There have been some exciting things going on over at Black Jaguar White Tiger. Exciting, that is, if you’re a BJWT fan/follower, or, as I’ve come to refer to them, an “Eddieite”.
Eddieite
Ed-ee-ite
One utterly devoted to the preachings of Eduardo Serio; incapable of seeing the fact that BJWT has contributed nothing to the conservation of big cats but motherless cubs, a plethora of hand reared animals, and numerous videos of its founder and his “special guests” playing with his own big cats. Eddieites react violently to any question posed against their adored leader, even in the face of scientific facts, and will often degenerate into sputtering curses and antiquated invocations of plagues, and poxes on naysayers of the “Blue Energy” religion of the BJWT Nation: They’re an Eddieite, they’ll believe anything Eddie says, unfailingly and without question. Synonyms: BJWT follower, celebrity conservationist, pseudo-conservationist, willfully ignorant lover of exploitive animal videos and pictures.
Origin: 2013-2016; Observations of an active animal cult.
But enough of the modern slang dictionary. We have more important things to discuss.
It’s Cub Season at Black Jaguar White Tiger!
Thus far we’re up to five “mystery boxes” the first four of which have contained one or more big cat cubs. In a June 25th “Pillow Talk” Serio stated that box 5 contained “monkey and a (unintelligible)” but we did not actually see these animals so I have no idea if those were the species, or names, or what. Then in another “Pillow Talk” on June 29th, we got this 2-frame glimpse into an otherwise ignored box in the “cub room”.
All the other cubs were present and accounted for, but that’s no monkey lying there. The Eddieites following the feed certainly seemed to think it wasn’t a monkey, and offered up comments like:
“I saw box #5… its something black”
“Ohhhhhh I saw the black jag”
“There’s something black in box #5”
“What was black in the box?!?!”
“Saw something black, what did we see?”
“#isawnothingblack”
“Baby black jag????”
“A baby black jaguar (heart emogis)”
Excitement excitement! But we’ll just have to live off the thrill of not knowing, until Serio offers an official reveal.
There has been a small setback in the annual unveiling of Cubtopia, as one cub is already dead. (pesky inbreeding!) But it’s okay. Serio made up for the one cub dying by dubbing the surviving cubs the “Shakira Pride” after another jaguar who recently died (in a tragic Africanized bee attack) at Jaguars Into The Wild. So we’re good. Blue Energy all around, and no one’s getting dragged down emotionally over that little dead guy. Onward and upward!
For anyone who’s “sarcasm deaf” I’m dripping sarcasm at this point. It’s hard not to with daily videos of tiny, screeching big cat cubs trapped in cardboard boxes.
If you’re a regular reader of I.C.A.R.U.S. articles, you’ll recall that in other articles I’ve mentioned the fact that BJWT has a cycle as predictable as the tides of the ocean. A group of cubs arrive at BJWT with variations of the same three or four stories: Mom rejected them. The Mexican government confiscated them. Serio “saved” them from a “bad home”. Or they were taken from a zoo or circus. Recently, Serio has also started saying he’s “rescuing” cubs from canned hunting, something very peculiar, as there are an extremely low number of “trophies” exported from Mexico every year. But we’ll come back to that canned hunting thing later.
For now, the important thing to remember, is that every time a “pride” gets too big, they sort of just fade into the background, and new babies arrive, most of them so young that umbilical stumps are still raw. They are subsequently divided and put together in new “prides” and plastered all over social media for several months. Just in this year, we’ve had the Steve Jobs Pride, the Starving Union, Gustavo’s Pride, Tommy’s Pride, and most recently Shakira’s Pride.
In the three years since BJWT was founded, there have been three distinct sets of prides, some of which are now full blown adults, like The Big Pride, others which are 3/4 grown, like Cheyenne and the Super Pride, others which are half grown, like Lewis and Nicole, and then we’ve got the new babies. In all, tens of animals which all started out has bottle babies or young animals which were specifically hand reared.
Full disclosure, I might have left out some prides, and I might have accidentally named one pride by two names. It’s impossible to track each group when names are sometimes changed and there are no firm records.
Should any outsider ask where these cubs come from, Eddieites will immediately leap to the defense, insisting that Serio “rescues” the cubs and brings them to his “sanctuary” from places where they aren’t wanted like zoos and circuses, often while telling them to do “a little research” before asking stupid questions or saying stupid things. Those of us with questions find this instruction particularly amusing when there is no documentation to research, and those who ask questions are systematically blocked and called haters, something for which Serio is inordinately proud:
The “rescue” proclamations of Eddieites are followed by avid claims that the cubs can never be released into the wild “because they were born in captivity” so Serio’s giving them the best life possible at his “sanctuary”. Or, in some cases, supporters claim that eventually BJWT will “repopulate the world” with their cats (despite that they supposedly don’t breed them).
As usual there are potholes in these claims that are large enough to blow the tires on a tractor trailer rig.
- Zoos, in particular, value cubs more than they do adults, it’s laughable to think that the dozens of cubs that have appeared at BJWT over the last three years were all cast out by their entertainment owners, when those same groups might well have made tens of thousands of dollars off of the cubs, had they retained them. The only way they’d let go of the cubs is if the government seized them.
- Felid wild reintroduction is in its infancy. There have been a very few genuine success stories. However, for there to be any hope of pursuing reintroduction, the cubs must be raised with as little human contact as possible and raised in an environment that properly mimics their natural habitat. If you keep them in cardboard boxes in your closet, handle them constantly, and consistently reinforce a personal and intimate relationship with humans, then you guarantee that they can never be reintroduced into the wild.
- According to I.C.A.R.U.S. contacts who are familiar with laws south of the border, there is no registry for big cat sanctuaries in Mexico. There aren’t even any outlines for sanctuaries in that country. The only two ways in which you can register the ownership of exotic big cats, is as either a zoo, or a private collection.
What does all of this mean?
It means that while Serio claims to be a sanctuary and obsessively refers to BJWT as a sanctuary (though this is a recent development that has occurred in the past months, after articles criticizing BJWT began to appear. Before that, he called BJWT a “foundation”) it’s only a word in the name of his registered zoo. Serio stomps around threatening to sue people who suggest BJWT is not an accredited sanctuary, and he uses the term “sanctuary” gratuitously in an effort to garner sympathy and legitimize the foundation.
But the title listed on zoo registration papers does not actually make BJWT an accredited sanctuary. It just means that BJWT is a zoo registered with the word “sanctuary” in its name. This is where commercialism comes in. You can name a company anything you want, but you can’t register it as an institute which is not recognized by the government with which you’re registering it.
