The preserve has accepted animals from a variety of sources over the years. Private owners who acquired big cat cubs and found themselves unable or unwilling to manage adult animals have surrendered those animals to Shambala. Circuses and traveling shows that have reduced their animal rosters have transferred animals. The two Bengal tigers from Michael Jackson’s Neverland Valley Ranch — named Sabu and Thriller — came to Shambala after the ranch’s zoo operations were closed. Each of these animals represents a version of the same basic situation: a wild animal placed in human captivity for reasons that made sense to the humans at the time, and then requiring ongoing care when the original reason was no longer operative.
The resources required to maintain a functioning big cat sanctuary are not trivial. Food costs for a population of sixty to seventy large cats — each of which may eat several pounds of meat per day — represent a significant ongoing expense. Veterinary care for animals that are aging in captivity, that develop the conditions associated with age, requires specialized expertise. The physical infrastructure of enclosures, water systems, and feeding operations requires regular maintenance. The Roar Foundation fundraises continuously to cover these costs, and Hedren has been the foundation’s most prominent spokeswoman for decades.
## Legislation and Its History
The specific legislative effort that Tippi Hedren engaged in over decades of advocacy was aimed at a problem she understood from personal experience in a way that academic animal welfare advocates could not: the private ownership of large cats as pets, and the cub petting industry that sustained the supply of such animals.