Carole Baskin facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Carole Baskin
Baskin in 2019
Born	Carole Ann Stairs (1961-06-06) June 6, 1961 (age 64) Bexar County, Texas, U.S.
Other names	Carole Stairs Carole Murdock Carole Lewis
Occupation	Animal sanctuary executive animal rights activist
Known for	Involvement in Tiger King and Dancing with the Stars
Television	Tiger King (2020–2021) Dancing with the Stars (2020) Shooting Joe Exotic (2021)
Spouse(s)	Michael Murdock ​ ​ (m. 1979; div. 1990)​ Don Lewis ​ ​ (m. 1991; legal d. 2002)​ Howard Baskin ​ (m. 2004)​
Children	1

Carole Ann Baskin (born June 6, 1961) is the CEO of Big Cat Rescue. This is a non-profit animal sanctuary. She works to protect big cats that are kept in captivity.

Baskin became widely known after appearing in the 2020 Netflix documentary series Tiger King. The show featured her work and her disagreements with a private zoo owner. She also appeared on Dancing with the Stars in 2020.

Carole Baskin's Early Life

Carole Ann Stairs was born on June 6, 1961, in Bexar County, Texas. From a young age, she loved cats. When she was nine, she wanted to save animals. However, she decided not to become a veterinarian. This was because veterinarians sometimes have to put animals to sleep when they are very sick.

She left high school early and began working. She also traveled between Florida and Maine.

Carole Baskin's Career

Helping Animals

A tiger at Baskin's animal sanctuary Big Cat Rescue in 2012

At 17, Baskin worked at a department store in Tampa, Florida. She also started breeding show cats to earn money. She even used llamas to help with lawn trimming.

In 1991, Baskin married Don Lewis. They started an animal sanctuary called Wildlife on Easy Street in 1992. This sanctuary was for big cats. They stopped breeding animals by 1997. They realized it was not good for the animals.

Baskin is still the CEO of the sanctuary. She later renamed it Big Cat Rescue. She uses social media like Facebook and YouTube to speak out against private zoos. She also has a podcast called The Cat Chat.

Dancing on TV

In 2020, Baskin joined the TV show Dancing with the Stars. She was a contestant in season 29.

Carole Baskin's Personal Life

Relationships and Family

Carole Baskin married Michael Murdock in 1979. They had a daughter born in 1980.

Later, she met Don Lewis. They married in 1991. Lewis disappeared in August 1997. He was declared legally deceased in 2002. The case of his disappearance is still active.

In November 2002, Carole met Howard Baskin. He joined Big Cat Rescue as chairman of the advisory board. They got married in November 2004.

Disagreements with Joe Exotic

Baskin had a long-running disagreement with Joe Exotic. He was the former owner of the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park. Their disagreement started in 2009. Big Cat Rescue volunteers protested against malls that hosted Exotic's cub-petting shows. Many malls then canceled these events.

Exotic responded by bothering Baskin. He used names and logos similar to Big Cat Rescue. Baskin took legal action. In 2013, a court ordered him to pay Baskin money. In 2020, he was found guilty of trying to hire people to harm her. He was sentenced to prison. Baskin was glad about his imprisonment.

In March 2020, Baskin was featured in the Netflix documentary Tiger King. She and her husband Howard were told the series would help stop cub abuse. After Tiger King was released, Baskin faced online criticism.

Baskin wrote an article on the Big Cat Rescue website. She denied the claims made about her in Tiger King. She called the documentary "sensational." She said she and her husband felt betrayed by the filmmakers. Howard Baskin also defended his wife. He said the claims were "nonsense."

In June 2020, a judge gave Exotic's former zoo property to Baskin and Big Cat Rescue. This was because Exotic had tried to avoid paying Baskin money. The zoo's license was suspended in August 2020. The park then closed permanently. Federal authorities later took all 68 big cats from the property in May 2021.

In February 2021, Baskin refused to be in a second season of Tiger King. A month later, she was interviewed by filmmaker Louis Theroux for a BBC documentary. It was called Louis Theroux: Shooting Joe Exotic. They talked about Tiger King and the claims against Baskin. She denied them.

In January 2022, a new sentencing hearing was held for Joe Exotic. Baskin testified that she was afraid of him. A judge resentenced Exotic to 21 years in prison. This was a reduction of only one year.

In November 2021, the Baskins filed a lawsuit against Netflix. They claimed the producers did not have permission to make sequels using their footage. A judge denied their request to stop the film's release.

Working for Animal Laws

Carole and Howard Baskin (right) with Congressman Mike Quigley in 2023

Carole Baskin and Big Cat Rescue have worked with the government. They want to ban the private trade and ownership of exotic cats. Their hard work led to the Big Cat Public Safety Act. President Joe Biden signed this bill into law on December 20, 2022.

This law closed loopholes in an older act from 2003. The Big Cat Public Safety Act bans contact with all big cats and their cubs. It also plans to stop private ownership of big cats over time.

Carole Baskin's TV Appearances

Television

See also

In Spanish: Carole Baskin para niños