BJWT literally cannot be a registered sanctuary under Mexican law, because there are no outlines, bylaws, or terminology to define and regulate sanctuaries within the existing Mexican environmental laws. There is, according to the Mexican government itself, no existing sanctuaries for exotic animals in the country. There are only PIMVS institutes or privately owned collections.
This is one reason that Mexico desperately needs to update, refurbish, and create laws that will clearly define the difference between a zoo, a private collection, and a sanctuary. Serio adamantly (as evidenced by recent legal attacks) defends BJWT as a “sanctuary” insisting that he’s met all the requirements outlined in order for it to be so. The problem is, he’s leaving out the fact that Mexico doesn’t actually have guidelines for sanctuaries for him to meet. They only have guidelines for zoos and private collections. And we don’t doubt that BJWT meets all the standards required of it by Mexican law in order to retain it’s operating permit as a PIMVS. That doesn’t mean it qualifies as a sanctuary as defined by GFAS.
On BJWT’s own FAQ page:
Nowhere does it say “YES we are are registered sanctuary” because they ARE NOT a registered sanctuary, they are a registered zoo.
But back to the cubs and to the trillion dollar question: Where do all of these babies come from?
We know that at least several in “Shakira’s Pride” actually came from a zoo bought and owned by one of Serio’s friends, because Serio himself has said it on social media sites. That’s after he spun a tale about how he “didn’t have space to save the moms from the zoo, so he took the cubs to save them” leading the public to believe that it was a case of saving the animals from imminent death. Then he later admitted that his friend had bought the zoo, and all of its animals, which means that there was no need to remove those cubs from their mothers.
But moving on. That only accounts for a few of the new cubs, and the others remain a mystery, just like most of the cubs BJWT hosts. He says that the Mexican government confiscates them and gives them to BJWT, so it’s likely that some come from the government. We know that Mexico’s current system is grossly overburdened with animals, and there’s nowhere to put ones that are seized, so BJWT being the biggest name around, it’s perfectly likely they get the majority of cubs that are seized. And do at least some of them come from situations of abuse? More than likely, considering how many have arrived. But we also have videos wherein Serio admits that some of the cubs come from “private zoos” and “important people” who apparently own scads of big cats. It also bears pointing out that in the early days Serio referred to the cubs as “being adopted” but slowly began saying “rescued” later on.
The fact that Serio recently began claiming that he was saving cubs from the canned hunting industry struck those of us who keep tabs on such things as very odd, considering the low numbers of trophies exported from Mexico, so I decided to dig a little. What I discovered was an underbelly of the exotic animal trade unlike anything I’ve experienced so far. As we know from articles like this one that owning big cats is considered a grand pastime for drug lords and wealthy individuals with too much time on their hands. And the very government groups like PROFEPA whom Serio proudly posts photos of himself buddying up to
regularly turn a blind eye to all of this trafficking, so it makes one wonder how “valid” their regulation of groups like BJWT can be. But we know about this corruption, it’s documented regularly.
What I didn’t know, until very recently, is that the breeders who supply these sellers and private owners with animals often also run what amounts to Rent-A-Cub programs. For a one time fee, someone can “adopt” a cub, and take it home. Once the cub gets too big to handle, or starts causing problems, they can then bring the cubs back to the breeder, and return them in exchange for much younger and smaller cubs, and start all over again. Really, it’s the perfect scheme. You get all the cuteness, and none of the issues.
Now, Eddieites will vehemently defend BJWT and Serio, insisting that all of his “Angels” are still at BJWT, but we have very little proof of that, at least by way of social media. The cats might all be there in cages, or maybe they’re not. We see cubs, and then we don’t see them until they’ve grown considerably, so it’s often impossible to recognize them even if they’re shown again later. We just don’t know. We do know, however, that to start with, Serio always referred to cubs as having “been adopted” from people, often people his own cousin had contact with.
The same cousin who seemed to be the one selling the first cat Serio ever “adopted”.
Of course, the story of Cielo has changed numerous times, each evolution making Serio’s procurement of her more and more heroic. This is one of the many issues with the lack of transparency associated with BJWT. In addition to the fact that the origins of the cubs is never properly and objectively documented, we have their use by Serio as a constant draw for support. Despite his own haughty (and often childishly tantrum-like) attacks on those who claim that he exploits his animals for the purpose of making money, he continues to put the animals front and center and use their likeness to sell BJWT merchandise.
Eddieites angrily defend Serio’s use of his cats for “advertising” claiming that BJWT needs funds in order to survive. Some even point out the need to fundraise so that “Stage 3” can be built. Never mind that Serio has been claiming that “Stage 3” is going to be completed “in a year” for the last three years.
Apparently, no Eddieites have ever been taught how to use a calculator, and think independently.
Here’s a little breakdown of things that BJWT followers clearly haven’t considered. Everything is in USD, as that’s how prices are listed on Boycott Circus.
Two weeks ago, BJWT posted new ball caps on their Instagram page (they were pretty fly, we admit) There are seven styles. Within two hours, at least one style was completely sold out. Now, we don’t know precisely how many hats BJWT had in stock, but let’s presume they started with 1,000. After all, they’ve got over 5 million followers on Instagram, it’s safe to think they’d stock new products in increments of at least 1,000 for something that only comes in one size like a hat.
The hats sell for $33.00-$36.00. So going with the less expensive hat, and presuming they had at least 1k to start, BJWT made $33,000 dollars free and clear in just two hours.
But paying for all of the “Angels” is expensive! Supporters say.
Okay, that’s true.
If just 50,000 supporters (out of 5.4 million) donate $100 dollars over the course of 1 year, BJWT makes $5,000,000.00
If just 10,000 (out of 5.4 million) supporters buy 1 $68.00 sweatshirt, BJWT makes $680,000.00
If just 100,000 out of 5.4 million) buy 1 $25.00 T-shirt, BJWT makes $2,500,000.00
If every Instagram follower buys just 1 T-shirt over the course of 1 year, BJWT makes $135,000,000.00
Ignoring that last number, and just going off the others, we’re up to $8,213,000.00 in one year.
Basic food, medical, maintenance costs for one big cat averages about $8,000 a year. Multiply that by 220, and you’re looking at $1,760,000.00 (and that’s paying for the food, while Serio has posted on Instagram boasting about how he gets the best deals from the biggest meat processors in Mexico) which is, admittedly, a lot of money.
But out of our theoretical merchandise money we’ve still got $6,453,000.00 leftover.
Then there’s staff and expenditures, etc. The fact that they’re building Stage 2B, 3B, etc. or what have you. But if, donations are coming in, it shouldn’t be a problem. Again, we don’t know because there’s no running tab posted anywhere.
