Category: true facts
On June 24, 2017 June 27, 2017 By projecticarus2015In animal welfare, Big Cat Public Safety Act, Black Jaguar White Tiger, Circus, conservation, Conservation Journalism, education, Hands Off Conservation, mexico, true facts13 Comments
*This article would have been published in the next few weeks. However, it is being published ahead of schedule and without being entirely complete due to the recent, savage, and completely FALSE public accusations made by Eduardo Serio of Black Jaguar White Tiger against a heroic young woman who sought to help us and others take a stand against Serio, his lies and his abuse.
Somewhere in Colombia, six lions live in dilapidated circus carriages, the bars eaten with rust, the floors partially rotting. Four lionesses exist cramped together in one, two males in the other. They languish, the distasteful reminder of a country that tried to take a step forward in conservation by banning animal acts in circuses, but failed to consider the lives of the animals they were supposedly protecting. When Colombia made it illegal to utilize animal acts in circuses, it did so without having any feasible way to care for the hundreds of animals suddenly made homeless by their own policies. There was, and remains, scant documentation on the precise number of animals owned by circuses before the ban, or the number of animals abandoned since the ban was set in place. And with the responsibility of these animals strung between environmental agencies, such as the CRA (Corporación Autónoma Regional del Atlántico) things are anything but simple.
Though the six lions are only nine years old–young for lions–at least one of the original seven animals has died during their three years of abandonment. All that keeps starvation at bay for the remaining six, is the devoted attention of a few people, who see to it that the lions have food and water. None of the six animals have left their cramped cages in almost four years. They have not touched grass in even longer. Their suffering is a result of Colombia's simple inability to provide sanctuary for captive exotic animals within their borders.
Though the country of Colombia has indicated it's desire to join in the growing worldwide conservation movement, the country's actions continue to show a stark failure to grasp the ethics required to join in such an endeavor. Quick "easy fixes" implemented by Colombia have only resulted in more suffering for the animals, as they were abandoned by owners who could no longer use them. There are no records of how many such animals died, either of starvation, or because their owners chose to kill them in order to comply with the new laws.
In the cases of abandonment, such as with these six lions, forsaken animals linger throughout the country, their fates irrevocably snared in a tangle of dysfunctional Colombian bureaucracy. Despite that Colombia supposedly wants to participate in conservation on an international level, no discernible effort has been made by the the government to secure placement for the hundreds of animals orphaned by their policies. Colombia isn't the only country in this position, either. As many other countries begin to crackdown on animal exploitation, the matter of where those animals are supposed to live out the rest of their lives has become the foremost obstacle in freeing captive exotic animals from abuse and exploitation. Even when established and knowledgeable conservation groups offer help in addressing the issue, governments often fail to properly utilize that offer of aid. This situation in Colombia is a prime example of that failure.
The plight of the six lions discussed in this article, was brought into the international, and public arena, not by the CRA, but by one of the most well known animal exploiters in the world: Eduardo Serio, the founder of Black Jaguar White Tiger Foundation.
Famous for his videos and social media posts showcasing tigers running around his mansion, and lions playing in his backyard Eduardo Serio has owned big cats–as pets–since 2013.
Celebrity guests (many of them holdovers from Serio's childhood days spent in Hollywood, attending parties for the elite) regularly visit Black Jaguar White Tiger, touting the facility while posing for photographs with Serio's latest batch of big cat cubs, many of which have been purportedly obtained from breeders with whom Serio has connections.
Kate Walsh comes to Blackjaguarwhitetiger Foundation to show her full support. Kate learns a lot of how the Foundation runs from Founder Eduardo Serio. Kate gets to spend time with 5 month old pumas, 4 month old lions, a 5 month old black jaguar, 250 pound year old lions, and gets to play with and feed lion cubs.
Pictured: Kate Walsh Ref: SPL996172 140415
Picture by: EBLV / Splash News
Splash News and Pictures
London: 870-934-2666
photodesk@splashnews.com
If you ask Serio, he's "rescued" over 200 big cats, in just three years. Some ignorant fans, like Eli Roth claim that BJWT has saved as many as 300 big cats, and repeat lies such as Serio quit his job in order to start the Foundation. Another popular lie that adoring fans are tricked into spreading is the idea that BJWT releases animals into some mystical "protected wild jungle" in Mexico. BJWT has never released a big cat into the wild. Most of their cats are hand raised from birth, and trained to interact with humans–such as guests like Roth, who then leave gushing about how wonderful BJWT is on their own social media hubs–and thus BJWT's animals can never be released. As for how many animals Serio has "rescued", according the the public records of the Mexican government, Serio has registered possession of only about 30 cats. The truth about how many cats BJWT possess remains elusive, in no small part, because the Mexican government has never inspected Black Jaguar White Tiger's facilities. You read that correctly. Despite that SEMARNAT and Profepa actually send confiscated animals to Black Jaguar White Tiger, as of January of this year the public documents revealed no government evaluation, or inspection Eduardo Serio's facility.
This lack of oversight has allowed Serio to literally make up his own rules and standards as he goes. The stories of even the most popular and well documented animals at Black Jaguar White Tiger change on a regular basis. Some cats, like Cielo, the first cat, a black Jaguar Eduardo obtained as a pet in 2013, have been declawed. Others, like Karma, the lion cub Eduardo obtained shortly after Cielo, have died. Some of these deaths remain unexplained to this day, while others have been reported by Serio in contradicting ways, as he changes their stories to suit himself and the situation. The deaths continue even now. In the last months, a healthy Margay died inexplicably. Serio blames many deaths on "inbreeding" but the majority of them–even without necropsy–can be irrefutably linked to mismanagement and improper care.
Karma died after chewing apart household furniture, the pieces of which perforated her intestines. Her last days and hours were filled with agony, while Serio farted around posting on social media that she was "getting better" and "almost perfect".
Today, Serio adamantly denies that anyone found any wood or other foreign body inside of Karma. He maintains that she died on the operating table and that her death is a mystery. He claims that his "haters" have contrived the lie about Karma ingesting wood out of envy of Serio and his "kids". He says that we spread this lie in order to "hurt" him. Apparently, he's forgotten all of his own social media updates made while Karma was actively dying.
Likewise, a lion named Labai, suffered intestinal blockages from chewing on toys and furniture, while Serio posted on Instagram that he was "getting better". In cases such as Labai's, Serio patently blames the animals' former owners, whoever they might be, even when the animals have been in BJWT's care for weeks or months before problems arise.
Notice the age difference an appreciable growth between when Labai was rescued, and the photo of the young BJWT visitor with him before his death. Yet Serio asserts that his death was a direct result of the lion's former owners.
In the early days of BJWT, Serio delighted in posting photos of shoes, flip flops, bedding and furniture which had been chewed apart by the cats in his care. He also posted photos of them playing with dog toys and other other inappropriate objects. Now, though, he denies ever allowing such things to take place, yet his cats continue to suffer from intestinal blockages, and digestive issues.
In recent times, the tiger cub, Arizona, regurgitated milk through her nose, due to being improperly fed during a live feed on Facebook (which was quickly deleted, but not before it was captured by several viewers) The tiger cub, just a couple of weeks old at the time, subsequently developed pneumonia and nearly died. Serio promptly blamed "inbreeding" for her trouble, despite that thousands of followers had watched her choke on milk until it drained out of her nose.
Dozens of animals have died in the three short years that Eduardo Serio has owned cats, many of them overlooked or completely forgotten by his devoted followers. There has even been speculation from our contacts within Mexico, that Serio intentionally makes his cats sick, so that he can then "save" them on social media, much to the acclaim of his devoted (and ignorant) fans. Whether or not he actually makes his own animals sick, for anyone with at least a margin of medical knowledge, many of his "rescue" stories simply don't add up. He describes serious ailments and injuries which are then miraculously healed in a time far too short to be physically viable. In other cases, he claims to heal ailments that simply can't be healed–like blindness. Not if they were as serious as he described them to be. This indicates that in the least, Serio is untruthful about either the problems the cats suffer, or the timeframe in which they've recovered from those problems. Serio's own lack of medical knowledge is a glaring warning sign to anyone with medical experience.
In addition to "healing" animals with his "Blue Energy" Serio is also well known for associating himself with various groups, or animals in need, simply in a bid for more attention. He notably announced that "We" are launching a "massive audit investigation against Yumka Zoo" when that zoo made headlines for alleged animal abuse. There was, of course, no followup on these claims. He also blamed the zoo for the death of his lion Labai, claiming that they botched an abdominal surgery, which caused his blockage, despite that the lion had been in BJWT's care for over a month with Serio claiming that he was in perfect health now that he was in their care.
Serio further stated in his post about auditing Yumka, that BJWT received approximately $25,000.00 a month, in donations (not including any profit from merchandise sales) from his followers. He has since claimed that the foundation barely stays afloat monetarily, and the tax forms he so recently released claims that they only made $800,000.00 in 2016. With an average of $300,00.00 in straight donations, between $250,000.00 and $350,000.00 in fundraisers, and then all of the money made from the sale of merchandise, and endorsements from huge companies like Hublot, Instagram, and Swarovski, (the latter four of which Serio has never releases monetary numbers for) one has trouble believing that BJWT is in such desperate need for funding, as Serio claims in his regular adverts for donation.
