengal tiger cubs, where she found the cats’ mistreatment concerning, spurring her to volunteer at some sanctuaries.
What Thies saw during those stints upset her even more, including breeding and selling wild
cats, amidst often deplorable conditions, and an array of abused animals. This ignited the transformation of Thies into ambitious wildcat crusader. This metamorphosis flourished under the tutelage of celebrated actress and big cat advocate Tippi Hedren, whom Thies had read about in a Parade magazine profile addressing Shambala, Hedren’s sanctuary for rescued big cats. Thies dialed the number for Shambala listed in the Parade piece, and Hedren answered! Wait, the story gets better! Having never met, Hedren invited Thies to come visit her at Shambala, where she closely observed the workings of the sanctuary, talking constantly, peppering Hedren with questions–receiving a serious education in how to run a refuge for rescued big cats. Armed with that knowledge, and her volunteer experiences, Thies launched her first sanctuary, starting small—a coupla acres around Atlanta—then kept expanding the parcels of land and numbers of animals, eventually
reaching The Wildcat Sanctuary’s current count of caring for 150 wild cats across 220 acres. Often intertwining the narrative of West Coast Game Park—a freshly current news story, involving an egregious roadside attraction in Oregon, now closed down nearly a year after authorities seized 300 animals (as well as large amounts of cash, drugs, and guns)—Thies described how The Wildcat Sanctuary functions when asked by authorities to assist after a raid like West Coast Game Park, or otherwise shutting down a nefarious animal operation. What happens next? What happens to the animals? Theis explains they take in the animals they can accommodate (in the West Coast case, they took four) and look into available spaces for animals at other legitimate facilities. We also touch on the fundamental importance of fundraising and possessing financial acumen in operating a rescue animal sanctuary, and likewise the profound risk of compassion fatigue, and the attendant requirement to engage in ongoing self-care. (https://www.wildcatsanctuary.org/)
ALSO: In an interview recorded the day before the show, I spoke with Congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost, who represents Florida’s 10th District, which includes Orlando. Orlando is where a horrific story played out recently involving an entity called Sloth World, where Peter Bandre—the would-be entrepreneur behind this enterprise–purchased and shipped a few dozen sloths in seemingly haphazard fashion, resulting in the death of well over 30 sloths. Representative Frost and his team dove into researching the relevant animal welfare laws and violations thereof, he recalled, playing a vital role in authorities becoming aware of this Sloth World debacle, employing full-throttle efforts in media, social media, and other means. Congressman Frost wanted to ensure Bandre wouldn’t receive the permit required to proceed with his “attraction,” forcing him to abandon plans for Sloth World. Thirteen surviving sloths—12 at last count, one of those 13 having died–were subsequently taken in by the Central Florida Zoo. (https://frost.house.gov/)
COMEDY CORNER: Brian Regan’s “Flipper & Gentle Ben” (excerpt) (https://brianregan.com/)
MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” instrumentals
NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: We didn’t play “Name That Animal Tune” today.
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