Remember, I’m just throwing numbers around. I’m saying that it’s possible to make this much on merchandise and donations. I mean, come on, with 5.4 million followers, you just need them to donate $1.00 a year in order to make $5.4 million dollars. What I’ve listed here is just one possible donation, and just THREE products out of the available 69 products on BJWT’s swag site, which is devoted solely to selling products for them. And 100% of the proceeds rendered from sales on Boycott Circus go to BJWT.
And none of this includes any funding BJWT might receive from the government for taking animals if he has, as he’s said he has. It doesn’t include any donations, aside from the one reference.
And those donations do occur far more often that Eddieites seem to think. For example, last year, Hublot held a benefit brunch for BJWT that cost people between $500.00 and $1000.000 just to walk in the door.
BJWT made $200,000.00 during the event.
Then Ronda Rousey, whom Serio still talks about, made $23,000.00 for them by auctioning off items online.
With Eddie just posing with a new $4,000.00 “gift” from Hublot founder a few weeks ago, it’s safe to assume that the majority of the companies who donate to BJWT do so more than once. You can’t post photos of all of these supporters, and not have people expect them to be, well, supporting you. But without any financial transparency, the public has no way of knowing where any of that money goes. Eddieites presume–and insist–that it goes to the cats, and a portion of it surely does. But where does the rest go?
We don’t know. Not entirely.
But at least some of the funds raised by BJWT’s considerable efforts at selling merchandise and kickbacks from all the social media advertising (remember, people get paid for social media, too) seem to go to some pretty strange places. Like animal cloning companies who work with Korean firms to clone dead pets.
PerPETuate’s founder, Ron Gillespie says that cloning will be the future of “building” the perfect animal, and that instead of accepting the death of an animal as part of the cycle of life, he can “offer hope” to people by using science to “bring these animals back”. It does put Serio’s mantra of “Karmis Forever” into a whole new light. Never mind the fact that in this blurb, Karma is described as a pure African lion, and this version of Cielo’s story has Serio saving her from certain death after her mother perished in childbirth, none of which has ever been mentioned elsewhere.
But back to the mind boggling issue of BJWT having stored Karma’s DNA for cloning. The cloning process is not cheap. Cloning averages around $100,000.00. And that’s after the preliminary costs of having the DNA stored and cultured, and the annual costs of keeping it banked. It should also be noted that on the website, it says that the best time to harvest cells for banking is while the animal is alive and healthy, as harvesting after death would allow for cell deterioration. So that suggests that at least a little planning went into this.
Now, we have no way of knowing how any of this cockamamie stuff was paid for, because Serio has never mentioned the fact that he ever did it at all. For a guy who takes his Facebook live feeds to the bathroom with him when he has to pee, it seems a little shocking that he’d choose not to let his adoring fans know that “Hey, Karmis Forever is legit literal, we can bring her back whenever we want to.”
But in complete and utter fairness, maybe Serio paid for all of this out of pocket just because he loved Karma. I mean, he is pretty fast to say that he’s got “unlimited money” with which to sue people, and he claims to pay for most of the foundation himself, despite all of those merch sales and donations from supporters. It’s totally possible. Stranger things have happened, I mean. Okay, saving DNA to clone an inbred lion you “rescued” from a crappy breeder is pretty strange. But Serio could have paid for it without using BJWT donations, is all I’m saying.
And frankly, here’s something incredibly important to note, which I’m sure will go entirely unregistered by Eddieites, in favor of hating us for the article in general, but which I’m going to say anyhow.
WE DON’T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH BJWT MAKING MILLIONS A YEAR.
What we have a problem with, is a nonprofit 501(c)3 bringing in large amounts of undocumented donations and income, when by United States 501(c)3 regulations, nonprofits must document and make public EVERY donation they receive, as well as where that money is spent (not just photos of something with the word “fiscal” in it, but no breakdown of money coming in and going out) Now, BJWT’s 501(c)3 document (so angrily posted by Serio on social media) is dated January 18th of 2016, so a full year hasn’t passed yet, and I’m not clear on precisely when they need to post their financials. Different companies end and begin their fiscal year at different times. It’s possible that BJWT is not required to post their financials until the end of this year. Which is fine, as long as they’re complying with the law.
However, Serio very publicly attacked and led a campaign against a conservation writer (whose name I will not post here because she has no personal stake in this article) who stated in a January 2nd 2016 article that BJWT was not a registered 501(c)3 company. Serio called this writer a liar, stated that he would sue her, and through various threats eventually forced her to remove the article in question.
But here’s the thing, the article stating that BJWT was not a 501(c)3 company predates the officiation of BJWT as a 501(c)3 by more than two months.
So the writer was correct, and BJWT was not a 501k company at the time of the article’s publication. The 501(c)3 document posted after the fact by Serio is dated as having been received for consideration on January 18, 2016, two weeks after the article was published. And it took another two months for BJWT to officially receive 501(c)3 status. On their website, BJWT claims to be a 501(c)3 since January 11th, 2016, which doesn’t coincide with stamp clearly visible on the documents posted on Instagram. However, even being lenient, and going with the 11th as the official recognition of their status, it still means that at the time that the article in question was published, BJWT was not yet a recognized 501(c)3 company. And furthermore, the author couldn’t have possible known that BJWT was even in the process of attaining a 501(c)3 status.
Companies change and evolve. That’s fine. What’s true about a foundation one month, might not be true the next month. But the fact that BJWT is now a 501(c)3 company does not make it acceptable for Serio to have threatened and publicly attacked someone who correctly stated that BJWT was not yet a 501(c)3 company at the time that she wrote an article about them.
Serio’s hyper aggressive actions toward anyone who questions him raise serious questions about his honesty in regard to the running of the foundation. He uses his followers as an army of rage, unleashing them on anyone who questions BJWT, and often using violent outbursts and threats as a distraction to allow him leeway and time in which to alter either BJWT’s website (so he can later claim people are lying about BJWT, as was the case when BJWT had personal visits listed in exchange for monetary donations) or change the way in which something is referred to. He also has a history of lying about what’s been said about BJWT, misquoting whomever it was that said, or suggested, something he didn’t approve of, and instead of gathering information independently, Eddieites simply repeat whatever Serio says, and then proceed with attacking whomever has questioned him. It’s all a carefully orchestrated system of misinformation.
Which leaves all of us wondering where the cubs come from, where the money goes, and if we’ll ever get an answer that’s not shrouded in hateful vitriol, rageful threats and condemnation for having asked questions in the first place.
* Addendum. 5 hours after this article was published, Serio has revealed “Box 6” which holds yet another tiny lion cub.
I.C.A.R.U.S Inc. 
Good God! This man has so many people duped! This is shameful.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for this excellent article. I’ve shared it on Big Cat Rescue’s Facebook page and expect that I will spend the rest of the day dealing with his misguided minions.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Or Eddie himself will threaten to sue you for just sharing it lol. People are starting to she him what what he really is, a liar.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What can be done to stop this insanity? Obviously, this man has fooled the uninformed .