Never mind the matter that apparently there are two Foundations registered under the name Black Jaguar White Tiger, with Serio listed as the founder. One "foundation" is nothing more than a mailbox in Encino California. All donations received through that address are given to BJWT tax free, thanks to their American 501(c)3 status. The second Black Jaguar White Tiger Foundation is registered in Mexico, and the tax and legal information pertaining to that foundation is kept tightly under wraps.
With Serio's history of jumping on whatever animal crisis is currently in the news, when in December of 2016, he began a campaign to "save" six lions that were in "desperate" need of rescue in Colombia, most of us suspected it was simply a ploy to bring in donations. According to Serio, he needed $65,000.00 dollars to both transport the six lions to Mexico via ship, and to build enclosures for them to live in. Considering that the majority of the cats Serio already owns, according to eyewitnesses, live exclusively in small dog runs, it seemed absurd to think he was going to bring in six more lions. Even with a further twenty-two acres which was supposedly added to the foundation, this would still provide an exceedingly small area for the cats that keep coming into the Foundation. Nevertheless, within just a few days, Black Jaguar White Tiger fans had blindly forked over more than enough money to "save" the tormented lions in Colombia.
What those adoring, and unquestioning, fans don't know, was that Eduardo Serio had already promised to save these same six lions (seven, at the time) from Colombia an entire year before his Christmas 2016 campaign.
According to this article, these same lions were due to be sent to Black Jaguar White Tiger in April of 2016 Serio was already "raising funds" in order to transport them. We learned from our contacts–contacts who have firsthand knowledge of the lions–that Serio had promised to take them, and that he supposedly was in the process of arranging transport for the animals. However, he failed to ever attain the required permits, and subsequently abandoned the project, leaving the lions to live for more than another year in their cramped and decrepit cages.
In the ensuing time, one of them died.
When I.C.A.R.U.S. Inc. learned through contacts, that the CRA was, in truth, willing to allow Serio to take the lions he already abandoned once, our foundation conveyed concern for the animals wellbeing, and asked exactly how much research the CRA had done on Black Jaguar White Tiger. I.C.A.R.U.S. Inc. was shocked to learn that, well, they hadn't actually researched the Foundation, or Eduardo Serio at all. They were simply aware of him because he was famous on social media. They knew how popular Black Jaguar White Tiger was, our contact explained, so they just assumed that it would be a good place to send the lions. And because media outlets have (unfortunately) highlighted Eduardo Serio playing with his big cat pets, and referred to his "experience", the CRA simply took these reports at face value, failing to understand that the media has no idea of how to differentiate between true expertise and social popularity.
This lack of understanding about how conservation works on a fundamental level, this ignorant presumption that public popularity somehow equates to genuine ethics and expertise, is as appalling as it is tragic.
It's like assuming that because Hitler was in charge, he was a good leader, rather than understanding how he came to power, why he was there, and what he was actually doing. Our contact (a like-minded conservationist) was equally appalled and disgusted.
When I.C.A.R.U.S. Inc. reached out to the CRA asking if they would like to learn more about Eduardo Serio, and Black Jaguar White Tiger, they seemed very interested in hearing from experts who wanted to weigh in on the matter, and offered us the opportunity to present them with the facts as presented by leading experts in the fields of conservation and captive big cats, and international animal rescue. I.C.A.R.U.S. Inc. gathered letters of information, and facts which explained why, if Colombia, as a country, wanted to participate in conservation on an International level, they should not enter into dealings with groups like Eduardo Serio and Black Jaguar White Tiger, who value popularity and celebrity status over the wellbeing of their animals.
Once all of the information from willing conservation and captive big cat experts had been gathered, it was sent on to the CRA and other pertinent officials. These letters detailed how Eduardo Serio has no formal education in captive big cat husbandry; how he does not have a medical team on call to care for the cats already in his care; how several cats Black Jaguar White Tiger was given responsibility for, have since been removed by the Mexican government due to neglect and malnourishment; how despite that Black Jaguar White Tiger is registered in the U.S. as a nonprofit, Eduardo Serio has failed to ever post detailed financials of the foundation, as required by U.S. law. (Serio has, on several occasions, posted documents which he claim "prove" that he's posting financials. However, none of them are a detailed listing of every donation, and every expenditure, which is what's required. He's also claimed he doesn't need to "file taxes" for three years so his naysayers are lying. Again, filing taxes is not the same as posting yearly financial reports of all the income and expenditures)
Delcianna Winders, formerly an Academic Fellow in Harvard Law School's Animal Law and Policy Program explained in her letter that to send "the lions to Black Jaguar would not only put them in harms way, but is likely to undermine conservation efforts and to be a public relations disaster for Colombia." and that "the organization is under investigation by numerous entities and is known within the conservation community as a bad actor. The facility lacks adequate training in the care of big cats, a failing that has resulted in the preventable deaths of numerous animals." the former Harvard Fellow went on to state that "Cats at Black Jaguar are kept in virtually barren and inadequately sized pens, and some have been removed due to inadequate conditions. The facility also allows—and indeed encourages— public contact with wild animals, a practice that numerous studies have found to be harmful to conservation efforts as it prompts the public to desire wild animals as pets and to believe that threatened species, like lions, are doing okay in the wild when in fact that are greatly imperiled."
Tim Harrison, Executive Directer of Outreach for Animals has 43 years of experience in the rescue, rehabilitation and relocation of wild, and captive exotic animals. Well known for his award-winning documentary "The Elephant in the Living Room" –which explores the perilous and complex issues of captive big cats in America's backyards–Harrison stated that "These lions in Colombia are a perfect example of how a country, and its people, step up and heroically care for these big cats." and that to send the lions to another country by ship (which is how Eduardo Serio intended to transport them, a long an harrowing ordeal) would offer "many more chances of human error, escaped animals and danger to the public and the big cats." Harrison went on to say he had "not seen or heard anything positive about Eduardo or his facility, The Black Jaguar-White Tiger Foundation." and that because of all of the failings of Eduardo Serio, and his damaging influence on conservation that he would "whole heartedly advise the Powers to Be in Colombia, NOT to work with, or associate with, The Black Jaguar-White Tiger Foundation."
CompassionWorks International is a foundation devoted to spreading awareness about the daily exploitation that millions of captive exotic animals suffer all around the world. CWI focuses on abuse and exploitation carried out by zoos, circuses, aquariums and pseudo or fake sanctuaries just like Eduardo Serio and Black Jaguar White Tiger. Carrie LeBlanc, the Founder and Executive Director of CWI stated that a "transfer of any animal to that [Black Jaguar White Tiger] organization compromises not only the welfare of the animal in question, but also conservation efforts related to lions and big cats both in Colombia and beyond." Again Eduardo Serio's lack of education about big cat husbandry was pointed out, as were the issues which arise from such a lack of education. "Problematic husbandry practices are well recorded at BJWTF, which have resulted in the illness and death of numerous animals. BJWTF routinely ignores the importance of maintaining a physical and emotional separation between its animal inhabitants and its employees and visitors. The cohabitation and physical contact encouraged by BJWTF is highly inappropriate to the well being of the animals and poses a grave danger to all who come into contact with the animals."
From conservationist and animal rights activist Soula Stephanopoulos came a litany of issues surrounding Black Jaguar White Tiger such as:
Serio is not qualified, having no education in regard to big cats, or proper big cat husbandry, nor is he able to care for these cats adequately using a diet of only chicken necks and no other game meat.
BJWT has no Conservation nor educational value. BJWT is a commercial brand. Serio began as a private collector who purchased animals as pets.
Serio does not know anything about the ethical management of captive wildlife. The Mexican Government must also take responsibility for their lack of ethical standards, guidelines and protocols.
An investigation into BJWT and Eduardo Serio has covered subjects such as lack of care, the exploitation of the animals in his care, the abysmal environment, the constant rotation of cubs bred for him to support his business and the gross misrepresentation of conservation, the glorification and promotion of cub petting and wildlife interaction, the lack of transparency, and lack of up-to-date reporting of numbers to PROFEPA and Semarnat.
She closed by imploring the CRA "to think long and hard about sending the rescue lions to his zoological park and entertainment facility."
Contrary to Eduardo Serio's claim that BJWT is the "largest sanctuary for big cats in the world", The Wild Animal Sanctuary, founded by Pat Craig, is actually the oldest and largest nonprofit Sanctuary in the world dedicated exclusively to rescuing captive exotic and endangered large carnivores. Under Craig's guidance, TWAS has participated in multiple International rescues of captive exotic animals. Craig was shocked by Colombia's choice to entrust a entity which was founded on the exploitation of captive exotic animals, like BJWT with the care of lions which have already spent their lives in exploitive circumstances. Craig urged the Colombian government to "reconsider placement with BJWT and move in a direction where the lions would have a much greater quality of life,". While Craig acknowledged that "BJWT has enjoyed a significant increase in public exposure over the past number of years, and seems to offer a viable solution" he pointed out that "there are no viable long- term solutions available within Mexico, especially those involving BJWT."
In addition to denouncing BJWT as a poor choice as the eventual home of the Colombian lions, Craig even extended an offer to the Colombian government to fully fund the rescue, supply shipping crates, transport and house all six lions on the vast acreage of their own Internationally renown foundation.
This could have solved the issue of rehoming the lions right then and there, if the offer had been accepted.
