Carole Baskin, Joe Exotic’s nemesis on the wildly popular Netflix documentary “Tiger King,” has been in Arkansas raising money for Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge. Baskin said 41 of her big cats, currently headquartered at Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Florida, will soon be moving to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, according to WMUR.
Baskin spoke at Turpentine Creek’s 31st-anniversary celebration Saturday. Founder Tanya Smith said in March that Baskin would be bringing many of her cats to Northwest Arkansas as part of a new partnership, according to the TV station.
Forty-one animals from Baskin’s Big Cat Rescue Sanctuary in Tampa are awaiting the completion of a new section of the park.
“Construction is starting on the Freedom Field where all the Big Cat Rescue cats will soon live,” Baskin told WMUR.
Smith said Turpentine Creek is working to finish a 13-and-a-half acre expansion with 40 habitats, half for big cats and half for small cats.
“They are financially going to support the move for the big cats to come here,” Smith said. “We’re building out the tiger habitats first, and then we’re coming back to build out the small cat habitats. We want to get the big cats moved here as soon as possible,” the TV station reported.
They hope to get Baskin’s big cats to Arkansas by July and the rest of the animals by October, Smith said.
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