LikeLiked by 1 person
The war of “If I can’t do it, no one else should” continues… The only difference between a “real” sanctuary according to this writing is the physical contact between the big cats and humans. It doesn’t change the fact that those animals will never be released, they are going to live the rest of their lives in their cages/enclosures.
The rest of the article are only speculations and made up numbers. What do you care how much money do they make? Do you think a “real” sanctuary doesn’t need money to feed the animals? To pay the bills of the facility? To pay the employees? Medical bills? etc?
LikeLike
Hello Markosz,
1) Incorrect. We COULD do exactly what Serio does. ANYONE could. All you need to do is buy big cats and play with them. Nothing special. WE DON’T WANT TO DO WHAT SERIO DOES.
2) You obviously have not even cracked open GFAS sanctuary standards, because “no contact” is a drop in the bucket of how differently BJWT and a GFAS accredited sanctuary is run.
3) These numbers are not “made up”. These are basics calculations made by using numbers that BJWT itself has provided. Followers and prices of merchandise. The only speculation is how many hats they had in stock. The rest of the numbers are factual. If they sold that many, they would make that much. Period.
4) As I stated, in bold, Capitol letters, and underlined, (and which has been ignored, just as I said it would be) we don’t care how much BJWT makes, only about the fact that Serio screams about being a sanctuary, and a 501(c)3 yet does not post his expenditures and donations like other 501(c)3 sanctuaries.
5) All of your questions highlight the fact that no one knows any of the answers and as a nonprofit registered in America, BJWT is required by law to answer all of them, in detail, or risk losing its 501(c)3 status. We didn’t make those rules, the IRS did. And sanctuaries which are both registered as 501(c)3 companies AND GFAS accredited sanctuaries DO publicly list the answers to these questions.
LikeLike
Why was he given 501c status? Without knowing where the cubs come from or where they all end up after reaching adulthood, they should not be sanctioned as a sanctuary by U.S. government. They should be shut down.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is a very good question, Judy. We aren’t the IRS, of course, and we aren’t privy to whatever paperwork was submitted to them in order to obtain the 501(c)3 status.
We do know, however, that it’s not terribly difficult to obtain a 501(c)3 status, and that an entertainment law firm located in the US negotiated the submission for BJWT. As Serio often reminds followers by calling people like Paris Hilton “former neighbors” he started out in CA, among the “famous just for being rich” crowd, and likely uses any remaining contacts in order to help himself. You can read more about the 501(c)3 scandal/attack, here.
LikeLike
Thank you for this informed article. I didn’t realize how corrupt Serio & BJWT were. Such a shame that people have to take something good, which credited sanctuaries are & act as if they are to hide the truth about the fact that they are exploiting these animals just to make money. Clearly! Also Serio shouldn’t act out so childishly if what he is doing is right. He knows the truth and I hope soon these celebrities & followers will learn the truth for themselves. After all, its about the animals and clearly Serio is about just making money. All these zoos and horrible circuses, roadside places, fake sanctuaries are starting to show their true colors and we are noticing! Governments need to start taking actions please! Investigate matters.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You can help by commenting during the open comment phase. https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2016/06/24/2016-14976/petition-to-amend-animal-welfare-act-regulations-to-prohibit-public-contact-with-big-cats-bears-and
LikeLiked by 1 person
As far as I can tell, this is just a pyramid scheme for money, money, money! Exploiting these innocent creatures is sinful. What can be done to stop this???
LikeLike
You can help by commenting during the open comments phase. https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2016/06/24/2016-14976/petition-to-amend-animal-welfare-act-regulations-to-prohibit-public-contact-with-big-cats-bears-and
LikeLiked by 1 person
I used to follow him on Instagram and FB before I knew better. Then I actually found a real big cat sanctuary because he was constantly harassing them on FB about their financials and other things. When I asked him on Instagram to kindly show his financials, he blocked me. Now after following the real sanctuary and learning so much more about real big cat rescues, I realize what a sick egomaniac this guy is and how everything he is doing is wrong. Unfortunately, I think most of the general public just doesn’t realize it and that is very sad and unfortunate. Education is so important but most people just don’t want to hear or admit the truth. The fact that he has all these celebrities behind him doesn’t help matters.
LikeLike
Hello Micki,
We also find it interesting that he harasses other, accredited sanctuaries, accusing them of profiting off of their animals when he, himself, refuses to clearly post his own financial statements. He will often pitch a fit and post something with the word “fiscal” or other financial reference, but not actually a listing of money-in-money-out, just as he recently flashed a handwritten document which said something like “money paid” zero, and stated that it was indelible proof that he never “buys” his cats, and never pays money for them, despite that he’s clearly stated on different social media accounts that he’s actually bought cats from breeders in hopes of “buying them out of business”.
And we also agree about the tragic misinformation and ignorance which causes celebrities to back BJWT despite that they do not actually contribute to conservation in any meaningful way. We suspect that it’s combination of genuine ignorance, and fear of speaking out against a group that so many celebrities have already supported. Hollywood can be brutal on anyone who chooses to stand against the status quo, and with Serio flaunting well known celebs as “former neighbors” there’s a very real possibility that he still has influence within Hollywood circles. Enough to cause celebrities to think twice about publicly criticizing him, anyway.
It’s very telling, however, that despite having a laundry list of “famous people” who love him, Serio and BJWT have no established conservation groups supporting them. No reputable conservation foundation or accredited sanctuary would back a group that publicly supports the sort of exploitive activities that BJWT regularly engage in.
LikeLike
He is known it for t b ed money. He is not a sanctuary. Is there a way to shut him down. What can we do as animals (big cats)advocates?
We need to ban together to get t h email world to see what is REALLY going on
LikeLike
One way you can help is to comment on during the open comment time. https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2016/06/24/2016-14976/petition-to-amend-animal-welfare-act-regulations-to-prohibit-public-contact-with-big-cats-bears-and
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s so obvious — this scammer is the Donald Trump of big cat sanctuaries!!
LikeLike
I use to like his work alot. Ofcourse not knowing all of this behind the scenes scam going on. Once I saw this video of his with a tiger cub swimming in a small pond and all I said out of real concern was: ” you should expand the pool since tiger is growing and needs more water”. He got so upset. His reply was: “opinions are like assholes everyone has one. Mind your own business”. He used more demeaning terms I donot remember, then he blocked me.
I was so upset since I loved his page. Anyways fast forward to two years I checked his fb page and he STILL has same size cubs. All his ‘pets’ are still super young. This is very surprising, since the cubs I use to watch should now be fully grown.
