tigertoy

I received my card in the mail today, so it's official. I am a Registered Exotic Feline Handler (Basic Level) with the Feline Conservation Federation.

This new program is intended to document the amount of experience that the FCF membership has in working with exotic felines. I'm participating in part to support the program (the more people who are registered and have their experience cataloged, the more convincing it becomes), and in part in the hope that in places where AR wins and "the public" is not allowed any contact with exotic animals (such as the crazy near-suicidal stunt depicted in my icon), I will be able to argue that I'm not just "the public". Not because I don't want you to have the chance to get to know a tiger or other exotic feline too, but because I simply couldn't live without that contact in my life, so I'll claim special privilege if I must so I can live to keep fighting a little longer.

I have returned from my trip to the FCF convention in Dallas. The brief overview:

Wednesday (July 25) I drove down to Little Rock, where I had dinner with

msminlr and Morris at their home and we had some good conversation. I shared some of the peaches I'd bought somewhere in northeast Arkansas. I wanted to get closer to Dallas so I'd have more time there on Thursday, and I thought I had time to get to Texarkana, but when I reached Arkadelphia I felt very tired, so I stopped there.

Thursday, I drove to Texas, stopping for barbecue at a Dickey's in Greenville, and made it to the hotel without incident. Friday we had a tour of the Dallas Zoo (including brief looks behind the scenes at their tiger and cheetah exhibits), followed by a membership meeting and dinner at the Southfork Ranch, a tourist trap that claims to be the set of the TV show Dallas. It turns out that it was only the site of some exterior shots; none of the interior of the house was used on the show at all. The house had some very fancy furnishings and decor, but it was much too small to even be called a mansion. Fans of the TV show would find it quite a let down, while those like me who couldn't care less about some dumb TV show thought it was silly. The barbecue dinner was good. It even included live "cowboy music", a troubadour who did quite a professional job working a room that was for the most part pretty indifferent. Even though it wasn't quite my kind of music, I respect the fellow; he did a good job and it was fun. I talked to him a bit and he gave me his card, which read "Yancey Stevens and the City Slickers" (the City Slickers, in this instance, was one guy who sang along a bit and was a foil for the comedy part of the act). Saturday we had speaker presentations and the first ever art show associated with the FCF convention. This was anchored by two professional artists who between them produced images of all 36 currently recognized species of cats. About 4 other artists had some work on display as well. I ended up missing some of the more interesting speakers because I was busy with the art show. The banquet was quite good.

There was some drama at the convention, but overall, it seemed to be much more harmonious than usual, and I am hopeful that FCF will be moving forward more effectively than it often has in the past.

Sunday, I drove down to Tyler to visit FCF Vice President Brian Werner's Tiger Creek, and then went on to spend the night in Mena, AR.

Monday, I visited two FCF members' facilities near Mena. Then I drove back to Little Rock, where I treated

msminlr and Morris to dinner at a local Mexican place. I'd meant to drive on to Memphis or so, but I was overwhelmed with fatigue, so they put me up for the night.

Today, I drove home. I have gotten all the pictures copied onto my hard drive, but I have a bunch of work to do to get the pictures I owe various people off to them. Top priority is to try to catch up on sleep, so I'm done with this for now. There's a lot more to say about this trip, and I will try to get to it. We'll see how it goes.

I just answered some questions in an email from an FCF member, and I thought I'd post them here, just a little bit edited so I can make this post public.

1. How did you find out about FCF?

In the spring of 2003 I was a volunteer at Exotic Feline Rescue Center in Indiana. They were co-sponsoring a husbandry course, and I decided I was interested.

2. What made you join, what made you attracted to the group?

At the course I met several FCF folks and heard about the convention coming up in Cincinnati later that year. I was excited to meet people like Bob Turner and Lynn Culver. When they told me I'd get to see a snow leopard up close, I decided I'd go.

3. What is making you to stay as a member?

Cats are the most important thing in my life. I don't think I could find the will to live in a world without tigers. I'm convinced that the only hope of keeping the various species alive is by getting more people to care passionately about them and that the only way to get people to care passionately is for them to have the chance to see them up close, to touch them, and to know them as individuals. The kind of interaction that changes people's hearts doesn't happen in AZA zoos. Responsible private owners give more people chances to get closer to the animals. Responsible breeders ensure that there's a population for exhibitors to work with. FCF's other conservation activities are also valuable, but promoting responsible private ownership is vital. It's that emphasis that makes FCF worth supporting when there are so many places I could give my limited conservation dollars.

