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Rescue Center Wants Donated Deer to Feed Its Lions, Tigers, and Jaguars

The Exotic Feline Rescue Center in Center Point, Indiana, wants hunters’ deer. Home to about 200 rescued big cats, the…
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Rescue Center Wants Donated Deer to Feed Its Lions, Tigers, and Jaguars

The Exotic Feline Rescue Center in Center Point, Indiana, wants hunters’ deer. Home to about 200 rescued big cats, the center feeds 3,000 to 4,000 pounds of meat a day to its hungry residents. “They start feeding at 8:30 in the morning and they’re not done until anywhere between 4:00 and 6:00 at night,” center director Joe Taft told WTHI

. Taft says he would welcome any donations of “extra deer or big scraps” left over from processing.

The EFRC gets most of its meat donated by livestock farmers, but there’s expense and time involved in going out to pick up the meat. With the recent addition of ten new cats and the coming of cold weather, the center’s need for meat is increasing. Taft hopes donations from hunters can help make up any shortfall.

Founded in 1991, the EFRC takes big cats from circuses, zoos and private owners who can no longer take care of them. In some cases, they rescue abused cats. “When we get them back here, they’re hungry,” says Taft.