Unless you’ve been living under a rock the past few weeks, you’ve probably heard of the Netflix show Tiger King. The show follows the world of big cats and their breeding here in the U.S. The two main characters of the show are Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin. Joe owns his own zoo filled with big cats and Carole owns Big Cat Rescue, an animal sanctuary for big cats.
Netflix dropped the show on March 20th and it’s still one of the most popular shows on the service right now. But I will not be watching it for many reasons. The biggest reason is that the issue is very close to my family. You see, my aunt has been a volunteer at Big Cat Rescue for over 10 years. I grew up taking trips to Big Cat when I visited her in Florida. Every christmas and birthday, I knew I was going to get something from the Big Cat shop whether that be a t-shirt or a purse.
Is it weird to see something I grew up with becoming the focus of pop culture? Yeah it is. Am I going to watch the show just so I can feel included in this cultural moment? No. I was going to watch it until my aunt told us that everyone is angry at Big Cat Rescue because of how they portrayed the organization.
Also, Netflix apparently didn’t make the show that Big Cat thought would and the one they agreed to. Bottom line, my aunt said that we shouldn’t watch it. Now, if I wanted to watch it, I probably would but after all the drama that’s come out of it I don’t really want to.
Besides, if Netflix was going to make a show about the big cat/exotic animal industry, they should’ve just stuck to that instead of focusing on the people who are a part of it. Netflix has a large influence and following, enough to create real change. And instead of advocating for the safety of exotic animals, they decided to focus on the escapades of a man named Joe and a possible murder. Like, what does Carole’s husband’s disappearance have to do with big cats? Nothing.
Big Cat Rescue does great stuff. They save animals from terrible conditions and care so much for the animals they rescue. My aunt talks all the time about the different big cats and I can tell she really loves them. They give them treats and toys and medical treatment. Heck, I even made enrichment for some of the cats when I visited my aunt two summers ago. I spent two hours putting cardboard and catnip together to make an underwater scene.
So that’s where I stand on all this. Yes, I have a connection to the Tiger King drama but bottom line- Netflix should’ve focused on raising awareness for exotic animal protection instead of stirring the pot.