Hunting cats for fur

[SimbasMate]

I like The Big Cat Rescue on Facebook, and this is an article that they had posted.

For those of you who don't know, The Big Cat Rescue is a big wildlife reserve in Florida. They take injured big cats and help them get better and then they release them back into the wild when they are healed.

When I saw this article and read it, my heart dropped and tears flooded my eyes. I could not believe what hunters will do to cats for their pelts. Or any animal in general. BCR also asked on their page for people to speak out to people and share this article for this poor kitty. So that is what I am doing. I know that perhaps it may not shut down the fur trade, but just sharing this article with others on the behalf of this bobcat is hopefully enough to reach enough people who truly care about animals. Maybe one day something will be done about this. It makes me angry to no end, and I can't even imagine how much pain and agony this bobcat felt after he had to chew his own two front paws off to get out of a leg holding trap. I hope that poachers see this and will see what they are putting these animals through.

By the way, there is a picture of the bobcat after he finally escaped from the trap. I suggest you not scroll past the big letters before the picture. It really is horrible and something you can probably never forget.

[Tsuki]

I'm a huge supporter of TBCR Tampa. They do a fantastic job. Yes it is heartbreaking that this takes place. But not only in the wild but at fur farms as well. I saw a horrific documentary of a fur farm in Russia with foxes....and that makes my stomach turn and those images will stay with me forever. If you are UK based you can help by buying products from Lush that support the banning of fur farms and charities that help rescue the animals from these places. Also support 21st Century tiger that educates people living in tiger territory as to why we still need the tiger.

[Eli_Ayase]

Reading that article... made me cry... ='(

It breaks my heart when there are heartless people, and therefore as well money-wanting greedy bastards that do this to an animal. I love animals, and I love big cats like no tomorrow. Only just because of these ****** people, big cats get lesser and lesser in this world, just like the Siberian Tigers.

Sometimes I just want THEM to go trough the same thing as the defenceless animals do. Maybe then they'd understand how painful it is for an animal. Because apparently people in this world think animals have no souls and life, and are created just to be fur for money. Animals are like humans are, they are different, but they DO have a soul and life.

This all is why I HATE humanity. Because it's nothing but a bunch of a-holes that care nothing but for power, and money. And those idiots think that they are SO COOL by doing that.

[Regulus]

I'm not going to read the article, so that I can keep my sanity and hope for mankind.

But... BCR is in Tampa? I did not know this.

[Tsuki]

[quote="Regulus"]I'm not going to read the article, so that I can keep my sanity and hope for mankind.

But... BCR is in Tampa? I did not know this. [/quote]

Yup. It's in Tampa . Gutted I couldnt visit while I was there. If you go I want photos

[Regulus]

If I go, I'll make a thread about it. Though it's more of a matter of when, rather than if.

[Sigurd]

I don't like that people kill animals (especially endangered ones) for other reasons than for survival. That's a waste of resources and it's creates unnecessery suffering. With that said, I'm not against hunting in general, but we should be careful so were don't eradicate any species.

[Adofo]

It makes me sick. And just a few days ago, some Vet shot an arrow in the back of a cat's head that was from a cat shelter that got out and she got fired. She needs to be shunned for the rest of her life!

[amani88]

I went to Big Cat Rescue for the first time earlier this summer . . .the passion these people have for "big cats", plus the actual activity level of many of the larger Felidae species they house (tigers and lions), were phenomenal!! I highly recommend it, too!!
(Unfortunately, the animals' pens are doubled fenced, per USDA regs, or are chain-linked. . .so any photos or views will have some bars in it. Still, its a pretty cool place!).

I did also want to make a quick note about the poaching of such animals for their parts. As one who has studied a lot of biology in undergrad (and as a Catholic/Christian who cares about Creation), such disgusting acts of poaching are truly reprehensible. We are all familiar with those who illegally hunt endangered animals for their fur (aesthetic value). . .however, the demand pushing for poaching (in general) is rather complex and difficult to deal with. Take, for example, tigers.

According to a beautiful book that has amazing photographs and facts about tigers ( "Tigers Forever: Saving the World's Most Endangered Cat" by Steve Winter (2013)), tigers are not only hunted for their beautiful fur, but also their various body parts. Whiskers, etc. are used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Likewise, poor farmers in Asia/India subcontinent are concerned about tigers interfering with their livelihood, and have shot them.

I just wanted to make clear that poaching is a complex issue, and one can see why it is such an embedded problem. The major solution, then, is education and practice, and BCR mostly shines in that area.