Big Cat Habitat & Gulf Coast Sanctuary

7101 Palmer Blvd, Sarasota, FL 34240, USA

Address:	7101 Palmer Blvd, Sarasota, FL 34240, USA
Phone:	+1 941-371-6377
Site:	bigcathabitat.org
Rating:	4.6
Working:	Closed Closed 12–4PM 12–4PM 12–4PM 12–4PM 12–4PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 4

Baby Doc

Not a sanctuary! IT REALY IS A CIRCUS AND ANIMAL RIGHTS NEEDS TO SHUT THEM DOWN AND DONATE THESE ANIMALS TO BIG CAT SAFARI OR PLACES BETTER EQUIPPED! IF THEY REALLY CARED ABOUT THE CATS THEY WOULD GIVE UP THEIR "PROFITS" (YES , I SAID PROFITS) AND DONATE TO A BETTER SHELTER. I should have read reviews before I went or I would have never gone because I completely agree. Instead of going help save these animals from them! The worst was the horrible owner who brought out a chimpanzee during the "show" aka circus! The chimpanzee was clearly irritated with the rope tied around his neck with no collar! He kept flipping and running only to be jerked back really hard. I was curious why the crowd was laughing but I guess that is a result of the "bystander" affect. The woman kept jerking the chimps head named "chance" to look at all directions of the audience and preform over and over and over! This was not enjoyable and very uncomfortable! I felt so bad for little Chance! They try to make up for the abuse by making out with the monkey at the end of the show because she claims to be his "mom." If any mother treated her child that way, she would be arrested for abuse and the child would be taken in to protective custody! AS ALL THESE ANIMALS SHOULD BE TAKEN AWAY FROM THESE HORRIBLE SHADY PLACE! They have more animals than bush gardens with as much land as a petting zoo! When I watched the beutiful tiger pace his CONCRETE cage I could hear his body banging against the perimeter as he changed directions! That is how small these cages are with multiple tigers in them. I saw two tigers fighting and one looked really injured. The staff had bandages on his arm and said he hurt himself gardening but another person there said that he aaid the "same thing as last time." Before you even get in and pay, if you are investigating, you can see the tigers cages from the outside. They only let them out 2hrs a day "supposidly" but I highly doubt that. Some tigers wouldnt even turn their heads! Please save these animals from this sanctuary! PS_ during the show they had their little rug rats go around with buckets begging for money. The person next to me gave a couple dollars and the kid had the nerve to say" give up your hundred dollar bill if you really care!" That was pretty shady and it looks like the $$$$$$ does not go to the animals! During the pony show the other woman help a whip and the horses were just running away from her? I thought these animals were trained with positive reinforcement? A whip is far from positive! The animals are overfed. Kind of like a senior citizen who doesnt want to walk their dog, so they feel bad and keep gining them treats? Oh yeah, and they profit from the treats which is why they DONT LIMIT THE AMOUNT OF TREATS. The bears were so fat they just are pinned up against fence being fed 100s of marshmallows! They have no type of air condition and there water looked like mud! They keep multiple cats in the same cage if they seem to tolerate each other and I saw at least 10 cages empty. There is way to many animals to sqeeze in let alone make it llok like they have space for more!

Jess Jim TV TV h cff ,xxx

Dont spend your money here unless you support animal abuse!! I came here and saw how small the cages were for all the animals and watched the show they did. I noticed the liger and other big cat had cuts all over its elbows in the back. Like hip marks still even looked bloody and fresh on the liger!! A monkey was pregnant and its vagina was big and saggy suggesting it had tons of babies already but wasnt with any babies at all. Also looked very depressed. I did my research and found out the whole time all this filthy millionaire family does is lie and decieve people to get money. And people believe they help animals and donate tons of money and even receive grants! They dont rescue any of the big cats, they buy them from zoos around the world!!! They have been cited for a ton of disgusting things. When the animals get old they murder them and sell their fur or stuff them and they can get about 25,000 for it!!! They are evil liars. Do your homework. Look it up!! They change location from time to time and are always getting new USDA license numbers so they cant be tracked!! They say cats like performing so cheer and clap. No they dont, that just makes the fear in them greater because they get beat with whips and poked with hot sticks!!! They also say the cats arent scared of fire but look it up, cats are terrified of fire!!! They beg you for money because they are money hungry. They dont care about the animals they just want your money.

Sharon J

Gave it the benefit of a doubt that theyre doing good for these big cats, which to some extent they are, BUT by the end of our visit I was very disappointed and wouldnt give them another dollar! I agree with others, the chimp seems pretty miserable and is repetitively jerked at the end of the tether - both that and the dog routine were pretty stupid. The cat "show" was impressive; its obvious these people have a lot of experience with them - in a circus sort of way, but ultimately the big cats are kept in very small enclosures. What was most irritating, as I see from other comments is nothing new, was their political RANT! They disrespect many other dedicated organizations, spreading unfounded lies, and pitting their own narrow version of "animal welfare" against almost every other animal welfare and animal rights group. Apparently, this is actually part of the script and is totally inappropriate. They may not agree with other groups - and Im sure others dont agree with what theyre doing - but spreading divisiveness toward other groups who make a positive difference every day for millions of animals who cant speak for themselves does no good for the creatures they claim to care about. If they could get over their anger, resentment, and politics, and focus on whats genuinely good for their cats, we might all have better things to say about this place.

Lisa Rufo

This place was very disturbing to me and my family. When they say habitat, these animals are in cages basically with dirt and flies. There are not only large lions and tigers but bears, goats, monkeys, birds and turtles. These animals should be in a larger complex to roam and move. What bothered us the most is that they give a show, and the woman who must be the owner gave a political speech about the difference between animal rights and animal welfare. She Made all animal rights people out like they were crazy. I understood some of her points but honestly it seemed for her benefit. She was basically defending the humans right to exploit all animals for human enjoyment and said something like" We believe in human interaction with our animals, not keeping them from us". Like the loins and tigers are happy when the idiot in the ring says, "clap they enjoy it and love to please". They are not dogs! Maybe their intentions are good but honestly if you love animals you will be bothered by the lack of habitat for them in this place. If they cared they would educate and not show. I will say the animals looked fed and they were amazing to see. but it left all of us with a bad feeling and it also felt like money was going into something else.