Interview: Carole Baskin talks about animal rights and more
Carole Baskin, American animal rights activist and CEO of Big Cat Rescue, a non-profit animal sanctuary based near Tampa, Florida, spoke about the challenges facing saving animals especially tigers and bob cats, during an interview on the “It’s Not So Late Show” with host Aaron Hanania.
“The biggest challenge that I face is ignorance and apathy. Most people don’t know that we are going to lose the tiger in the wild in the next five years,” Baskin said.
“And even the ones who do know don’t seem to care and that has been really frustrating because we are running out of time and the only way we are going to save the cats in the wild is to end the captive breeding of them. Because that’s creating a legal smokescreen for illegal activities like pouching.”
Baskin expressed concerns for the dwindling population of tigers, in part because of hunters and captivation.
“India has largest population with 3,900 and maybe in Siberia, there may be 500 to 1,000. There’s just, there’s hardly any tigers left,” Baskin said.
“We’re talking about 95 percent of the cats have been lost in the wild int he last 200 years.”
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Baskin has attracted the attention of local, national, and international media outlets to the plight of captive big cats.
Baskin drew public attention when she was featured in the 2020 Netflix true crime documentary series Tiger King, which follows Baskin’s escalating feud with Oklahoma-based private zoo owner Joe Exotic.
Following the release of the series, Baskin received abuse online due to the third episode of the series.
Baskin is also well known for her appearance on Dancing with the Stars, featuring her dancing to a cover of the song “Eye of the Tiger”. She and her husband Howard also appeared in the 2021 Louis Theroux documentary Shooting Joe Exotic.
Watch video interview here
