BREAKING: Tigers From Dade City’s Wild Things Moved to Lush Accredited Sanctuary
Great news! Luna and Remington—two tigers formerly exploited at a roadside zoo called Dade City’s Wild Things (DCWT)—have arrived at the beautiful Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. This victory comes more than two years after DCWT hurriedly transferred all tigers out of its facility in an illegal attempt to avoid our court-ordered site inspection.
The video footage above shows the two tigers getting acclimated to their new Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries–accredited sanctuary home.
Luna and Remington were both used in DCWT’s “swim with tigers” program as well as its tiger cub encounter program …
… which are at the center of our lawsuit alleging that prematurely separating tiger cubs from their mothers, forcing them into public encounters, confining them to cramped cages, and otherwise keeping them in inappropriate conditions violates the federal Endangered Species Act.
During the case, DCWT illegally transferred Luna and Remington along with two other tigers, Rory and Rajah, to another Florida facility. Rory and Rajah were shot and killed in 2019 after escaping from their enclosure at that facility.
These tigers were taken from their mothers and used as photo props—but now, they’ll be able to live out the rest of their days in a lush accredited sanctuary where they can run, climb, explore.
PETA will keep working until all the animals at DCWT have made it to safety.
To make Luna and Remington’s rescue possible, we covered the costs of the big cats’ transport and made a donation toward their lifetime care. The transfer wouldn’t have been possible without Forest Animal Rescue, whose staff and volunteers helped Turpentine Creek safely load the tigers into their transport cages.
Take Action for Animals Like Luna and Remington
Don’t be fooled by scammers who run roadside zoos or fake sanctuaries for profit and abuse animals. Please, never visit any attraction that offers direct contact with wild animals. And urge the Barry R. Kirshner Wildlife Foundation to end big-cat and bear cub photo ops and public handling and to retire all the animals to true sanctuaries.
To date, PETA has helped rescue 41 tigers from roadside zoos and arranged for their transfer to accredited sanctuaries. We’ve also helped rescue 73 bears, 10 chimpanzees, and two baboons from roadside zoos, traveling shows, and private owners.
