Saturday, March 21, 2009.  The better we do at raising our felines, the brighter our future will be. The next golden opportunity to take the FCF Basic Wild/Exotic Feline Husbandry Course is in the sunshine state on April 25th in Wellington, Florida.  Panther Ridge Conservation Center is the course host. Students will have a unique opportunity to visit Panther Ridge the following morning.

Combining the husbandry course with a facility tour doubles the learning value because information presented by the instructors is then experienced in real life at the facility. These special guided tours show students caging, husbandry, and felines.

Panther Ridge is one of the very few private facilities that house rare felines such as cheetah, clouded leopard, puma, panther, and jaguar. The small cats that reside at Panther Ridge include ocelot and serval and caracal. For more information about this course, or to print out a registration form visit this husbandry course page.

Today’s interns, volunteers and employees at feline educational facilities, feline sanctuaries, and private zoos need to possess a broad base of knowledge to answer questions from the public about feline husbandry, and issues these cats face in nature. It is the personalized, one-on-one presentations that set the private facility apart from the large, and largely faceless, municipal zoos. Deliveries need to be factually correct to properly enlighten the public.

The exhibiting of wild felines is a federally and often times, state-regulated, activity. The USDA is always considering new regulations and policies. States can even impose additional restrictions, such as prohibitions against any public contact, or off-site exhibit of certain species.

Florida is one state with a long history of regulation that frequently reviews and proposes changes. The process to change regulations starts with the Fish and Wildlife Commission, and then is deliberated by a public committee of volunteers who offer their opinions and suggestions. Eventually a series of public hearings are held to give the animal stakeholders, the animal rights fanatics, and the citizens of the state, an opportunity to weigh in with their input. 

Right now Florida is considering a change to the regulations that moves the puma from a Class II feline, legal to possess for personal, non-commercial reasons, to a Class I animal, that may only be possessed as part of a business, and the exhibit of puma would require a $10,000 bond, or $2,000,000 liability insurance policy. Also under consideration are: regulation of hybrid cats, creation of a sanctuary category for closed-to-the-public facilities, additional experience requirements for any volunteer or employee working with regulated animals, and changes in cage requirements, to name a few of the proposals. There are definitely plenty of reasons to stay informed.

When an open to the public facility sends their tour guides and animal keepers to the FCF Basic Wild/Exotic Feline Husbandry Course, they will return with knowledge of the 38 species of wild feline and where they are native and whether they are endangered. Students are taught about the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and how it regulates importing and exporting of wild felines, they learn about the Endangered Species Act, the Lacey Act, and the new Captive Wildlife Safety Act. They learn how the Animal Welfare Act impacts the care we give our felines. This information can then be passed onto the public during their personalized tours.

In the contingency planning section, students learn about how to develop such preparations for emergencies and even practice in-group sessions.

For those who are anticipating the acquisition of a new species of felines, the course offers a solid resource for cage design and construction for each sized feline. 

The basic health care section discussion of hand rearing kittens provides fundamental knowledge of potential problems such as calcium/phosphorus imbalances, aspiration pneumonia, and foreign object ingestion. The nutrition section provides the basics for designing proper feline diets.

No doubt about it the ownership, management, and professional use of wild felines is becoming more regulated, more expensive, and requires more knowledge and expertise from those who are in the industry; whether owners, employees, or volunteers.  Taking advantage of continuing educational opportunities is an investment in the future of any commercial enterprise, and is a sound business practice that will pay in dividends of less accidents and injuries to animals, employees, volunteers, and the public.

The Feline Conservation Federation offers one such learning opportunity. The Basic Wild Feline Husbandry Course provides a broad base of information that goes beyond just husbandry.