All of this information, and more, was passed directly to the CRA (including one Joe Garcia, a biologist with the CRA, but more on him later) and other officials,who had taken responsibility for relocating the six lions in question. Within a very short time, it was revealed that despite all of the warnings and educational information provided, Black Jaguar White Tiger was still on the top of the CRA's list of places to send the lions. Even in the face of facts and information offered by professionals within the world of International conservation, the CRA was still swayed by the easy route, rather than the moral one. Since they had already started the process with Eduardo Serio a year ago, the first time he'd promised to rescue the lions, and then failed to do so, they pointed out that it was already "in the works".
One might consider, though, that it would take the same amount of effort from the CRA to provide the paperwork for BJWT, as it would for them to provide it to any other reputable and established sanctuary.
In the ensuing time since all of this took place, Eddie–who readers should remember insisted that he did not have the money, to transport and house the lions–has also been given some twenty other big cats, by the Mexican government. Eduardo has gloated and preened over his "salvation" of these twenty-some big cats, and his mindless followers have cheered him on. Not one of them seem to realize that they've sent BJWT over $60,000.00 to "rescue" the lions in Colombian because he could not afford to save them, yet he somehow could afford to save and house the twenty-some big cats given to him by the Mexican government. Just in the last few weeks several more cubs have appeared with various stories, including the ever popular trope that a tiger arrived pregnant and then gave birth, but immediately abandoned her cubs. And just a few days ago, Serio proclaimed that BJWT would be getting "a lot more Angels in the coming weeks" and urged fans to buy now-discounted merchandise, and donate to the Foundation. BJWT has also been heavily pushing advertisement for a contest the prize being a visit to BJWT to meet the "Kids". All you need to do to enter, is buy merchandise.
It's been business as usual at BJWT, with new celebrity guests (Eli Roth was one of them) coming to play with the animals (including some of the new cubs) and constant advertisement for the "Win a Trip to BJWT!" The only breaks in promotional posting occurred when Serio took a detour from his rhetoric in order to share several shockingly immature and drivel-bloated public posts erroneously defaming an innocent young woman, and declaring that he was going to sue her. Apparently feeling some sort of pressure from within the Colombian government, Serio took to social media, singling out a random woman and stating that she, and she alone, was the reason that the lions from Colombia had not yet reached Black Jaguar White Tiger.
The reality behind this recent attempt at character assassination is that despite how Serio steadfastly refers to the lions as already belonging to BJWT and despite Serio's continuous claims that the six Colombian lions have already been approved to travel to Mexico by officials, the lions have, in fact, not been cleared for transport. So someone, somewhere in the Colombian government has given Serio the idea that his precious lions might not end up being his.
Because Serio has been guaranteeing to his followers that the lions are coming to BJWT for months, he now needs a "fall guy" whom he can blame if the lions are, in truth, sent somewhere other than BJWT. Otherwise, Serio will be forced to admit that he lied about all of it from the very beginning. And he can't very well blame the CRA, since he needs them in order to get the lions. So instead, he posted the photo of a young woman, and claimed that she, and she alone, was the cause of the delay in getting the lions to BJWT. By placing the blame on an innocent, and defenseless young conservationist, Serio can avoid throwing shade on the CRA, and he can avoid pissing off someone with the means to fight back against his defamation.
And let me remind you that Eddie already had the chance to take these lions to BJWT in 2016 but he failed to get any of the paperwork and approvals necessary to bring them to Mexico.
Even more shocking than Serio's public character assassination of the young conservationist, which occurred on May 28 (with several post following days later) is the fact that just a few days after Serio's tirade and threats of lawsuit, El Heraldo put out an article on June 2nd, which briefly covers the six lions in question. And who is the "go to" professional contact for El Heraldo's article? One Joe Garcia, biologist for the CRA. The same Joe Garcia who saw all of the letters raising serious questions about Black Jaguar White Tiger and their ability to care for the lions. The same Joe Garcia, who received an offer from Pat Craig of The Wild Animal Sanctuary of rehoming for the six lions. And yet, there is no mention of any of this in El Heraldo's article. Not. One. Single. Hint.
Instead the article states that "The process for the trip takes a year and a half to be managed." which completely contradicts the CRA's replies to I.C.A.R.U.S. Inc.'s Colombian contact stating that they issued all the needed permits for BJWT to remove the lions in 2016, but that BJWT failed to attain the required Mexican permits. It also directly contradicts the CRA's statement to our contact saying that all of the permits they'd issued to BJWT had expired and needed to be renewed.
The article goes on to say that after attempting to rehome the lions within Colombia, that BJWT was contacted. It says nothing about the fact that BJWT was contacted in 2016, and that arrangements were made, and that BJWT failed to carry those arrangements out, leaving the lions to suffer for another year. It says nothing about the fact that Pat Craig of TWAS offered to fully fund, and supply shipping crates for the lions to be brought to TWAS, which has participated in International rescues before. All of these facts, are facts that Mr. Garcia, as a biologist with the CRA, knew.
Mr. Garcia does not, in his statements to El Heraldo, clarify any of the article's contradictions, nor does he correct them. Mr. Garcia does not mention that the CRA had doubts about BJWT and Eduardo Serio. He does not admit that they received multiple letters from established experts on the matter. Instead, he has the audacity to state that "We had seen the trip by sea, but it is longer and we do not want to stress so much, " when the fact is, that when I.C.A.R.U.S. Inc. contacted the CRA, we were told in no uncertain terms that the lions were going to be sent to Mexico by sea because it was more cost effective, and because that is what BJWT wanted to do. Yet now, after multiple letters from big cat experts which pointed out to the CRA that transporting big cats by ship would be incredibly stressful and dangerous to the animals, Mr. Garcia has told El Heraldo that they knew of the stress it would impose on the animals. Now, either the CRA was lying to our contacts in Colombia when it stated that the lions would be moved via ship, or Mr. Garcia was lying to El Heraldo, but it can't be both ways.
But then, perhaps neither the CRA, nor Mr. Garcia is really in charge anymore.
After all, El Heraldo's article came out–with Mr. Garcia clearly supporting Black Jaguar White Tiger, and conveniently ignoring, and attempting to hide the fact that the CRA was in contact with other groups, and considering other venues besides BJWT–just after Eduardo Serio publicly attacked a young conservationist and blamed her for the hold up. Mr. Garcia, having firsthand in the real "hangup", knew, and continues to know, that the girl Serio has blamed for everything, is, in fact innocent of the accusations. Yet Mr. Garcia stood by and said nothing while Serio threatened lawsuits (naming the same law firm which is listed in the El Heraldo article as representing BJWT for the purpose of the transfer of the lions, not, as Serio stated in his attack, in charge of bringing warrants and lawsuits against anyone who questions BJWT).
One might presume, then, that Eduardo Serio's public tirade served its purpose, cowing the CRA into submitting to the whims of the Black Jaguar White Tiger empire. That, or the CRA is every bit as corrupt as Serio himself, because for one of their representatives to take part in a movement to stop these lions from being sent to BJWT, and then just days after BJWT's founder publicly blames someone else for the hold up, that representative participates in an article which celebrates BJWT, well, it clearly states that the CRA is either too afraid of Eduardo Serio to stand up to him, or they're comfortable with allowing a bystander to be defamed and publicly attacked, taking the fall for something they actively participated in.
Of course, it's not the first time Eduard Serio has publicly attacked a young woman. So arguably, both Joe Garcia, and the CRA knew perfectly well that Serio was inclined to bully and threaten his way through life. For months, now, Eduardo Serio has lied and publicly tormented a young American woman whose Savannah cats he offered to temporarily house, at Black Jaguar White Tiger. This, after he fraudulently lied on customs documents to get the cats into Mexico, and then promised to return them to their owner in exchange for $1,600.00. And yet, he took the money, still refused to give the cats back, continues to lie about what went on, while calling this young American woman crazy. This is something Serio laughingly boasts about doing on a Facebook photo album. At one point, after a number of BJWT fans offered to find the young woman and kill her in order to get rid of her, Serio published the woman's personal information, including her phone number and home address.
Such actions are not the behavior of a professional. But then, Eduard Serio is also famous for flaunting dozens of Tramadol pills–a highly addictive pain medication–and joking about how he can't get through the day without them.
Sources have described watching Serio allegedly take Tramadol tablets three or four at a time, all through the day, every day. That Eddie himself has posted multiple times on social media flashing his stash of pain killers (which he calls "pirin tablets") only supports what witnesses have said about his constant use of them.
His casual jokes regarding the addictive pain meds are not only highly unprofessional, but also a sign that he does not believe taking them constantly is a serious matter. One source has even asserted that one of his American friends allegedly takes Tramadol across the border for him. One thing is sure, though, he never has a shortage of his beloved Tramadol, sometimes posting photos of multiple boxes, each of which contain pills. His considerable paranoia and violent attacks on anyone he perceives as a threat to his position also fit into the symptoms of long term pain medicine abuse.
And yet, this is the man the CRA, if not Colombia as a whole, seems inclined to entrust with its lions who are so desperately in need of a home. This is the man that they seem to have deemed their most important contact for big cats and their care.
A pill-popping megalomaniac who thinks nothing of committing his entire social media presence to destroying any group or person who does not worship him. One wonders if perhaps, just perhaps, those in favor of trusting Serio might come to regret their poor choices, if they aren't already doing so at this moment.
