60. Staying True to Your Life Mission with Carole Baskin
The popular docuseries "Tiger King" made Carole Baskin an overnight celebrity. Unfortunately, attached to popularity are overwhelming hate and accusations from the public. Despite the backlash, Carole learned to disregard the negativity and focus on her life mission: to protect and preserve the lives of wild cats.
In this episode, Carole joins us to talk about how she became the youngest state employee and how she started her journey on animal activism. She also shared her lessons from the "Tiger King" and what she did to overcome the hate she received after the show. Finally, she discusses how we can help in protecting wild cats today.
If you are interested to know more about preserving our wild animals and helping the planet, this episode is for you!
3 reasons why you should listen to the full episode:
Discover the changes made in wild cat protection over the years
Uncover how your passion can push you outside of your comfort zone
Learn how resilience can overcome hate
Resources
● Start your podcasting journey with Simon. Check out his website to learn how you can collaborate with him.
● Watch the episodes of Carole Baskin’s Cage Fight
● Know more about Big Cat Rescue
● Connect with Carole YouTube | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook
● Support the Big Cat Public Safety Act here
Episode Highlights
[02:26] Carole’s Life
● Carole’s family constantly moved because of her father’s occupation.
● They eventually settled in Florida when her father lost his job.
● When she was 15 years old, Carole left home and decided to work for a governor, becoming the youngest state employee.
● Being an only child during the first six years of her life made her more creative and responsible.
● She got married at 17 years old and eventually had a daughter.
[05:16] On Reinventing Her Career
● Being raised by a family of businesspeople, she was encouraged to be creative and independent.
● Carole had been involved in bobcat rescue missions since she was young.
● She and her husband invested in real estate to find a sanctuary for animals. Listen to the full episode to hear why Carole cried during an auction for a six-month-old bobcat!
[07:49] The Beginning of Carole’s Wild Cats Journey
● At a young age, Carole wanted to save cats, but she did not expect that she would be looking after big ones.
● Carole cried when she visited a center that killed bobcats for their fur. That day, she and her husband went home with 56 cats.
● The number of cats she adopted grew every year.
● Eventually, people with tigers and leopards started asking for her help.
[12:17] Three Decades After Saving Cats
● The conditions and process for saving cats are better than 30 years ago.
● Carole has been working with multiple animal-rights groups to ban the possession of big cats.
● By 2003, it was illegal to sell big cats as pets across state lines. Subsequently, the number of cats needed to be rescued decreased.
Carole: “I realized then we can't educate our way out of this. We can't rescue our way out of this. We just have to change the laws.”
● Carole hopes the Big Cat Public Safety Act gets passed this 2022. The bill advocates the banning of cub petting and private ownership of big cats.
[15:24] Carole’s Real Estate Business
● Carole built a real estate business in 1984, but it was placed under conservatorship when her husband disappeared.
● She rebuilt the company and has become even stronger today.
● She needed to find ways to raise funds for cat protection in the sanctuary.
[20:06] Overcoming Hate
● Hate won’t affect you if the allegations are just lies.
Carole: “The only thing that I have been concerned about from all of the false narrative that came out of Tiger King is that it would damage the mission. And my mission is a world where all wild cats live free.”
● Participating in Dancing With The Stars allowed her to raise awareness on animal rights.
● The advocacy to protect cats was undermined in the Tiger King.
Simon: “There's a lesson in there for people around social media and reality TV. People can often be portrayed to be somebody. But none of us knows the snapshots in time.”
[23:17] On Joe Exotic
● According to some psychologists, it’s common for people who are into big cats to have a malignant narcissistic personality.
● Joe surrounded himself with people who also had mental health issues. They encouraged him to believe he was the judge, jury, and executioner in his world.
[27:03] Learning From Tiger King
● Carole was misled by the Tiger King staff that they were doing a documentary exposing the cruel industry of separating cubs from their mothers.
● The Tiger King experience opened her eyes to the malpractice of reality media.
● The media can change the narrative to serve their interest.
[31:57] Carole’s Biggest Self-Discovery
● If you have something to fight for, you’ll go out of your comfort zone.
● Carole admits she is an introvert, but she went over and beyond herself because of her passion for cats.
[32:59] On How She Wanted to Be Remembered
● Instead of being remembered, Carole wanted others to save the planet.
● If we can’t save tigers, we can’t save the planet.
About Carole
Carole Baskin is an animal rights activist, entrepreneur, and CEO of Big Cat Rescue– a non-profit organization that serves as an animal sanctuary in Tampa, Florida. She drew public attention when she was featured at the docuseries Tiger King in 2020 and became a contestant at Dancing With The Stars in the same year. While she unwittingly became a public figure, her vision of a world where all wild cats are free remains. Carole has collaborated with multiple animal-rights groups to push for the passage of the Big Cat Public Safety Act. She believes that animal protection and preservation can only be achieved by changing the law.
Carole is now the host of Cat Chat Show and stars at her own docuseries, Carole Baskin’s Cage Fight.
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