Now following big cat rescue for a year, I realize his work is nowhere close to saving any kind of animals.
LikeLike
Eddie, BJWT and its followers are doing nothing to help animals in need. They’re not trying to push for stronger, better laws. Where are Cielo’s claws?
http://bigcatawareness.tumblr.com/post/142842942465/possible-declaw-timeline-of-cielo
LikeLiked by 1 person
One of the ways everyone can help close places like this down here in the States is to comment during the open comment phase. https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2016/06/24/2016-14976/petition-to-amend-animal-welfare-act-regulations-to-prohibit-public-contact-with-big-cats-bears-and
LikeLike
I love that you all ask for donations too! Ironic. Also, please, please go to a professional writing school or get some education. I could barely ready more than a few sentences. You sound jealous or on a revenge rampage. Finally, As a former zoo keeper, you have a lot to learn
LikeLiked by 2 people
Jason,
Let me use what little education I have to straighten a few things out.
“I love that your foundation also asks for donations, which is something I find ironic. In addition, I strongly suggest you consider attending a professional academic institute where you will be able to attain some higher eduction with a focus on grammar and writing skills. I could barely read more than a few sentences of your article. You sound jealous, or as if you are embarking on a revenge rampage. Finally, as a former zoo keeper, I feel that you sill have a great deal to learn about captive big cats”
There, fixed the sentence fragments, and grammatical errors for you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great reply! 😆
LikeLike
I think you are clueless what is happening in Mexico, so I will enlighten you. My neighbor’s brother was kidnapped in Mexico City because he was a wealthy banker and killed by his kidnappers even when the random was paid. This was a few short years ago. I live in Southern California and my family would take trips to Mexico, and even camp there. I would never do that now. Cartels are active and show little mercy when killing. There are been mass graves of whole small towns found. The children do not have the luxury of a free education. I had a co-worker that supported his family, after school literally working full time. The the living conditions in some places are primitive and they still use horses and mules for transport and do not enjoy indoor plumbing, electricity, or the many things we take for granted.
You are actually saying the Mexican government should concentrate on shutting down a sanctuary that employees native people, takes excellent care of their cat’s because you do not believe in cub petting they allow, breeding, and he maybe making money? So What! Good for them! Those cat’s are not being abused or neglected, and so what business is it of yours anyway. I think, as well as many Animal Right organizations should mind your own dam business. God forbid someone besides PETA, HSUS, ALDF, and BCR making money. All of them use propaganda to get donations.
Take Keisha who was confiscated from his owner in Ohio for noncompliance on not being able to meet the unrealistic standards AR group’s helped impose. When leaving the holding facility from he’ll, (The same one that killed Leo the Lion.) she was given a excellent bill of health, and also from the owner’s vet. Before you dispute this I am Facebook friends with him and several group’s, so I have seen the paperwork. Keisha was rehomed at Big Cat Rescue in which they lied, basically accusing the owner of abusing her. Which is not true. The tiger had a altercation with the other tigers one time. The founder claimed Keisha could not walk and had many health issues. She raised 100,000 dollars for her care after pimping her on her Facebook page, and then her son in law killed him. Funny the other tigers are doing great! There was nothing wrong with her and no reason to kill her. So before you poop all over other sanctuaries maybe you should truly research where they priorities are.
Mexican government should be concentrating on riding itself of the Cartel, improving the living conditions of their people, public safety, health care, and more humanity efforts. I do not think animal rights should be their major concern.
FYI, you sound bitter, and all the math is way to annoying. I hope he continues to profit. This helps the local economy, and helps some not live in such poor living conditions. If rich people want to pet a cub, rock on. I am in total awe of AR selfishness and lack of knowledge of the poor conditions of a country; Not to mention thinking a third world country should do something about a facility that obviously takes excellent care of their animals. Considering the many suspicious deaths at BCR, that is the hellhole you should be trying to shut down.
LikeLike
Hello Bengalluvs,
We are in no way clueless of the current state of Mexico, we are quite aware of how bad things have gotten, including the recent trouble in Oaxaca. And we are not saying that the Mexican government should focus on shutting down “a sanctuary” because there are no sanctuaries in Mexico. There are zoos and private collections, as we’ve pointed out. Therefore the suggestion would be to shut down BJWT, a public entertainment zoo. However, we haven’t even suggested that. What we would like to see from the Mexican government is some genuine oversight, instead of posing for photos with those that they’re supposed to be objectively monitoring, and more than an handful of officers to cover multiple districts. We’d also like to see sanctuary standards such as those maintained by the GFAS put into law.
You apparently missed the section in this article (and in other ones) where we’ve stated repeatedly that we don’t mind BJWT making money. We don’t mind anyone making money. As long as they make it without exploiting the animals in their care. Serio very much enjoys accusing BCR of making millions, while he, himself, claims to make nothing, yet BCR does not engage in cub petting like Serio does. So obviously, it’s possible to make money without exploiting the animals. And no amount of hash tagging can negate the fact that Serio does what every person who’s every bought a big cat as a pet does. Play with them like pets. And he does it for profit, using the videos to make money for BJWT.
As we are not associated with BCR (despite accusations of such) we aren’t privy to Keisha’s full story. It’s our understanding, however, that she arrived at BCR missing most of her tail due to that “one time” alteration with other tigers, and that her brother arrived some 200 lbs underweight. So you might be friends with the people who gave her a clean bill of health, but I’d question their judgment.
In all the length of your comment, you overlooked the numerous missing animals and dead cubs (nearly all of which have died without explanation) at BJWT, as well as the issue of Serio lying about virtually every aspect of his foundation. He does not take “excellent” care of his cats, as evidenced by the unexplained deaths and illnesses. Karma is a prime example. When she fell ill, Serio himself suggested that she might have “eaten a toy” and later, he announced that she’d consumed wood, and it had destroyed a portion of her intestines. Just days ago, however, during a live feed, Serio declared that he had no idea what people thought Karma had eaten wood, and that there was no damage to her intestines, that “no one knew why she died”. People associate Karma’s death with having eaten wood because that’s what Serio told everyone on his social media accounts. Furthermore, our contacts in Mexico tell us that locals are terrified of Serio and his temper, and even those who have moved to other countries fear for what he might do to there remaining relatives in Mexico, should they speak out against him or his foundation. So while he might employ local families, I’d say the job comes with a few strings attached.
The very fact that you have no problem with cub petting, or “rich people” paying to pet cubs suggests that we will never see eye to eye on this matter. Our goal is to stop private breeders from breeding and selling cubs for cub petting and private pet ownership, something that Serio glorifies and endorses, even admitting to buying from breeders in hopes of “buying them out” something which isn’t possible for obvious reasons.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for this article and your continued investigation of this “foundation”/”sanctuary”. I only came across it relatively recently, and have begun googling, because I (naturally) wanted to find out more about this magical place of baby tigers and friendly lions.
