![]() Most that wind up in sanctuaries came from squalid and inhumane conditions. ![]() It is a place of refuge and secure home for the animals who come here. estimates from 10,000 to 15,000 big cats are in private hands, from cages in basements to roadside zoos. SSWC is, first and foremost, a safe, healthy facility for exotic animals. Nationwide, 20 states have banned keeping them as pets, and the federal government is implementing the Captive Wildlife Safety Act, which prohibits interstate or Internet trade of big cats. The Colorado Division of Wildlife licenses seven wildlife sanctuaries. The state banned new nonprofit facilities, and none have opened since then. "It breaks my heart to think about it, but it's better for them." Colorado has banned big cats as pets since 1985 and has some of the toughest regulations, adopted in 2003, for sanctuaries. I feel like I'm parting with my children," said Jurich. He said he doesn't have the resources or energy to raise the $50,000 he would need to stay afloat. COLORADO SPRINGSIf the Serenity Springs Wildlife Center, of Calhan, Colorado, had only nine lives, it might have been closed already. ![]() Owner Mike Jurich is finding homes for his lions and tigers one or two at a time. Prairie Winds, a sanctuary with 45 big cats in Kiowa, southeast of Denver, is closing. Volunteers have said they want to help keep the 128 cats there. Sculac has his own challenges at his sanctuary following the death of his wife, Karen Sculac, earlier this month. It's the only way that he knows how to raise money," Sculac said. "Once you start killing these animals, it becomes an acceptable method for disposing of these animals and we don't want this to ever become acceptable." Nick Sculac, the owner of Big Cats of Serenity Springs, a sanctuary near Calhan in El Paso County, said the threat of euthanization is a fund-raising ploy by Craig. "He knows, like us, that sanctuaries are filled to capacity and he's got a lot of cats and where are they going to go?" said Vernon Weir, director of the American Sanctuary Association. Others involved in rescuing animals that are victims of illegal trade in exotic criticized Craig's statements, saying they amount to blackmail. ![]() no lake view when the leaves are on trees. He has 75 tigers, 12 lions, nine leopards and 30 bears, plus wolves and smaller cats. Serenity sets on blacktop road a few hundred yards from where the road ends at DNR gate, a short walk to lake. We lost well over half of our income," Craig said, blaming the lack of donations on the national and global disasters. This time, said Craig, who ended last year with a $250,000 deficit, donations won't keep him open."We didn't just lose a little. This isn't the first time that Craig has appealed to the public for help with his Rocky Mountain Wildlife Conservation Center. "You either let them starve to death or you go out there and do the right thing," he said. "But in December, I was sure that within two weeks, I'd be doing that. "Of course, that is going to be the very, very last thing we ever do," Craig said last week during a tour of the sanctuary 30 miles northeast of Denver. ![]()
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