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Sanctuary Caregiver Day

Celebrating Turpentine Creek’s Animal Caregivers

June 10, 2020

This Friday, June 12, 2020, is the fourth annual Sanctuary Caregiver Day. The Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries and North American Primate Sanctuary Alliance started this day of celebration to honor the unsung heroes who work tirelessly through extreme heat, storms, cold, holidays, birthdays, etc. to make sure survivors of the exotic animal trade can live out their lives in peace and comfort at their rescue forever home.

Now, more than ever, we should celebrate these essential workers, who not only work to care for the animals but also to protect them during this global pandemic.

Our animal care team not only completely isolated themselves for two months, not leaving the Refuge for any reason, they also spend every day working in the heat, wearing hot masks, maintaining habitats, feeding the animals, avoiding crowds of people, and doing their best to enforce social distancing to keep the animals safe from exposure.

Although we are now reopen to the public, we are still taking extra precautions to protect our animals. Team members are required to wear a mask when working around the animals, in their habitats, or with their food, and they are sanitizing their spaces and hands more frequently. Team members are checked daily for temperatures and symptoms of COVID.

Our team guides tours, with enforced social distancing and visitor mask requirements, so that they can help to educate the public about the plight of big cats in captivity and the big cat trade.

Seven animal care team members and fourteen animal care interns provide food, water, clean habitats, enrichment, and pools for the animals every day no matter the circumstance.

It takes a village to provide care for these animals, it takes an entire team of individuals with various jobs to help support the work the keepers are giving. Fundraisers, maintenance staff, educators, advocators, digital promotions, social media, volunteers, donors, etc. it takes the work of many people to care for these survivors of the big cat trade. We are grateful to every one of the people who are caring for the animals from the ‘boots on the ground’ animal keepers to the people answering emails. Every person makes a difference in the lives of these animals.

We ask you to join us in celebrating our animal caretakers on Friday, show your support and appreciation for all that they do. We will be promoting our animal caretakers throughout Friday, featuring our keepers and showing our appreciation. Please join us on this day of celebration.

Help show your appreciation for our caretakers by setting up a recurring donation. By donating on a weekly, monthly, or yearly basis, you help us be sustainable and plan for the future. With recurring donations, we have a reliable base of income that we can count on when the unexpected happens, like COVID. Please help create a better future for the big cats that call our Refuge home.

*Photos taken prior to reopen when team members were in isolation and were not required to wear masks. 

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