Black Pine keepers keep out of cat cages

ALBION, Ind. (WANE) - Black Pine Animal Sanctuary in Albion is a refuge for more than 90 exotic animals. Many of them are big cats. To prevent an attack like the one in California , the sanctuary also has strict safety rules in place.

"The only people who are going to have a set of keys to supervise or lead the feedings are paid staff or trained extensively many, many hours. That's to not only learn all the safety protocols, but to make sure they have an understanding of the animals' behavior," Lori Gagen, Black Pine's executive director, said.

There are four padlocked gates and doors the keepers have to get through to get into the animal habitats. To feed a big cat, the animal first has to leave the big habitat and go into a caged den. Once the animal is secure, the staff will go in to clean the habitat and leave the food behind. Only after the human door is padlocked again is the cat let back into its habitat.

"Our contact is very limited. It's never engaged as part of the husbandry routine, meaning it's not when we're out here cleaning and feeding. That's their time and that's when they're most volatile. There's no engaging with them other than talking to them and getting them to move," Gagen said.

Gagen is saddened to hear about the lion attack in California that killed an intern.

"If they're breeding animals, if they're going in cages with the animals, it's not a sanctuary," Gagen said. "We've got people here that have been doing it for years and would never walk into one of those cages. It's a cultural divide. For me, I can't wrap my head around it."

Black Pine doesn't breed or use the animals for commercial gain. The lion involved in the attack in California had been featured on television shows as a cub.

"I just wish with every fiber of my being that the people who have the power to put these animals on television would understand what they're supporting. Almost any of those animals you see appearing on programs today come from a facility like the one that just had this tragedy and it's as shame that people don't understand what they're supporting," Gagen said.

The California facility didn't allow anyone other the the owner in the lion's cage. The intern's father said he didn't know why his daughter went into the cage anyway. He also said the lion was her favorite cat at the facility and she had been allowed to be in the cage with lions at a previous internship at a different facility in Washington.

"It's not about us. It's not about enjoyment for us. It's not about looking cool and, 'Oh, look what I can go in with.' It's about making sure these animals have homes. Our responsibility is to them, the community, the donors and to the people who help us take care of these animals. We do nothing to invite risk," Gagen said. "The animals come first. We're not going to do anything where our donors say, 'Oh my gosh.  I'm giving my money to someone who's exploiting these animals for profit or who breeds these animals and contributes to the problem of overpopulation."

At Black Pine, contact is even limited with veterinary care.

"We do have to have relationships with the animals. We do need to have their trust. We want them to have non-traumatic veterinary experiences. Senior, trained keepers can go up and do a little bit more protected contact, meaning there's still a barrier," Gagen explained.

Even the most experienced and trained staff never go into the lion, leopard or tiger cages while the animal is in there too.

"We have pole syringes and things that don't require hands-on contact. Just a like a zoo. We strive to act as an accredited zoo community does in that realm," she said.