All animals deserve to live their lives in their natural environments, with their natural companions and family infrastructures. Some zoos DO put together proper enclosures with appropriate enrichment, food, companionship, etc.. Others do not. The animals at Kirshner's Wildlife Sanctuary are imprisoned in cages all day every day.  

My personal observation of Kirshner's "Sanctuary": 

            The cages were so small and there were old kids toys inside the cages. Some animals had minimal or no toys or stimulating objects in their cages except for a sad large ball. Most animals were sleeping, hiding, or obviously had anxiety and were pacing a lot. Some enclosures weren't even big enough for some animals to have shelter or to hide if they didn't want to see visitors. There are also No ways of regulating their enclosure temperatures and they must suffer due to the heat that can occur here.(Chico, Ca temps reached 116 in 2020). Confined in chain linked fences with no room to exercise is undeniably cruel! This roadside zoo has too many animals here that are perfectly healthy. Kept in small cages 24 hours a day for a means of creating a collection of exotic animals for a roadside attraction. They have been fined many times, forced to relocate due to inadequate living space for these animals, and many whistleblowers who either worked or volunteered have reported numerous acts of abuse/  Peta has videos of abuse from the handlers anyone can view on their website.  

**Taken from their site: "Part of our mission is to teach responsible ownership of exotic and companion animals. It is our belief that through hands-on experience with the animals of the Kirshner Wildlife Sanctuary, ..."

             Ownership of exotic animals?! 'Hands-on' experience?! These are concepts and actions that no legitimate sanctuary would EVER consider. I also believe they work with legal exotic breeding facilities in other states to obtain some of their animals because in CA, private ownership / breeding of tigers, lions, etc. is illegal and the write ups on many of their animals allude to obtaining from 'facilities' but don't reference specific sanctuaries - plus many animals are very young, which legitimate sanctuaries rarely see in exotics. They aren't rescuing animals in need from bad situations, though some of their residents qualify, what they appear to be is part of a chain of organizations that supports the breeding of exotic animals for a life of confinement.

              The care of the animals may meet minimums but the cages aren't not large enough (they most resemble prison cells). The animals here are pacing and rocking in their too-small cages - another sign of inadequacy. You can see it in their eyes how sad and hopeless these poor animals are. Snow leopards and Siberian tigers in Chico-area heat? Without water? It's all but assured that these animals are going to be unbearably hot at least half the year. Real adequate sanctuaries do not let the public come in and take pictures with the animals or their babies and most of all keep them in small cages. They should be kept in more of a natural setting and have lots of room to roam. 

***PLEASE HELP ME SAVE THESE ANIMALS AND SEND THEM TO

                                 PROPER SACTUARIES! ***