Eduardo Serio posted several rants declaring that the woman pictured caused a three month delay in getting the lions while he was dealing with an issue that she caused. Of course, he can't "for legal reasons" state precisely what one young woman could possibly have done that would stop two entire countries from working together on an animal transport. He also declared that the woman will "soon be jailed" but did not list why. Nor did he list why there was even a warrant out for her.
Eddie repeatedly mentioned how this young woman "hurt six lions" egging his followers on to hate her by saying that he's "not surprised that she decided to hurt those poor six lions" and saying that "this monster damaged them on purpose," urging, by example, his followers to condemn and malign her. Eddie then pulled out his old reliable trope of jealousy, proclaiming that "they had the lions there for years, and nobody cared, then I asked the whole world to help rescue these Angels and they hate me for this."
Yet Eduardo Serio has still not bothered to tell his followers that HE is the reason those lions have been sitting in those cages.
Eduardo Serio accepted responsibility for the six lions whose fate he is now blaming on an innocent conservationist, and then Eduardo Serio failed to ever get the paperwork required to obtain those animals.
For over a year, Eduardo Serio failed to get the paperwork needed to rescue these six lions.
For over a year, Eduardo Serio failed (supposedly) to have the money needed to rescue these six lions.
For over a year, Eduardo Serio continued to "save" and "rescue" dozens of other big cats (cubs, of course) while never even mentioning the six lions languishing in Colombia that he already promised to rescue and then abandoned.
While Eduardo Serio was using "Blue Energy" to heal lions and tigers, and dogs, and any other animal that looked cute on public posts, one of the original seven lions died in a cramped cage. While Eduardo Serio had professional photographer Gavin Bond over to Black Jaguar White Tiger repeatedly to take photos for a fabulous book they intend to publish, the six remaining Colombian lions each subsisted on two chickens a day. While Eduardo Serio hosted stars like Lewis Hamilton cuddling various batches of cubs he procured, the Colombian lions remained locked in cages, never having the benefit of touching the ground. While Eduardo Serio made lucrative for-profit business contracts with Hublot Watch company, the Swarovski Crystal company, and others, to bring in money to his own foundation, the Colombian lions remained ignored.
Ignored until it became convenient for Serio to bother with them again.
And when Eduardo Serio felt threatened in the "rescue" of the Colombian lions he had been ignoring, when he suddenly got the idea that he just might not end up with those lions, what did he do? He grasped at the name of a young woman who dared speak out against him and his deplorable exploitation of big cats. A young woman whose name was erroneously given to Serio by either an ignorant fool, or an intentional saboteur.
It's beginning to look like the CRA is more interested in what's "easy" instead of what's right. If the fact that they might choose to give the lions to someone who already abandoned them once wasn't enough of an indicator of their lack of morality, then the fact that the CRA is happy to work with someone who will try to publicly destroy innocent people should be.
Wherever Serio goes, destruction follows. Fake letters threatening legal consequences for infractions that never happened. The public display of private information of individuals that his own followers have offered to kill for him. The longwinded rants placing the blame for his own failings on others. If Serio cannot get something through bribery and promises, then he'll try to do it through lies and threats and bullying.
Yes, the six (formerly seven) Colombian lions have been living in squalor needlessly for not only months, but years. The cause, however, is not due to one single young woman.
The blame for this disaster, the whole full weight of it, lies on the shoulders of two entities:
The country of Colombia, who in their rush to join the conservation movement, banned the exploitation of animals in entertainment acts before they figured out what they would do with the unwanted animals afterward.
And Eduardo Serio, who promised the Colombian government he would rescue the lions in 2016, and then failed to do so.
Should the CRA decide to move forward with handing their lions over to Eduardo Serio, an overwrought bully who delights in terrorizing anyone he deems beneath him, few genuine conservation professionals will likely ever deal with them again. After all, no genuine conservationist ever wants to be associated with a charlatan such as Serio and his Black Jaguar White Tiger Foundation. Never mind the CRA's poor behavior in working with I.C.A.R.U.S. Inc. and others, but then hiding their head in the sand and allowing Serio to publicly lie about an innocent girl, and, instead, rewarding Serio for his behavior, by sending their lions to BJWT.
And to Eduardo Serio, himself, *slow clap*. It takes a real man to attack a defenseless–and innocent–young woman just for the sake of throwing a temper tantrum and setting up a "fall guy". You are the one who abandoned those lions back in 2016, and even if your fans are too stubborn to admit that, the rest of us know it, and will not forget it.
Nothing echoes louder than the words of a coward shifting the blame of their own failings onto an innocent who cannot defend themselves.
On December 12, 2016 February 11, 2019 By projecticarus2015In conservation, Conservation Journalism, education, egotourism, Facts, Global Environmental Issues, stewardship, true factsLeave a comment
Christmas is a magical season. Even if you don't celebrate Christmas itself, the holiday season is always fun, and there's the winter solstice, the lights, and a perfectly good excuse to eat all sorts of scrumptious treats that aren't normally around the rest of the year. The holidays are also a season of giving, a time when people plot the perfect surprises for their loved ones.
But the thousands of animals given as Christmas presents each year, which bring joyful ecstasy to humans on Christmas morning, all too often end up suffering the heartbreak of abandonment, themselves, within just a few months time. Already, the farm postings and Facebook groups are swelling with adverts.
Christmas Pony: Nice little mare, broke to ride. Been sitting in the field for the grandkids to play on for the last few years. Perfect Christmas surprise for that special child!*
The accompanying photo shows a sweet-eyed mare with a cheerful expression, but who also displays symptoms of obesity, protruding eyes, and irregular "fat packs" which are indicative of cushings disease, or other metabolic disorders such as insulin resistance. Both health conditions are chronic, and can cause worse complications like founder and even death. They require an owner with an experienced grasp of equine care and management, and sometimes even the best care isn't enough to get a handle on particularly difficult cases.
The Perfect Christmas Project! Quiet gelding, great for Christmas, just needs some love and attention.*
The gelding is attractive, and of decent conformation, but the hard edge of his top line, and washboard of his sides, indicate that he's not necessarily in top form, and likely is in need of groceries, something which can drastically change the temperament of an animal in the long run. Many times "love and attention" can be equated to training, manners, and handling, meaning that the horse might not even be accustomed to grooming, much less riding.
Beneath the adverts for ponies, horses, donkeys, mules, pigmy goats and other domestics come more unexpected offerings. A bearded dragon in need of rehoming, a ball python whose hot room has been transformed into a nursery for the new baby, a sugar glider whose owners have adopted a cat, and can no longer assure the safety of the former. Oscars who've outgrown their fish tanks, a scarlet macaw whose elderly owner has passed away, servals, a skunk with its scent glands removed–already litter trained! If ferrets are too average, there are spotted genets. For those with a healthy budget, and a little more room, there are capybaras (starting at around $600) or you can always go for a wallaby ($3,000) and for folks who like to be trendy with their furry companions, fennec foxes are the new hotness these days (less than half the wallaby) at about $1,500, but get on the list of a breeder now, because there's usually a waiting list of a year or more)
The massively ignored problem with every animal I've mentioned (never mind the excruciatingly horrible issues of animal trafficking and captive breeding of the exotic species listed) is that all of them come with baggage. Needs, expenses–sometimes exorbitant ones–and unforeseen complications. Many times those complications are ones which require a considerable amount of knowledge about the animal in question, thus leaving first time owners at a loss as to what to do, and how to care for the now ill or injured animal.
Something as simple as not providing a suitable place for a tortoise to burrow can result in the tortoise becoming egg-bound, a condition which will result in death if it is not promptly treated. That treatment can require risky surgery. Lizards can also become egg-bound. Most types of exotic cats, foxes, primates, and other popular, more unusual, animals, can become aggressive if not appropriately housed, handled, or mentally and emotionally cared for. Some become aggressive even when everything is done to standard protocols.
With normal domestic animals, certain risks remains. Rabbits are prone to coccidiosis, especially when stressed, goats can also suffer from it, and it's highly contagious. Both kittens and puppies tend to chew things, and can ingest foreign objects. Christmas decorations offer a plethora of options for getting into trouble, and with a house full of holiday guests, new pets can easily do so unnoticed. Many times once symptoms of a problem develop, a bad situation has already evolved into a worse one.
Christmas lilies, or Easter lilies, for example, are extremely toxic to both cats and dogs, and just a fragment of a leaf, once ingested, can cause catastrophic kidney failure. Treatment does not guarantee recovery, and involves (usually) 48-72 hours of continuous intravenous fluids, to flush their system. But forcing so much fluid into an animal has its own complications, and it can cause dangerous imbalances in electrolytes and other minerals, and functions, so constant monitoring is required. Conservatively, the treatment for lily poisoning will run you $2,000 and it can easily cost more. I know this firsthand, because I've had to pay it.
Cost of veterinary care is probably the number one reason animals–some of them absolutely beloved pets whose owners are completely devastated to lose them–are surrendered to shelters or rescues. The fact is, it doesn't matter how much experience you have with a particular breed or species, if they suffer injury or illness that's going to cost you thousands, or tens of thousands of dollars to treat, and you don't have thousands, or tens of thousands, of dollars laying around in the couch cushions, you're going to have huge decisions to make. Likely, the choice of giving the animal up to a rescue or foundation which can pay for treatment, or having the animal euthanized to stop it from suffering.
