Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge, located just outside Eureka Springs, has a lot to be thankful for, by all accounts. So do the 400 animals rescued by the nonprofit sanctuary since its founding over three decades ago.
In recent years, charitable gifts from donors — through monthly or annual memberships, one-time donations, animal sponsorships, and legacy contributions — have allowed Turpentine Creek to add tourist lodging such as suites and glamping tents, safari lodges, and RV sites; open an on-site animal hospital staffed with a full-time veterinarian; expand educational programming; and build partnerships with other sanctuaries and lawmakers to better protect wildlife from the illicit exotic animal trade.
Turpentine Creek’s annual operating budget of $4.7 million is generally covered by admissions, lodging rentals, tours, and other activities, which means every cent donated to Turpentine Creek goes directly back to its mission of rescuing and providing a lifelong refuge for abused and neglected big cats, especially tigers, lions, leopards, and cougars.
Beyond the recent growth that’s visible on Turpentine Creek’s 460-acre property, the refuge has fostered stronger partnerships among sanctuaries than ever before. One result of sanctuaries’ coordinated efforts: more legal protections for big cats, TCWR President Tanya Smith explained in a recent interview.
After President Joe Biden signed the bipartisan Big Cat Public Safety Act into law in December 2022, the couple who led the push for the legislation, Howard and Carole Baskin of Tampa — yes, those Baskins, made famous in Netflix’s Tiger King series — invited Tanya and her husband to visit them and celebrate the new law.
“So, we went down to visit and celebrate; the law is a game-changer because our goal is to not have to do this anymore,” Smith said in a recent interview. “Then they sprung it on us: the Baskins wanted us to take their cats so they could close and sell their property.”
The Baskins helped fund the construction of new habitats at Turpentine Creek to house the animals, and the last one arrived in December 2023. Since then, federal enforcement of the new law has been ramping up, which means demand for sanctuary assistance is also rising — and anytime illegal big-cat operations are shut down, Turpentine Creek is at the top of the feds’ call list.
“Enforcement is such a slow process that unfortunately, the animals might not make it out,” Smith said. “But when law enforcement calls us for a rescue, those animals technically still belong to the person being prosecuted and we are simply caretakers until the court case is settled.
“We don't mind not talking about it, but then we had to get creative on how we're going to fund it, and it's up to us as a privately funded nonprofit to figure it out,” she said. “We created the new Witness Protection & Rescue Fund because we need to have those funds available. When the Department of Justice calls us, it’s always an emergency — they have got to get those animals out right away, and we’ve got to have space and resources ready for new animals.”
Turpentine Creek opened an on-site vet hospital in 2017 and last year added a full-time vet on staff, eliminating harrowing trips to rural vet clinics across the county for the animals’ care needs. The Jackson Memorial Veterinary Hospital also serves as a teaching hospital for vet students from across the globe, Smith said.
“This saves us from having to run 600-pound tigers across the county to St. Francis Animal Hospital, where we were navigating areas that are too small and built for dogs and cats,” she explained. “We had over 800 people donate for this project, and this crowdfunding effort was an easy project compared to some others like the campaign for a new Visitor Education Center and Museum, because everybody knew we needed a hospital for our big cats, it just made sense.”
Learn more at TurpentineCreek.org.
When the Department of Justice calls us, it’s always an emergency — we've got to be ready.