I don’t own any pets, so the whole “Baby/Angel/loveylovey” language creeps me out and all the kissing and licking seems so skeevy to me. But that’s just personal thing…
Anyway, I also wondered where he gets all these cubs. They can’t all be rescues – where would they all come from (admittedly I don’t know anything about circus animals or petting zoos – how many are out there? And who would be willing to get rid of cubs?)
Something I have to disagree on is the human contact and the prides. If these animals aren’t going to be reintroduced into the wild (I’ve read that even those that are have very low success rates), what is the harm of human contact?
I know some people will argue that it’s dangerous – fine- but most people are aware that a big cat can maul and kill you. So all I can say is, if you’re doing it, the risk is on you. And it doesn’t seem like Edwardo has an issue with this. I’m sure whoever goes there signs an form that they are aware of the risks.
I’ve seen many people argue that someone could get hurt, or “hoping” that a lion is going to eat a Kardashian for “being stupid”, etc. But these types of people ping my thickly-veiled-jealousy radar. (Not you Project Icarus, but others I’ve seen commenting.)
Back to human (and animal) contact – if these cats are happy and cared for, does it matter if they cuddle with humans, or dogs, or other big cats?
I would argue that their wellbeing is the only thing that matters.
Are these conditions unnatural to them in the wild? Yes. But computers, electricity, and isolation is unnatural to humans in the wild too, and yet we’ve adapted. We look at cats hanging out with rabbits and ducks and we “awwww” so why can’t a tiger and a leopard socialise? Again, as long as their physical and mental wellbeing comes first.
Should his facility be investigated and the animals examined in order to ascertain that they are in good health? Absolutely.
However, it seems like he has some contacts not only in government but perhaps also with cartels, which basically makes him untouchable.
The Instagram/Internet army doesn’t surprise me in the slighted, as the internet has led us down a dark rabbit hole of humanity grouping up and attacking outsiders. It can be observed with nearly every celebrity online following.
With regards to the money, I would steer clear of guestimating, as we don’t really know what his exact facilities are, and how much the maintenance costs. But I do agree that there should be accountability and transparency.
I do side-eye celebrities visiting that place and not one of them seems to have commented on the wellbeing of the animals, or the state of the facilities, and I’m wondering if they would have, had they seen something dodgy?
Also, if he rescues so many animals, why are all his cubs healthy-looking? We never actually see him nursing an animal back to health.
LikeLike
Ah, forgot to add, I saw a video of him with a leopard who got spooked “by his bag falling as he hasn’t unpacked”, but he’s sitting in front of a wall posing for pictures with the animal, while clicks and flashes go off in the background… scared by his bag falling my ass – that poor leopard was frightened by the gaggle of photographers.
LikeLike
Yes, this video features the celebrity photographer and his entourage of staff which are supposedly working with Serio on some sort of “secret project” involving the BJWT cats. If you go to the photographer’s own Instagram page, you’ll see at least one photo that shows half a dozen photographers, holding tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment, all focused on highlighting Serio and his cats. Gavin Bond is someone renown amongst celebrities for making them look fabulous. He’s one of the most sought after celeb photographers out there, so famous that he doesn’t even handle his own business affairs, but rather, retains an agency to handle them for him. And yet, some how, BJWT is either retaining his services (no, they aren’t being donated, not with an entire entourage of assistants, and all that equipment) or he’s contracted with BJWT to receive a portion of the sales of whatever this “secret project” results in. Either way, it’s just one more example of animal exploitation.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hello Noname,
Yes, the licking/kissing/anthropomorphizing in general disturbs us as well. Just recently Serio posted a video of himself inserting baby Catalina’s entire face into his mouth and blowing into her lungs. Not only is this a prime way to spread zoonotic diseases to himself, and human diseases to Catalina, but it’s also a very easy way to actually damage the baby jag’s airway and lungs. CPR (which is basically what he was doing) on infant humans and animals is something that can kill just as easily as it can save. It’s literally possible to burst the lungs of an infant by forcing too great a volume of air into their tiny lungs. Now, obviously, Serio wasn’t acting with the intent to resuscitate Catalina, but he was doing something that is on no level even remotely appropriate under any circumstances, much less in the arena of “animal expert” on a social media platform.
As to where the cubs come from, that is a very good question, one which most BJWT fans don’t bother asking, or which they answer by parroting whatever Serio claims, even when those claims don’t add up. For example, Serio has actually admitted that a number of the cubs (now slightly older) he’s currently parading around were taken from their mothers in order to “rescue” them from a zoo situation. Serio claimed that he “didn’t have room to save the moms”. After his fans took up a relentless quest to “save” these mothers as well, Serio finally admitted that one of his good friends bought the entire zoo, lock stock and barrel, all animals included. This means that those cubs were in no danger at all, and there was no reason to remove them from their mothers. Despite this blatant admission to having pointlessly removed cubs from their functioning mothers (and, I might add, one of those cubs died so quickly, it hardly had a name) in order to raise them by hand and use them for publicity, Serio’s fans have already just smoothed it over. These cubs are simply referred to as “zoo rescues” even though that zoo was not a situation they needed to be rescued from. Similarly, the “stargazing” cub (whose name I haven’t heard, though followers have been screeching that it’s named and seen in live feeds all the time) was first reported as having been “dumped” by an uncaring owner at Stage 2 (something which doesn’t make sense, as former guests have told us that every part of BJWT is guarded by armed guards) and within 24 hrs, Serio changed the story to one of heroism, stating that a “good friend” rescued the stargazing cub from an abusive owner and brought it to BJWT for care. Now, this isn’t a simple oopsie in the retelling of a story. Either the cub was rescued from abuse, or it was dumped by the owner. You can’t have it both ways. No, the only thing that is certain about Serio’s cubs, is that out of some 250 animals BJWT has (he claims) “rescued” all but the 13 government-listed circus animals arrived at BJWT as either cubs, or sub adults, which Serio then molded to fit his profile as hand-raised, starlets to be used in social media advertising.