Back in the barn there's the matter of horses which have been docile while underfed (not necessarily through neglect, but maybe because they just haven't been getting grain, which offers much higher protein) but who become wild and unpredictable once they've got sugars and energy flowing through them. Colic is a constant danger, and no matter how much you know about equines, torsion can strike no matter what. It's excruciatingly painful, far more so than impaction colic, and this inescapable pain often turns the horse suffering it into a living battering ram. Some become uncontrollable without sedation, and if not sedated will literally beat themselves against the ground until they fracture their own skulls, or break legs. And then, eventually, their intestines rupture entirely, and they'll die of massive septicemia. But they'll suffer unimaginable agony first.
These things are terrible, and grotesque to picture, and no one wants to ever consider that they might be facing them when they're thinking about the adorable animals standing or sitting in front of them that "need a home for Christmas". The reality, however, is that animals, like children, don't come with manuals, and no matter how prepared you are to have one, you'll immediately realize that you weren't as ready as you thought you were. Even if nothing "bad" happens, you'll still find yourself in situations you never expected to be in, making decisions you never considered facing, and probably spending money you never accounted for losing from your budget.
And I'm just talking about if you give your own family a live animal.
Imagine having someone else giving one of these animals to your kid, or your significant other without even asking you if you want one.
It happens. Way more than you might think.
Now you've got an animal you never wanted (or maybe one that you did, but didn't expect to get at the moment) and a family member who has, of course, instantaneously fallen utterly in love with that animal (because, really, needy animals, Christmas, you know) and you've got whomever gave that animal to you/the kids/your partner who's all "I did a great thing!"
Just, no.
Don't do it.
Yes, if your old-enough-to-understand-and-care-for-their-own-pet kid wants a kitten, and you're prepared, you've had cats before, but don't have any currently (which can be very complicated when introducing a new cat or kitten) then okay, consider getting a Christmas kitten (better yet, a Christmas Old Cat, one which will otherwise likely die alone in a shelter, because, well, nobody seems to like old people these days) This can be applied to dogs and puppies, or other rescue animals, too. If you're already prepared and were planning to do it anyway.
But do not spontaneously decide without forethought to just "take a pet home". Don't allow yourself to be pressured by sales people, or adopters, or your own freaking kids, to "give the gift of love" right there in the middle of the grocery store parking lot when all you went to the store for was a jar of cranberry sauce. No matter how noble, how well intentioned, these acts might be, they will, in the very best scenarios, still cause you a huge amount of stress, and after-the-fact panic when you realize that you've just taken on years of responsibility you didn't intend to. You might never regret it, but you will go through that stress of Will it work out? In worst case scenarios, you'll go through that, possibly more stress, terror, loss of money, and maybe the loss of the animal you were trying to help by adopting or buying in the first place.
So, this holiday season, please reconsider before choosing to give a living thing as a present.
Thousands of domestic animals are, indeed, in need of homes. The truth, though, is that these animals are in need of homes 365 days a year. If you would not consider adopting or buying a chinchilla on November 13th, don't allow yourself to suddenly think doing so is a great idea on December 23rd, because Christmas is just two days away, and this adorable chinchilla "really needs a home for Christmas." The animals who needs a home for Christmas, probably needed a home long before Christmas, and thousands like them will still need a home after Christmas. You can help these animals best (unless, as I've already stated, you've had family discussions and are going to get this animal anyway, and are just planning to do it at Christmas to be festive) by donating to the causes which are already caring for them. Go volunteer at a shelter, donate to a rescue center.
Be cautious about adverts for the "perfect" Christmas animal. The animals advertised are completely innocent, but the humans peddling them might well be doing so because they know damn well they stand a much better chance of getting shed of an unwanted animal, while also making a tidy profit off of it for no reason other than, Christmas cheer and spirit.
Animals need us, but they need us all year, not just under the Christmas tree.
I made these adverts up. However, they are painfully stereotypical of what you'll see in any farm trade classifieds every Christmas.
The first photo of the grey horse was pulled from an excellent article pertaining to insulin resistance in horses posted on the blog The Equinist. It's a great, enlightening read, even if you aren't a horse fan.
The second photo was pulled from Google. The horse is a recently adopted blue roan mustang, who is actually in excellent muscle and body condition for a young feral horse. It does provide, however, a good example of the sort of "sharp" top line and look that a domestic-bred horse who is a "hard keeper" might affect without grain in their diet.
On November 23, 2016 By projecticarus2015In conservation, Conservation Journalism, education, Global Environmental Issues, travel, true facts2 Comments
Hello good people of WordPress! Yes, the ICARUS Team really does still exist, and we really are still here! As the main staff writer, our absence from the blog is my failing. I've had some health issues, and ended up having to have surgery in October (minor, they just poked holes in me and sent me home with happy pills) and while that surgery was successful (yay for cysts that are no more!) I had recovery, and then right on the heels of surgery travel for my novel writing side of things. Plus, there's novel writing going on, and it's a struggle to manage time for everything. Then there was our election… and, yeah, being offline is much healthier for one's brain right now.
Some of what we've been up to while I was failing to get blog posts written and published:
Working on articles which will be posted in the near future.
Traveling (some of us) to places like Chile!
"Blind horse proofing" fields and barns (which includes acclimating the current residents to wearing bells) in preparation for the arrival (really, the homecoming) of a horse recently blinded by disease (uveitis for those interested)
Caring for multiple terminally ill domestic cats.
Helping formulate rehab and release protocols
Helping to organize research bases to perform studies on rehab and release subjects
Moving houses
Oh, yeah, Thanksgiving…
And Christmas shopping…
Holding down full time jobs, some of which are mainstream, some of which are the job of conservation, the travel and such that go with it.
I'm going to do my very best to set aside time to get blog posts written and up, so there's never a wide vacancy again as there has been, so start checking back, and you might find some interesting things to read! Thank you everyone for sticking with us on this journey!
Mexico's Harbinger of Stewardship, LIBERO Santuario Silvestre
On July 16, 2016 July 19, 2016 By projecticarus2015In true facts1 Comment
In my last article, I discussed the disturbing trend within Mexico of "self styled" foundations which utilize social media, flashy photos, and carefully structured facades of scientific importance in order to create a false presence in circles of conservation. These groups, when one looks deeper than their social media personas and self-serving rhetoric, often have little real life experience in the fields in which they claim to be leading authorities. This is something that is usually, and to the detriment of the animals in their care, overlooked or misunderstood by devoted followers and by the public in general. It's also a driving factor behind the actuality that these well known foundations are simply new age versions of the same old exploitation that's existed in Mexico (as well as other places throughout the world) for thousands of years.
Part of what the I.C.A.R.U.S. Foundation does is to develop a global network of conservation organizations working together to protect and care for animals, through the creation of new international laws, as well as the enforcement of existing laws. A functioning network of institutes and sanctuaries who can rely on each other for support and the spread of awareness is vital in order to have a beneficial impact on animals and the environment worldwide. Thus, institutions which by design focus entirely on what they do, and the animals they possess and/or take in, and how popular they are, and which imply that they know more, and are better at handling situations than any other organization in existence, (some of which have been around for decades) do not, in fact, benefit animals or the environment beyond the limited scope of their own walls.
Only by working together, toward the same collective goals, rather than toward personal gain and popularity, can sanctuaries and foundations worldwide succeed in giving back at least a small portion of the planet to the animals which are being systematically eradicated from its surface. So what a foundation or sanctuary does outside the gaze of the public eye is just as important as what they do when people are watching. If you are willing to cut corners, endanger both humans and animals, threaten other groups, verbally abuse other humans, lie, and so on and so forth when everyone can witness it, then what are you willing to do to the voiceless animals behind the scenes when no one is watching?
One of my favorite quotes, which is extremely relevant to the current trends of shady foundations and exploitation of captive wild animals in Mexico, comes from Thomas Babington Macaulay.
"The measure of a man's real character is what he would do if he knew he never would be found out."
In this case, the character in question happens to be a woman.
Her name is Maria Garcia Dominguez, and she is the founder of LIBERO Santuario Silvestre.
Truly the first of its kind, LIBERO is a foundation that, when distilled down to its most fundamental constructs, is a sanctuary in every sense of the term. LIBERO is a an institute that will always do what's right for the animals, even if no other human is there to witness their actions.
Numerous social media-based groups–like Black Jaguar White Tiger–gratuitously tout the word "sanctuary" without understanding the profoundly hallowed etymology behind it, and without grasping the restraint and sacrifices required to embody that which it represents. In contrast to ubiquitous "social-media foundations", you will not see LIBERO posting a plethora of vapid updates on their website, Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook page multiple times a day, every day of the week. You will not see LIBERO showcasing photographs of cubs being cuddled and played with or celebrity guests bottle feeding them incorrectly, or of foundation workers running around being chased by captive big cats. In fact, you might not have even heard of LIBERO until reading about them in this article.
This is because LIBERO is focused on saving animals, caring for animals, protecting animals, studying them, and rehabilitating them.
They are dedicated to the animals not to social media attention and public popularity.
LIBERO does not participate in conservation in order to gain any sort of recognition. They're not in it for any sort of admiration. They're not even in it with a presumption of ever receiving simple gratitude.
LIBERO acts solely in the best interests of and on behalf of the animals they aid.
They have done so, in an individual manner, through the prior works of those who now comprise the human skeleton of the sanctuary since before they ever came together under the guidance of Maria and subsequently formed LIBERO. And they continue to work for, care for, protect, defend, heal, nurture, and exist entirely for the animals with whom they come into contact.
