Let me be very clear, THIS IS NOT AN ANIMAL SANCTUARY! Nothing about this place is a sanctuary for animals. It is a circus entirely for the amusement and pleasure of humans. I don't care how much the people 'caring' for these animals 'love' them, if they truly cared for the animals welfare they would relinquish them to actual sanctuary's where they could live out the rest of their lives in as much peace as possible for wild animals that have been raised by selfish humans.

The cages, and they are literal cages, are so small you can see every inch of them from all sides. The big cats and bears have little to no shelter from prying eyes or enrichment to keep them entertained. Bears and lions and tigers, some of the most majestic and wild animals, in cages smaller than the bottom floor of an average sized house. I wish I had taken pictures to show just how dismal these cages are but I couldn't bring myself to and honestly wanted to wipe the memory from my brain as soon as possible (it has not worked).

I had seen at the entrance that there was a 'show' about 30 mins after we arrived and I think in either a vain attempt to tell myself that I was wrong about how appalling what I was seeing was or maybe to fully convince myself that what I was seeing was real, we hesitantly sat down to watch the 'main event'. The 'show' starts with a video with claims that at Big Cat Habitat they are entirely about animal welfare (not to be confused with animal rights, because animal rights is crazy right?) and that they have 'rescued' former circus animals and provided them with a sanctuary free from that life and that when 'training' the animals they only ever use positive reinforcement... This is then followed by a literal circus show of a white tiger and a 'liger' doing 'tricks' and jumping through hoops, and 'performing' for a crowd. All the while a ring master stands in the middle of the ring holding a whip the entire time. Doesn't physically whip any of the animals (the tiniest of consolations) but also doesn't mention it at all or explain why he's got it or, most importantly, explain how a whip is used in positive reinforcement training 🤔 Then, to round it all off in a nice big tortuous bow, they cram a huge, beautiful, majestic white tiger into a glass box that is barely bigger than the tiger itself so that humans can go up and 'take a selfie with a tiger'.

I like a good zoo as much as the next person, I love all animals and any chance I can get to see them I jump at. I also fully believe that well maintained and properly set up zoos with animal welfare and conservation at the heart play an important role in educating humans of the impact we have on habitats and entire species', in the hopes that one day we'll stop causing complete extinctions. Places like this, however, do the exact opposite. They perpetuate the belief that human entertainment and pleasure is more important than the welfare of animals. Because being able to stand a foot away from the king of the jungle and poke a piece of meat on a stick in his face is more important than anything else, right?

Please please please do not get duped like I did by this scam. I was incredibly naive and all it would have taken was one quick Google that got past the quite frankly horrifying 'good' reviews to find out that this place is not a sanctuary. It is, at best, a circus show, but in reality is no more than a prison for tortured animals that deserve so much better. If you want to see these beautiful and majestic animals 'up close' watch a David Attenborough documentary.