Which brings us to your disagreement over the human contact. I.C.A.R.U.S. as I’m sure you’ll know if you’ve read our articles is strictly hands-off conservation. You are correct about the reportedly low success rate of big cat reintroduction. However, this is something that is currently evolving (our own team is working with and participating with field studies on reintroduction of apex predators) and it’s vital to know that 1) Protocols do exist for the proper rehabilitation and reintroduction of big cats. 2) When followed, these protocols do allow for a high success rate in individual situations. 3) The overall “low” success rate of big cat reintroduction is linked primarily to the fact that the aforementioned protocols are not followed and, instead, shortcuts are taken. And 4) Animals kept like Serio keeps his animals will never be able to be reintroduced because he’s actively chosen to make it impossible by handling them and keeping them in his home. And it bears stating that Serio has only just in past months revealed a baby supposedly the daughter of his Buttercup, which he’s admitted to breeding (fans still erroneously state that there is no breeding at BJWT) in order to “repopulate the wild”. Instead of raising the resulting cub specifically in order to release it, however, Serio revealed it in a live feed and is playing with is, raising it in his home, etc. which means that cat can never be released. It’s all talk, no action. Serio has “rescued” a number of babies which might, under the strict established protocols for big cat rehab and released, have been reintroduced into the wild, but he chose to not follow those protocols, and thus chose to keep these animals as pets.
Your “what harm does it cause” question brings to light one of the most basic factors in our fight against pseudo conservation. The “harm” caused, is the fact that thanks to Serio and BJWT, nearly 6 million followers and fans no longer see anything wrong with having tigers, lions, jaguars, ocelots, and every other sort of wild big cat, running around people’s houses, playing in their backyards, sharing their showers with them, and being kept and maintained as pets in general. The “harm” is in the fact that Serio regularly hosts celebrity guests holding and playing with his animals, he posts videos of himself, playing with his animals, and promotes the idea that it’s okay to keep these animals in captivity, as pets. Remember, Serio could have, in theory, at the least, attempted rehab and release on a number of his animals, he just chose not to. And despite the repeated and erroneous assertions by his followers that BJWT animals “come from circuses” according to the Mexican government, only 13 animals at BJWT came from circuses. I should also mention, that of the other animals the government has placed with BJWT, a number of them have then been removed by the government after questions were raised about their health. So you see, the idea that Serio handling his animals, and allowing to guests to handle his animals is not harmful, is a bit short sighted. Never mind the fact that you seem to forget that *should* anything happen, the governing agencies will not view the animals with the same risk assessment that you put forth. Historically, and virtually without fail (the Roy tiger incident is the only one I can think of that differs) when an exotic pet kills or maims it’s owner, or a guest of that owner, the animal is immediately, destroyed. So, for example, if someone went in with a group of Serio’s animals, and ended up dead, unless there was video evidence of a specific animal carrying out the attack, it’s very likely that every animal in that group will subsequently be euthanized.
A note about the forced prides, as well, those “prides” that Serio forces his animals into are contrived, and unnatural more for the fact that he’s forcing solitary animals which would not normally every form into social groups into them. A good example of this is Kal-El who fights with whomever Serio puts with him. Jaguars do not form social bonds. Serio jokes about Kal-El being hateful, but the jag is just being a jaguar. It’s Serio who is being an asshole, continually attempting to force the animal to have friends, and using that process as a form of entertainment for his followers. One wonders how many animals have been harmed off camera through disputes because solitary animals like jags and tigers are being forced to live with social animals like lions, when the two literally cannot understand each other on a social level.
As for the “guestimating” money, the issue is that there is no transparency, which is what necessitates questioning the funds. This is a million dollar business Serio is running. BJWT owns it’s own merchandising company (Boycott Circus is, in actuality, owned by BJWT itself) and Serio is sponsored by Hublot, among other companies, and “powered by SUMEX” as stated in their headliner, and Serio has a highly sought after celebrity photography crew at his beck and call-one which normally would garner tens of thousands of dollars just to show up. This is all in addition to any government funding Serio might receive, or the thousands in monthly donations he receives from followers sponsoring specific cats. The public should be questioning BJWT profits and expenditures. Remember, they are registered in the US as a nonprofit, and nonprofits are required by law to publicly post detailed financials, something BJWT has not done, despite having been registered for the better part of a year. You must also keep in mind that up until one of our earlier articles pointed this “pay to play” scheme out, BJWT actually had petting the cubs listed on their website as a reward for anyone who donated $1,000 or more a month to the foundation. Only after we pointed out this blatant exploitation in a public article, did Serio removed that “reward” from the donation page.
In regard to the “nursing animals back to health” we’ll never know what animals were actually sick, or might have recovered because Serio does not accurately document any health issues on his social media platforms. His own lack of medical knowledge is painfully obvious with his “updates” and continuously changing stories. Achilles is a prime example. The tiger was videoed crying out in agony, unable to even move when he arrived. Serio claimed he had a laundry list of broken bones, illnesses, permanent, issues, then turned around and stated that with “Blue Energy” he was going to heal the cat himself. When we mentioned in an article that an animal that damaged and ill might be better off being humanely euthanized, rather than used for publicity, Serio had a public temper tantrum, quite literally lying to his fans and stating that we “criticized him for not murdering Achilles” and that we “accused him of exploiting Achilles for himself”. Then, within just weeks, Serio had supposedly “cured” the tiger of all ailments-including a spinal injury-and he was gloating about his success, even though it literally isn’t physically possible for an animal to heal from all of the issues Serio himself said that Achilles suffered from. So either the tiger never had the issues Serio said, and Serio lied about them, or Achilles is not much better (he still never actually managed to go up and down stairs on his own) and Serio has lied about that, but it can’t go both ways. Months later, Achilles merchandise is still one of the top sellers on Boycott Circus, and he has been featured multiple times a day on social media and has become literally the figurehead of BJWT’s “blue energy” movement. We rest our case, exploitation at it’s most extreme.
LikeLiked by 1 person
My initial reaction was shut BJWT down. But shutting this circus down won’t help the animals who will be euthanised or bought up by yet another megalomaniac. The idiots need education and unbought law makers to make them toe the line. Mmm Mexico is the perfect place to run a cartel like BJWT so it is going to be a hard war to win. As an avid animal lover I support you and send encouragement. Viva la animals!
LikeLike
Achilles was most likely a switch and bait…or a clone. Very deceitful marketing ploy as the hand of God reaches down with blue light….omg so many people cluelessly worship a megalomaniac it is really sad!
LikeLike
I have been following BJWT on Instagram for a while now. At first it was a novelty and considering Serio drowns all the animals in kisses and cuddles it at first seemed endearing. I came across this website because after following it for a while I too started to wonder where the animals were going- that the glimpses we have of the grounds they seem so small and claustrophobic for these kinds of animals. And as much as I have to admit I would love it to be natural and Godly for me to have an affectionate relationship with a big cat something is niggling within me telling me that this is just not how it is meant to be. They are supposed to be in the wild. Serio talks of these animals being his ‘kids’ and I think that language in itself is so concerning. He is very abusive of people on his social network and at first I thought good on you for sticking up for yourself but now I think ‘why would a wolf concern himself with the opinions of sheep’ people who have integrity and honour do not need to constantly attack anyone else.