For LIBERO, social media is a tool for education and outreach, not a platform on which to build a celebrity status or cult following.
And that is exactly how a sanctuary should function.
I first discovered LIBERO through my research into sanctuaries within Mexico, or, more accurately, my research into the lack of sanctuaries and the lack of legal outlines and standards for sanctuaries within Mexico. After suffering more than one disappointment and false lead, I feared the worst when I first clicked on the link leading to the LIBERO website. You can check it out here. Maria has even made sure there's an English option for those of us who aren't fluent in Spanish. A margin of my wariness faded at just the mere sight of LIBERO's homepage. Understated and elegant, lacking any pretension or declarations of being the best thing since sliced bread, or other ridiculous claims of intelligence so superior to anyone else that people who don't agree with them are just too stupid to "get them" and their ideologies.
LIBERO's site is easy to navigate (not every page is translated, but Google Chrome can do it for you) informative and detailed, captivating for those who already have an in-depth understanding of conservational issues, but also extremely accessible and educational for those who are just learning about conservation. That accessibility and assemblage of information is intentional. Education is something which Maria and her team believe is vital to changing the way in which residents of Mexico (and the world) perceive captive wild animals, and the environmental and conservational issues relating to them.
LIBERO subscribes to the principles of "One Health" which is a concept that dates from the mid 1800s and was far ahead of its time when it was first outlined and described by its creator, Rudolf Virchow. Of his own beliefs Virchow said:
"Between animal and human medicine there is no dividing line–nor should there be. The object is different but the experience obtained constitutes the basis of all medicine."
I want to stress that the principle of One Health is not the belief that animals should be treated as if they were humans wearing fur, much like Eduardo Serio of Black Jaguar White Tiger treats his big cats, or, as he calls them, his "kids". Followers of the One Health principles believe that animals are equal to humans in importance, emotional depth, and intelligence, but they do not support the anthropomorphizing of animals. Rather, One Health is the concept that the health of animals, the health of humans, and the viability of ecosystems are inextricably linked. This means keeping animals in their wild habitats, as active participants within the ecosystem, rather than living in peoples' homes as pets.
Along with a sound system of principles, LIBERO has a dedicated team of professionals and specialists including doctors, engineers, lawyers, and more. You can read their individuate biographies here. Unlike the unseen, or vaguely referenced "experts" of other foundations, LIBERO's team is forthright with their names, credentials and backgrounds. Likewise, LIBERO is dedicated honesty and transparency in all matters. You can research their financial information on their transparency page, here.
Maria herself has a career within conservation that spans more than a decade. She has worked with groups like The Humane Society International (HSI) World Animal Protection (WAP) and has collaborated on specific cases with Animal Defenders International (ADI) and In Defense of Animals (IDA), among other things. Up until 2013, Maria was a representative in Mexico for The Wild Animal Sanctuary, and was the national coordinators of rescues.
LIBERO is poised to be the harbinger of conservation stewardship in a country where captive wild or exotic animals can be more easily attained than clean drinking water. But unlike fallacious, media-driven institutes such as BJWT and the newly formed JITW, LIBERO does not yet have a fan base of millions to support them. Their refusal to exploit animals via attention grabbing videos, or for heartrending pleas for monetary support means that LIBERO cannot simply start slapping up "cutesy" incentives for people to give them money. They do not have the funds to offer "rewards" for donating to them, or, to start their own clothing line, or to offer, as with some of the foundations I've mentioned, "visitation rights" to those who donate larger sums of money. And as LIBERO embodies the very opposite of the exploitation so readily embraced by these well-known foundations, they cannot rely on any support from those institutes. Rather, they face competition from them, for if LIBERO is successful in changing the face of conservation, as they plan to, LIBERO will, in effect, make such exploitive foundations entirely obsolete.
I have been in contact with Maria, and will be doing an interview article with her at a later date, and I look forward to writing other articles about LIBERO in the future.
As of the writing of this article, Maria was exploring the possibilities of seeking a stipend or other funding from the Mexican government. Supporting LIBERO would be an immense opportunity for current government factions like SEMARNAT and PROFEPA to both acknowledge the deep-seated problems occurring within their country, and to take a step toward the reform so desperately needed in order to begin assuaging the plight of captive wild animals all across Mexico. As I've mentioned in previous articles, one of the greatest difficulties in seizing and/or rescuing captive wild animals from abuse, neglect, or exploitation in Mexico is the lack of appropriate institutes in which PROFEPA or SEMARNAT can then place animals that were removed from dysfunctional situations. LIBERO can, with monetary aid from government, expand and become the depository for confiscated animals, assuring that they will not be placed in yet another situation of exploitation, like the animals given over to BJWT.
To rescue an animal from one situation of exploitation, and place it directly into another situation of exploitation does not actually address the fact that the animal is being exploited, nor does it do anything to change the public mindset that having cubs run around a private home is somehow beneficial to the cubs and supportive of conservation. Maria and her staff understand that you cannot teach people that exploitation is damaging is by using exploitation as the basis for the lesson.
To this end, LIBERO intends to develop a facility where rescued animals will be housed within the freedom of individual habitats, liberated from human influence, and studied unobtrusively in order to better understand the complications for captive animal husbandry. Any animals which are deemed viable for rehabilitation and release will be appropriately cared for with the most minimal human involvement as possible, and their release will subsequently be orchestrated. Knowledge gained from such rehabilitations and releases will be funneled directly back into LIBERO and used within their educational outreach, furthering the cause of changing minds and perspectives.
Government funding could go a long way in getting LIBERO completely off the ground and flying. Now, more than ever before, Mexico needs a genuine sanctuary. Mexico's animals need a genuine sanctuary. The question is, do SEMARNAT and PROFEPA–the very agencies charged with overseeing the welfare of wild, and captive wild animals within the country of Mexico–understand just how desperately those animals need a sanctuary like LIBERO? And even more importantly, will SEMARNAT and PROFEPA admit, by helping LIBERO to secure government aid, that it's finally time for a change in how captive wild animals are perceived and treated in Mexico?
Only time will tell. But for now, I implore you. Follow the links within this article, or posted below, and discover Maria's LIBERO Santuario Silvestre for yourself. Then share the information and encourage others to share and follow them. Mexico needs a true wild animal sanctuary, and LIBERO needs you to support them so that they can be the wild animal sanctuary that the animals of Mexico need.
LIBERO Santuario Silvestre
LIBERO Instagram
LIBERO Facebook
LIBERO Twitter
The Troubling Trend In Paradise
On July 15, 2016 June 7, 2018 By projecticarus2015In animal welfare, Black Jaguar White Tiger, conservation, Conservation Journalism, egotourism, Facts, Global Environmental Issues, Hands Off Conservation, Hands-on Interaction, Jaguars Into The Wild, mexico, true facts1 Comment
Countless Americans see Mexico as the place to vacation and capture a few weeks of paradise. Even with the current political unrest, I've had multiple friends and family travel down to all inclusive resorts, and all of them have posted dozens of photos of white sand beaches and beautiful oceans. It seems perfect.
But looks can be deceiving. There's a very troubling trend in paradise. Just as those all inclusive resorts are usually bordered by razor wire and tall fences in order to guarantee protection to the well-to-do tourists, who know nothing of the troubles which the majority of Mexico is faced with, the rest of the world only sees and understands a glimpse of the genuine problems with captive wild animals in Mexico.
Yes, most everyone has heard how the drug cartels own private collections of exotic animals, and if you've read my articles here on the I.C.A.R.U.S. Foundation's blog, you know that Black Jaguar White Tiger is a foundation that has become a social media icon solely by showcasing captive animals being treated as pets (despite Serio's incessant use of #notpets as a hashtag). But what virtually no one in America, and most others throughout the world seem to realize is that the cartels with their private zoos and menageries are nothing special in Mexico, just as BJWT is nothing new to the country. As we've pointed out before, there are no regulations on breeding big cats in Mexico. And owning one is as simple as filling out a form. Anyone who wants to, can collect animals into private collections. And they do. Some of them even "rent" cubs for as long as they're small and then turn those cubs in to the breeders only to "rent" new, small cubs back out again.
The world in general sees BJWT as something "special" or "different" but the truth is that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of people in Mexico doing the exact same thing Serio does. Here are a few shots taken from public Instagram accounts involving private zoos or collections, "ranches" as they're often called. Because these photos came from a civilian Instagramer and at least one contains a child, I've hidden the user's information and the child's face. It should be noted, however, that this is the person whom Eduardo Serio has tagged on Instagram under photos of the giraffes that he's gone to visit on numerous occasions.
Somehow, the hashtag #saverhinos is supposed to indicate that riding one like a horse is beneficial to preserving the species.
Most often the people involved with these accounts state that they're "preserving" the species, when, in fact, they're just breeding them for their own private pleasure, and/or participating in the black market actively making money. A thriving market repeatedly overlooked and ignored by SEMARNAT and PROFEPA.
Unfortunately the trend of private ownership is not something new in Mexico. But here's something that is. Since the rise of Black Jaguar White Tiger (and for anyone who is confused, or doesn't realize it, BJWT has only existed for 3 years, and their current popularity is one that's been bought and paid for by the exploitation of what began as three pets Eddie got for himself, and what's turned into a rotating circus of babies) other established zoos have noticed how successful Serio has been with social media popularity. And many of them want in on the party.
