People love cats. The
internet is filled with cat memes and they’re one of the most popular
pets in the country. Jeff Kozlowski also loves cats. His just happen to
come in a bigger size. Kozlowski and his wife, Jenny, founded
Wisconsin Big Cat Rescue in 2005. The current site in Rock Springs holds
19 tigers, five lions and four leopards at the moment, he said. The
animal sanctuary helps rescue big cats from around the country and has
been featured in Animal Planet’s “Tiger Next Door” documentary.
The
sanctuary relies completely on donations to stay in business. Full
Throttle Night every Friday at Fireman’s Park in Rock Springs is a major
fundraiser for the sanctuary. “We get no funding from federal or state government,” Kozlowski said.
Coming
Aug. 9 is the third-annual Big Cat Car Show and Fundraiser, to be held
from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. at Christmas Mountain Village, S944 Christmas
Mountain Road, Wisconsin Dells. Cost is $10; there will also be an
auction. Proceeds will go to the rescue. The facility is currently $15,000 short of its fundraising goal for completing a veterinarian and educational center on site.
Jeff
Kozlowski said he at one time worked up north with a man who would use
cubs for taking pictures. He said the practice isn’t good for the cubs
so he decided to take a different route. The animals he collects will
spend the rest of their lives at the sanctuary – usually anywhere from
15 to 20 years.
Law enforcement and other government agencies
often don’t have facilities to deal with big cats, so Kozlowski said
they are often euthanized if not given a home. Rescued cats come from
backyard breeders, private owners, closed-down zoos and confiscated
animals.
Kozlowski said he has mixed feelings about regulation of
private owners. He said has no problem with passing regulations about
cage size and strength, but banning all private ownership would cause a
bunch of wild cats to be without homes. “People think, ‘You’re a
sanctuary, you’re supposed to be for that (ending unregulated private
ownership),’” Kozlowski said. “Yeah, I’m a sanctuary – and I know all
the sanctuaries are full now.” He said the only side he is on is
the animals’ side. He says some private owners do a good job, and at
least the animals have a home.
When he originally proposed opening
a big-cat sanctuary in Rock Springs, he said the public was a little
leery. He said he understood their concerns and went out of his way to
make the sanctuary as safe as possible. The sanctuary has since become a
destination in the village and receives plenty of support, he said. A
planned new sign in the village will say, “The Village that Roars” and
feature pictures of lions.
Surprisingly, the animals adapt well to Wisconsin weather. “Lots of people think lions will freeze to death in the cold,” Kozlowski said. “They all adapt, all get thicker coats.”
After
the flood of 2008, Kozlowski thought it would be a fun Halloween idea
to have people at each of the cages in his park to hand out candy –
replacing candy stops from lost houses. The free event has turned into a
major success with more than 6,000 visitors last year. This year will
see a food tent added as the event continues to grow.
Three
interns help out every summer, recruited from around the country. Many
who apply for internships do so to touch a tiger. They are not likely to
be considered. Though Kozlowski pets the cats, he never enters the
cages and always keeps his hands on his side of the fence. “They’ll
come up to me, but none of these animals are tame,” Kozlowski said. “We
have feeding tours where guests stand outside of the big fence back by
the feeding cages and then they see what it truly is.”
Earlier
this week, Reedsburg Mayor Dave Estes posted a big-cat photo on his
Facebook page, entitled, “My breakfast date.” A member of the
sanctuary’s board of directors, he was on the feeding tour. He said he
made sure to stay outside the fence. The cats are wild animals and the job has to be done seriously and with caution, Kozlowski said. He is not the boss. “They
all know who I am,” Kozlowski said. “As far as being in charge – in
charge would mean I could go in there (the cages). I’m not in charge.”
The
sanctuary does its best to keep the animals how they would be in the
wild. But all the animals are spayed or neutered, and given vaccinations
and medical care by Mike Etter of Lodi Veterinary Care. He had never
worked with big cats before, but did his research and has been a huge
help, Kozlowski said.
Eventually, the sanctuary would like to buy
40 adjacent acres and be home to even more cats. But it’s a long-term
goal with nothing immediate on the horizon, Kozlowski said.
Visit
www.wisconsinbigcats.org or call 608-524-5466 for more information.
Follow the sanctuary on Facebook. The sanctuary is located at 305 Pine
St., Rock Springs; it is a registered 501c3. It is open 10 a.m. to 5
p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, or by appointment during the week. Visiting
the sanctuary costs $9 for adults and $6 for children.
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