I am from the UK and would love to know how we can build a context in which Serio is accountable and a part of an actual animal conserving process?
LikeLike
Hello, Amy
Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to comment. We’re glad that you were able to recognize some of the issues with BJWT, and Serio, and subsequently investigate on your own. So few people endeavor to do so and it’s one of the reasons he remains the internet star that he is. We’ve entered an age (mostly driven by the arena of social media) wherein to ask questions or raise concerns about a popular “feel good” story or person is to be perceived as someone who’s jealous, or envious, or just generally hateful. In the case of BJWT, Serio and his fans take it a bit farther, into what (as I’ve mentioned in articles) a sort of cult phenomenon, where any fan who asks questions is ostracized for losing faith in Eddie, or “becoming a hater”. One very good reason that the “wolf” would concern himself with the “opinions of sheep” in Serio’s case, is the fact that aside from having an incredibly controlling nature, Serio actually needs to pay attention to anyone questioning BJWT on his social media accounts, because very often, the questions and concerns raised are completely valid. And should they gain traction, it would threaten the empire of anti-information Serio has built.
For example, one of Serio’s most recognizable gimmicks, is “boycotting circuses” and “rescuing circus cats”. However, out of the some 240 cats that BJWT has supposedly “rescued” only 13 (according to the Mexican government) are former circus cats placed by the government with Serio. And of those 13 cats, an undisclosed number were subsequently removed by the government over concerns about the inadequate care they were receiving. This questionable care is even more evident with Serio’s recent Instagram postings wherein he shows “former circus tigers” which have been at BJWT for over a year, but are currently about 150 pounds underweight, and Serio states “need to gain a little weight”. The problem is these cats have been under BJWT’s for more than a year, so the only reason they could be underweight is because they aren’t receiving proper care and food. Serio even makes a point of stating that two of the tigers are “in perfect weight” even though in actuality, only the tiger in the background looks to be in ideal condition. Both in the foreground are underweight. The same can be said for Kymshe, who has lost well over 150 lbs since she had Nicole. It should be noted that Enzo a popular white tiger, is immense, and in prime weight, as is Kymshe’s daughter, Nicole, another favorite. In short, if Serio can handle the cats, and uses them in videos all the time, they animals look fabulous, and if he can’t touch them, and they’re only seen once in a while, they often seem to be in questionable condition, and have various excuses made for those deficits.
As for how we can build a context in which Serio is accountable, right now it’s an uphill battle due to several factors. These include the fact that the Mexican government has incredible poor regulations, and oversight. Serio uses his immense money (despite his claims of needing donations, Serio began this endeavor already a millionaire, and since then, he’s pulled in millions in donations, none of which has been disclosed to the public, as is required by US non profit laws) to influence everyone around him, just as he uses his influence on social media to entice people to support him. We can all start, though, by asking questions, and not allowing ourselves to be intimidated into remaining silent. Serio is incredibly aggressive to those questioning him, and regularly threatens violence and legal attack. No eyewitness who’s spoken to us, has been willing to publicly go on record out of fear of retribution from Serio. So it’s vital that we continue to ask questions, and continue to raise concerns. Serio will always claim that people “don’t know the truth because they aren’t at the facility” even while he refuses to allow anyone to visit without first donating money to him. He also carefully regulates the cell phones of visitors, controlling what they record, so as to maintain his secrets.
From a legal perspective, we are working on an international level to change laws, and standards. It’s important to note here, too, that Serio calls BJWT a “sanctuary” but BJWT is a registered zoo. But while we work on changing existing laws, and establishing new laws, the public needs to keep asking questions, and demanding answers.
LikeLike
Thank you for your article and your factual information. I agree with your points. I fell for his “saviour” promotion too, but after reading some comments of people , I decided to investigate in order to gain a different perspective and independent evaluation of this. My conclusion is that his “animal utopia” is very sinister, especially because you never see anything else about this place than the glamorous pictures … he s not animal expert for sure and it s true when you are saying that the animals who are healthy are the ones I can handle …who know what s going behind the scenes , the deaths, the uncomfortable situations for this animals…. he makes them live as pets at the end
Of the day, and the fact that tigers/jags are not gregarious as lions… just tells you how ignorant he is on the matter …… what a disaster this “sanctuary ” is , he is a cruel man
LikeLike
In ref. To my comment above , apologies because I noticed a few grammatical errors but I was writing in a rush and didn’t read the final results. Also English is not my native language. But I hope you got the meaning of it. Also thinking of it , I am not surprised he was a business man before because he created a carefully orchestrated business again …. maybe there are some good intentions I don’t know , but doing this, he is feeding his ego more than caring for ALL the animals properly …. to tell you the truth some alarm bells rang when I was watching his instagram feed….. his stroppy comments and also cubs as well as kittens need to feed on their belly not standing up , the declawing of Cielo , the fact that these cubs live in his bedroom and not in a recreated natural environment…… and all the things you pointed out and I missed before …. very shady …
LikeLike
Weird that he has to drive cats through the border through McCallen Tx and then fly them rather than fly cats directly to Mexico City. Cartel relationships, angry personalities, locals feeling threatened? This guy is something else. He partied in LA with all the coke heads and has not been the angel he’s put out to be. His ego will be his destruction and leaks will slowly arise. Truth be told, wouldn’t be surprised if there are trafficking operations going on with the disguise of the organization.
LikeLike
I have been following BJWT on instagram for a few months now. At first I enjoyed because on the surface it does seem like the people that work there love the animals and they look happy. However, he often publicly insults people. He posts photos of people that have different opinions than him and publicly calls them idiots and stupid. Looking at how social media has created all these groups that can only accept the opinion and views of their group and not from ”outsiders”, I got double feelings. They currently have 6.4 million followers, if you publicly insult people on your instagram with full pictures of their face and also tags to their ig accounts, you are irresponsible. Out of those millions of followers the chances are quite high that some of them will harrass the people he publicly calls out on his instagram.
In addition the people he insults are often renowned scientist that actually present evidence of the shady practices going on at BJWT, who are not acting out of hate but out of their knowledge and experience.
Also, I think its not good that he lets cubs walk around his house, he even shows his subs playing on his bed while there are mobile phones, laptops and chargers on the bed.
I also think the habitats of the animals look quite small. He also posts photos of night rooms where lions, tigers and jaguars are all together in small rooms to sleep. In addition, he knows that some animals do not like eachother (for example billy the lion and lovey dovey the lion), but he still confronts them with one another where only a fence or glass wall seperates them.
I do no know who is right, maybe BJWT has the right intention but are not doing it like it should be done. However, his hostile attitude towards people with other views worries me. If you are that convinced of yourself why don’t you argue with these people or involve them to improve the thing that you do?
LikeLike