Case in point: Jaguars Into The Wild.
JITW appeared on our Instagram radar roughly a couple of months ago. They describe themselves as a foundation devoted to rescue, research, rehabilitation and release. Emphasis on RELEASE, in all caps. The photos of their animals (jaguars predominantly) are gorgeous. We followed them with great excitement. Here, it seemed, was finally a group who was truly different.
Then, one of the I.C.A.R.U.S. team, while scrolling through the JITW Instagram feed, discovered a troubling photo of one of the founders out for a walk with two small jaguar cubs.
It was supposedly an "old" photo of two now-adult cats. Nevertheless, it was concerning that a group who claimed to focus on rehabilitation was actively participating in hands-on interactions with cubs. Especially because they clearly listed the "mom didn't feed them" excuse that literally everyone claims in regard to why cubs are being hand reared. So we started researching JITW, how they'd been founded, who the founders were, etc.
What we discovered was equal parts confusing and distressing. Instagram is a social media site, and like most social media sites, it intends to ephemeral. It's not designed to plow through and is often difficult to backtrack as it wants to freeze. However, we soon discovered that JITW really doesn't go back farther than a year, at best. The foundation literally appeared overnight. And diligent effort started producing more results. Most of them involving both the founders of JITW playing with big cats, training them to interact with humans, and to perform for a public audience. We also uncovered some clashing information about the foundation's "star" jaguar, Andromeda, the "first to be raised without human intervention" whom they tout as the best hope for a wild release.
It seems that Andromeda is owned by a zoo. The Oaxaca Yaguar Xoo, to be exact. Here's her birth announcement.
But, here's the same announcement, posted on the JITW Instagram feed, claiming that THEY own Andromeda.
Awkward.
You would think that either one or the other would own the jaguar. But it gets more confusing. Having discovered that a zoo was claiming to own the same cat that JITW claimed to own, I started looking into the Yaguar zoo. It turns out that Yaguar loves to breed babies, and then take them from their mothers. Here's a video (in Spanish) talking about how great they are, and how many experts they have. Experts with incredibly sticky fingers, it seems, as you'll notice that every single one of them is holding with and playing with tiny cubs much too young to be away from their mothers in natural circumstances. I warn you, toward the end of the video, one cub is dangled in front of its mother, separated by iron bars, and the mother becomes quite desperate, injuring herself to the point of limping away from her attempts to reach her baby.
Yaguar Xoo also apparently also does a booming business with "interns" and "volunteers" who are allowed to handle and play with their animals.
The translation for these photos is roughly "Do you like animals? Come volunteer at Yaguar Xoo!
In my research on JITW, I'd checked out the Instagram accounts of both founders, one, Víctor Rosas Cossío, literally just turned his private account into the JITW account. But his co-founder, Andrea, still has a separate account. And when I scrolled through, I found these photos.
I was, understandably, confused. The co-founder of JITW started out as a volunteer playing with big cats at the Yaguar Xoo? It gets even more questionable. Before volunteering at the zoo and playing with lions and other big cats, it seems that Andrea had no visible association with any conservation or animal group at all. Rather, she was a fashion model. While modeling is a completely legitimate career, most successful models don't just wake up one day and start founding wildlife organizations dedicated to research, rehabilitation and RELEASE, because, well, you have to know about those things in order to do them.
I turned to the other co-founder, Víctor, and that's where I found the big cat expertise I'd been expecting. Only, I didn't find it in the format I would have hoped to find it. (name) apparently worked for the Yaguar Xoo for a number of years, training their big cats to perform for the public.
A running comparison of the social media accounts of JITW and the Oaxaca Xoo revealed what amounts to a shared presence. Pictures of the same animals on both accounts with both groups claiming to own the cats, the same photos show up in both locations, and most troubling of all, the same "enrichment area" where the Oaxaca animals are forced to perform for the public, are the same areas where JITW's animals are shown getting "enrichment". In addition, there is a public pool on the zoo grounds which seems to be the same pool that baby big cats are shown swimming in in JITW photos.
What JITW is carefully NOT saying on their social media accounts is that the reason they appeared overnight is because they're really just a new face and branch off of an existing zoo.
JITW presents itself as an entirely new foundation with an entirely new objective, but the truth is that they're just a perfect example of how to use social media and sleight of hand to make yourself seem legitimate. By following the format created by BJWT (social media presence which is designed to lure in supporters by saying all the right things, and showing carefully orchestrated "awesome stuff" using professional photographers, and references to the future of Mexico's wildlife) the Yaguar Xoo has, in essence, reinvented itself by creating a supposedly entirely separate entity. The problem is, the zoo shares animals with JITW, the zoo is still breeding those animals, and despite that an inside source told us that one animal had, they thought, been released, that supposed release was well over a decade ago, which would place both of JITW's founders in their teenage years. Thus, that supposed release had nothing at all to do with JITW as it exists now.
By now, the parallels between JITW and BJWT were truly frightening:
Both foundations appeared overnight, established with hundreds of thousands to millions of followers in less time than it takes most foundations to get a roof over their head.
Both foundations have, and maintain, merchandise lines and/or retailers who are eager to host merchandise the proceeds from sales of which goes directly to the foundations, contacts and luxuries unheard of for most foundations.
Both foundations have private photographers on board, constantly promoting the foundations through art, and the animals, and helping to create merchandise.
Both foundations have already been guests at various exhibitions as "experts" in the field of conservation (despite that neither have actually had any impact at all on wild populations or conservation efforts) and despite that the founders of both foundations are, in fact, not experts on big cats, or are so young they simply can't have the experience required to truly be an established expert.
Both foundations have been invited to participate in events where their animals and stories were highlighted, despite, again, the fact that they have not yet done anything to help wild populations and have, instead, participated in breeding captive populations.
Both foundations have stated that they are part of a "DNA bank" and mapping endeavor.
But the most damning evidence so far in regard to JITW being an imitation of BJWT, is the fact that, well, both groups are friends on social media. They tag each other on Instagram, the call each other brother, and they openly and publicly support each other.
Now, JITW doesn't have to aggressively denounce BJWT and their cub-petting extravaganzas. It's a small world in Mexico, and professionalism is something I could accept. Formal responses and shows of gratitude would be completely expected. However, calling each other "brother" and thanking BJWT for sending "blue energy" over to heal Andromeda from the tragic and unforeseen Africanized bee attack (truly horrific) denotes a tad more affection than a strictly professional relationship. Never mind that there's a huge overlap of BJWT Instagram followers and JITW followers, largely due to the link fostered by the two foundations.
Add the fact that JITW is run out of a zoo which participates in cubs petting, and for which one founder worked for years, and it's too much for me not to form an opinion on the matter. Clearly, Mexico has a problem. Namely one which involves foundations cropping up out of the blue because they're nothing more than existing groups renamed and revised, or owned by well connected people.
Creating conservation foundations in Mexico is the new "clothing line" of the rich and famous, and just as celebrities tout each others' newest sweatshirt designs, it helps to be chummy with the other biggest foundation in the country. In JITW's case, that's BJWT. So while we've been told that at least one of the JITW founders doesn't particularly like Eduardo Serio or what he does, they apparently like his connections enough to buddy up with him in order to get ahead.
Now, just in the last few days, JITW has announced that they're working with Discovery Channel and Animal Planet on some kind of project. Frankly, Animal Planet has been dead to me for years. When you host shows like "Call of the Wildman" and "Redneck Zoo" any reputation you had pertaining to actual conservation and animal husbandry is out the window and run over by a semi. But I was sort of holding out hope that Discovery Channel might retain some standards. Alas, they obviously have no more devotion to research and actual conservation than their sister station. Really pieces of work, both stations are. Pieces of fecal matter, but whoppers of the kind, I'll give them that. Leading the world in misinformation and pseudo-conservation, one fake show at a time.
But back to JITW. It's unclear what sort of project is being filmed. Nothing has been said about a release date for Andromeda, and as she's literally the only big cat at JITW that wasn't hand reared and played with for her entire life, there's no one else to release. But then, JITW has turned baiting cats for public entertainment into an art form they refer to as "enrichment". Accredited sanctuaries offer their animals hidden food, or treats, special edible toys (like pumpkins in the fall) or Christmas trees to play with for enrichment. JITW brings their animals from small enclosures into one large one, and then proceed to dangle a piñata full of yummy stuff over a pool of water. If kitty wants the yum yums, kitty's got to jump and hot dog through the air like an Olympic freestyle skier in order to get them. In front of a crowd of paying guests, of course. So perhaps Discover Channel and Animal Planet are working on a show about flying big cats? Who knows.
There's no denying that the cats of JITW are beautiful to look at, just as it's impossible to deny that the cubs, of BJWT are utterly adorable. The problem is, that while the animals of both foundations generate an onslaught of social media, and other media attention, the wild animals continue to suffer without notice. And while private ownership of exotic animals in Mexico is on par with that of the United Arab Emirates, and zoos which allow petting and handling abound, there remains no genuine sanctuary for animals who need to be rescued and then left alone in peace, rather than being exploited for the sake of money.
Or is there a sanctuary out there in Mexico which actually does care about the animal, first, foremost and always?
Find the answer in my next article, where I explore the only sanctuary in the country of Mexico which fits the true definition of the word.