To be honest, the annual convention has become a high point of my year as a chance to spend time with friends I only see then and to meet the animals. I'd probably still go if it were only a social occasion, but I'm very glad that the organization is doing something important.

4. What would you change?

I want to see more husbandry courses. I want to see the accreditation program take off. I'd like to see the organization doing more to educate the public and lawmakers about why responsible ownership is important to the future of the animals and no threat to public safety. Of course, that means more work, which means more people doing the work. So I want to see more efforts to expand the membership to get more people involved, especially people like me who don't have cats of their own. And as more people become involved, I want to see more of the club's business done by a larger group than the elected Board members.

I've just returned from three nights in Cincinnati at the Feline Conservation Federation annual convention. It was a busy, exciting time; a lot of fun, a few rough spots, but a good trip. I could say a whole lot about the trip and about FCF, if I could stay awake, but I'm pretty beat after three nights of short sleep and the drive home, so I'm just going to list a few high points here in a short post, with the option of posting more later.

( ok, so that wasn't as short as I meant it to be )

Just one more very quick mention that the deadline for me to mail in the tickets for FCF's raffle of an African safari is tomorrow. If you're someone I know and will see sometime soon, email me (at my LJ address) with your contact info (name/address/phone/email) and how many tickets you want, and I'll float you the money and collect the $10/ticket when I see you. (Or you can purchase tickets on line through the above link, but you'll need to Paypal the money in, for an extra $1.) The retail value of the prize is around $7000 and so far there have only been 600ish tickets sold, so it's actually good odds as well as a good cause. I won't mention it again (unless I or someone I sold a ticket to wins).

I hope that no one will feel that I am spamming here. I will friends lock this post if I get a lot of complaint.

Two fundraising things have just become available, both things that might be of interest to people and do generate money for good causes.

First, FCF is holding a raffle for a trip for two to Zulu Nyala Game Park in South Africa, including air fare, 6 nights accomodations, all meals, and two guided game-viewing tours each day. The value of the prize is about $7000. Tickets are $10; you can get them from me, or you can get them on line, follow the link. In the interest of full disclosure, for every 10 tickets I sell I get one free one for myself, and the FCF member who sells the most tickets gets free membership and hotel room at next year's FCF convention in Cincinnati. So I theoretically have an interest, but I'm definitely not doing it for the inducements.

Second, the 2006 EFRC calendar is available. If you're someone I will actually see in person, I can get one for you and you won't have to worry about (or pay for) having it mailed to you. The calendar is $15, all of which goes to helping the cats, and you get a calendar with gorgeous pictures, one of which is by yours truly.

If you're interested in either of these, get in touch with me. (email should reach me at tigertoy at livejournal dot com.) Tickets are available for the raffle until Feb. 1. The calendar is a traditional one that covers January through December.

I'm back!

I hope to post more details, and also pictures, but a very quick overview (note, quick is a relative term, this is still long) of my trip:

( The trip highlights, day by day )

Now I have to dig out and resume my life -- starting with getting a new stove -- but right now, I'm about to fall asleep at the keybaord.

I'm back from my trip to Vegas for the Feline Conservation Federation Convention. I hope to provide a longer report and include pictures later, but I'll put a brief report now.

( Highs and lows and lows and lows )

It's official; I just wrote the check for the registration and bought the non-refundable airline tickets. I'm going to the FCF Convention in Las Vegas the end of July.

I have 6 weeks to figure out how to get through airport security without getting sent to Gitmo or having my stuff taken away or destroyed. Any advice will be appreciated. I'm traveling with an expensive camera that I'm not letting out of my sight. I also intend to travel with some things a normal human being travels with, like nail clippers, so I'll have to check a bag, which I've never done before.

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Registered Exotic Feline Handler

Safely home from Texas

FCF survey

FCF Convention

Africa safari raffle

Fund raisers for the cats

Florida trip overview

Las Vegas trip overview

Las Vegas here I come

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January 2026

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