F.A.R.T.S. Aren't the Only Thing That Stink…
On July 6, 2016 July 6, 2016 By projecticarus2015In animal welfare, Big Cat Public Safety Act, Black Jaguar White Tiger, conservation, Conservation Journalism, education, extinction, Facts, Global Environmental Issues, Hands Off Conservation, Hands-on Interaction, International Summit, mexico, stewardship, true facts8 Comments
Sorry for the click-bait title, but it needed to be done.
After our recent article, and the usual accompanying "hysterism" by BJWT in response to it, we noticed a peculiar reaction by all the Eddieites. They went to another organization's page and proceeded to scream and fuss, name call and make asshats of themselves in general. Don't get me wrong, it's nice to avoid all the trolls, but really? Having an I.C.A.R.U.S. article raise the dust, and then watch another conservation group get all the hate mongering was, well, awkward.
Then folks started contacting us and asking if we had any comment on our "relationship" with BCR. They attached links to their questions, and when we saw where those links went, it all suddenly started to make sense.
Big Cat Rescue Watch is a website run by Juan Garcia* who is devoted single-mindedly to doing anything and everything to destroy Big Cat Rescue's reputation. Apparently Juan posted an article months ago "rebutting" one of our articles. And when I say "rebutting" I'm being generous. Basically, Juan spends the entire article trash talking BCR, while defending BJWT (no surprise, the website is designed solely to defend BJWT while trashing BCR) and lying about the photos. But it's the bottom of the article where he really shows that he's willing to do anything to defend BJWT.
In a screenshot of an unknown page, involving an unknown person (no names or proof that those involved have anything to do with BCR) Juan shows someone–who states that they don't even work at BCR–saying that "the crew supports them" in response to several questions wherein Juan claims that Big Cat Rescue is somehow responsible for the I.C.A.R.U.S. article.
Aside from the fact that Juan doesn't just objectively ask a question, but rather goes into the discussion with his mind made up and directly asserts from the beginning that BCR is in charge of the article, and despite that the person clearly says "No, BCR wouldn't have anything to do with it" Juan continues to assert that BCR is in charge of the articles produced by I.C.A.R.U.S. stating that "Maybe Big Cat Rescue has someone writing for them". It's not clear why he even included his "questions" in his article when he simply ignored the answer of "NO" and reiterated that BCR does, in fact, have someone writing articles for them under the name of I.C.A.R.U.S.
Despite Juan Garcia's adorable "disclosure" at the bottom of his blog, his accusations that I.C.A.R.U.S.'s staff writer is "working for BCR" qualifies as libel, because our staff writer has absolutely no associating with BCR, and has never had any association with BCR. By attempting to damage her reputation by connecting her with another unrelated organization, Juan is libeling her.
But here's the thing, BCRWatch website is nothing more than an illegitimate "shell" site, baseless and without merit. Basically, it's nothing but a hub for those who support cub petting and places who promote it, where they can attempt to discredit legitimate, accredited sanctuaries and those who are striving to stop the practice of captive exotic animal exploitation.
Juan Garcia calls anyone who takes a stand against cub petting and exploitation a F.A.R.T. and has this, among other similar images, on his site.
It's the sort of "clever" humor that Serio of BJWT likes to think he possesses. Not that BCRWatch is paid for by BJWT, or anything. At least, not that we know of. Though, it is sort of curious that BCRWatch reposted his "rebuttal" article, and pinned it to the top of his page at the exact same time that "Papa Bear" was pitching his own tantrum on his live feed about destroying us. I mean, interesting coincidence, you know? Or maybe not a coincidence at all.
* We have no idea if Juan Garcia is this guy's actual name, but it's what he goes by on social media.
I thought that I'd copy and paste Juan's disclaimer here. He's super careful to post it under his rhetoric, I mean, articles, since his site is full of lies, I suppose, in hopes to avoid trouble from lying.
I hold no claims of ownership to the referenced articles, screenshots, or photos that are public information online. All photo references and commentary articles have been carefully researched, reported, and solely intended for criticism, comment, and nonprofit educational purpose to inform the public. Subjects not referenced with facts should be considered opinion. Testimonies from sources/interviews, comments, criticism, and articles are released without malice (i.e., without intent to harm) to any parties and intended solely for educational purposes. If any content herein can be proven to be untrue, incorrect, or illegal it will be corrected or deleted immediately, The opinions and beliefs of the contributors to this website and those of it's administration are the result of many hours of intensive research and are protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Opinions stated here are my own. The information is true to the best of my research and knowledge.
Cubs Cubs Everywhere, And With Them Oh The Funds We'll Snare
On July 1, 2016 July 4, 2016 By projecticarus2015In animal welfare, Big Cat Public Safety Act, Black Jaguar White Tiger, conservation, Conservation Journalism, education, Facts, Hands Off Conservation, Hands-on Interaction, mexico, stewardship, true facts, wildlife crime37 Comments
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.
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.
In A World Full Of Darlas, Be A Jane Goodall.
On June 1, 2016 June 1, 2016 By projecticarus2015In animal welfare, conservation, Conservation Journalism, culture, ecotourim, education, extinction, Facts, Global Environmental Issues, Hands Off Conservation, stewardship, tourism, travel, true facts, unethical tourism, wildlife crimeLeave a comment
Thanks to Finding Nemo, the clown fish has become a ubiquitous entity. It is easily now the most recognizable fish on the planet. Tragically, the one place you may not see it, is in wild ocean reefs where it once lived. That's because up to 1 million clownfish are captured in the wild each year and sold to citizens to feed the "Nemo craze" of young children who want to own a fish just like Nemo and Marlin.
The irony of clownfish populations being entirely wiped out in some areas by those who want to own a pet clownfish after watching a movie about a clownfish trying to rescue his son who was taken from the wild to be sold as a pet fish, is not lost on conservationists. It is, however, completely overlooked by the public who are buying the clownfish that are being taken from their natural habitat by the millions.
Now, on the eve of the release of Finding Dory, we conservationists are even more concerned about the fate of the blue tang, which is the species Dory belongs to. She is specifically a regal blue tang. Clownfish populations have now been completely eradicated in certain areas due to over harvesting, and that's on top of the captive breeding population that is already well established. Blue tang, however, are literally incapable of being bred in captivity, due to the mechanisms of their own reproductive processes.
This means that 100% of the blue tang in captivity were born wild, and subsequently captured.
Though blue tangs have a broad range, spanning the Indo-Pacific, and in the reefs of East Africa, Japan, Samoa, New Caledonia, and the Great Barrier Reef, they are not considered "common" in any specific region. There has already been an influx in blue tangs sold as pets since the release of Finding Nemo, and conservationists worry that that influx will become a bank-run after the release of Finding Dory, despite the hefty price tags of $40.00 (for a fish 1/2"-3/4") to $100.00 (for a fish 5"-7"). Few people realize that regal blue tangs will grow up to a foot long, and are best off in an aquarium that is a minimum of 6-8 feet long and 180-200 gallons. Additionally, they are a rather fragile fish, prone to disease and issues associated with captivity and thus they are considered an "expert only" fish. These facts often go unnoticed, smoothed over, or ignored altogether.
To make matters worse, blue tangs are often captured via a highly damaging process called "cyanide fishing" wherein divers release cyanide into the waters of a reef, stunning the fish. They then move through th reef collecting the helpless animals. Numerous fish die immediately from this process.
And about 60% of the regal blue tang collected through cyanide fishing will die without warning within several months of capture, often leaving their new owners out a fish, money, and any idea as to how they ended up that way. Many times, this means purchasing another regal blue tang to replace the dead one, which continues the cycle indefinitely. The practice of cyanide fishing also has grossly damaging effects on the coral, and other fish populations, including the accidental poisoning of humans who eat fish that are killed in this manner and then sold without being completely decontaminated. Even without the use of cyanide in the process of capturing blue tangs, and average of 25% will die simply from the stress of being captured and transported.
The entire message behind Finding Nemo was that wild fish should be left in the oceans, free and unbothered by humans. That mantra was literally the basis for the movie. However, the public seemed to identify more with Darla, the film's terrifyingly callous and uncaring antagonist. Though she had only moments of screen time, Darla remains one of the most memorable "bad guys" of all time. With an estimated 40% increase in sales of clownfish, post-Finding Nemo, though, it seems that the majority of the public was channeling Darla after they left the movie theaters.
Now, we wait with bated breath to see if Dory's relatives in the real world will suffer the same fate. Clownfish disappeared entirely from some areas, and their population decreased by as much as 75% in other areas. And, again, that is in addition to the steady source of clownfish provided by captive breeding programs already in existence. If the same uptake in the demand for blue tangs occurs, the species might well be facing extinction. We will have "found Dory" in our own homes at the cost of losing her forever in the wild.
Darla wouldn't care about this post, or the fate of the regal blue tangs, so long as she got her "fishy fishy".
Don't be a Darla.
Be a Jane Goodall, instead, and spread the word about how no wild animal should ever be kept as a pet. If you truly love Dory, then leave her in the wild where she belongs. Leave her in the reefs, so that your children, and their children can watch Finding Nemo, and Finding Dory, and then go and find them in the wild, just like they're presented in those movies.
"I don't care two hoots about civilization. I want to wander in the wild." – Jane Goodall.
All of the Dorys currently swimming amongst coral mazes want to wander in the wild, too. So please, let them do so.