Vernon Yates Appearance to the Public

I would like to recount an experience my sister and I had this past Saturday, 27 September 2008.  My sister and I had discovered a very tiny rabbit in our back yard.  Thinking that perhaps a “wildlife rehabilitator” could help us, I finally contacted a man who said he was such a person, and would take the rabbit.  He told me that grown rabbits do not make good surrogate mothers, but that he would take the bunny.

I was very upset that morning as I had lost my cat and then finding this tiny bundle of life and knowing it had no real chance to live, I decided to take him/her to this man.  I asked him where he lived and he said Seminole, FL.  The name he gave me still did not connect, even though I am a Big Cat Rescue Advocate and receive your magazines online, and thru the mail.

When we arrived at this person’s place, I said to my sister, “OMG, look at the sign in front of his yard.”  It said Big Cat and Exotic Rescues (or something to that effect.”  I was dumbfounded, as I thought he said he was a “wildlife rehabilitator” and, in my mind, that meant a person who rehabilitates small wildlife such as rabbits, deed, raccoons, opossums, etc.  I said again to my sister, look at the sign;  I don’t think this is the right place.

My sister called him from her cell phone in the car and, as she got out and was talking to him, I got also out of the car, with the bunny, and I saw the man coming towards me still talking on his cell phone.  I heard angry exchanges between him and my sister.  He looked at me and said, “Was I just talking to you on the phone?”  I said no, that was my sister.  Then I realized why she was arguing with him – it was in regard to his surroundings where he kept big cats and other exotic animals.  Big Cat Rescue would have been proud of my sister as she would not let up on him.

In the meantime, I asking him if he wanted the rabbit, (we were behind his chain link fence”; he said yes, and I handed the poor little thing over to him.  I noticed his hands were filthy and he grabbed the poor baby, who started crying, and I asked him what in the h___ was he doing?

My sister was still in a debate with him about the surroundings in which (only could see the front yard) a lion was laying down in small area (right next to where he was having his yard sale and BTW, what a dump that place is) and 2 large baboons pacing back and forth in a cage out front with very little room.  I saw the wife take the rabbit inside, and I wanted to yell at her to give it back to us, as I thought she would now probably feed it to one of their exotic snakes.

By this time, this man was really angry at my sister about how he had rescued several cats from Big Cat Rescue, and went on to make derogatory comments about Carole Baskin which just threw us into a rage (we both defended her and Big Cat Rescue.)  All the while this melee was going on, several bystanders, who had arrived for the yard sale that was ongoing, were staring at my sister, taking in all she was saying to this idiot regarding how he should emulate how Big Cat Rescue cares for their cats.  She told him his lion had too small a cage, no way to cool off, and what kind of life did he think he was giving this poor animal – not to mention the rest of his zoo.  He told her she should stop listening to PETA which really sent Susan off again.

At this point I was very upset and went to my car where I called Big Cat Rescue to determine if they knew who this depraved individual was that we were unfortunate enough to have contacted.  After speaking to a young girl (whose name I did not get), but was very kind and listened to our harrowing experience.  She asked me to repeat what the sign said, which I did.  She then called back a bit later and left a vm on my cell phone telling us that we were a Vernon’s place!

She also told us that he keeps around 200 animals on just 3 acres, and that he sells some of them.  She told us Big Cat Rescue has been trying to shut him down for years.  Now I have a personal vendetta to settle with this guy.

I absolutely went berserk, as I remembered reading about him on the Big Cat Rescue web site not long ago and thinking what a despicable person he is, not only in his looks, but his actions as well.  I shudder to think how he treats his animals.

To think I was actually standing in front of this person made me sick!

The person my sister and I both spoke to at Big Cat Rescue requested that we send an e-mail about our experience.  I am sending this letter in lieu of e-mail as we do not have a personal computer at home and cannot send personal e-mail over company computers. 

I would like to mention here, in case you are not aware, that a friend of mine, whose son used to work as a policeman at the Gulfport Police Dept. informed us (after we told him our story) that the police often contact Vernon and he “rescues” the animals they find on duty.  I am considering calling Gulfport to let them know about this person and ask them to consider other alternatives:  a rescue league, group, or animal shelter.  I think if they knew the story, behind this piece of scum, they may change their minds.

I know everyone at Big Cat Rescue has been trying to shut Vernon Yates down for years.  How can we help, other than sending e-mail messages to our elected officials, from your web site?  I know Big Cat Rescue has been very successful, in the past, in shutting down these road side circuses, zoos, so-called “rescue sanctuaries” where the animals have lived in deplorable conditions.  So why is there no way to shut Vernon Yates down?  What kind of evidence will it take?  I know Florida laws are lax in many ways and there are loop holes which evidently Yates must be a pro at getting around.

He is a sorry excuse for a human being and to think I handed that poor frightened rabbit to him.  He couldn’t have cared less!

What is frightening is that he lives in a neighborhood at the end of a cul-de-sac with an elementary school nearby.  How can this be allowed???

Forgive me for my rambling, but please know if there is anything my sister and I can do to help get rid of rats like Vernon Yates, we will be very happy to oblige.

Thanks of “listening” and keep up the great work you do for the big cats.  I admire you all greatly !!

Sincerely, Sandra and Susan

PS:  We have taken several of your tours and I have donated an Oak tree and other items.  We are planning on taking another tour in the very near future. 


Nov. 3, 2008

Dear Sandra and Susan,

I just got your letter yesterday and I see it was postmarked Oct. 3, so I don’t know why it took so long to get to me, but thank you for writing.  Thank you for the tree and your support of the cats too.

I am enclosing 10 copies of a letter that would help end the trade in exotic cats which would shut down those like Yates who “rescue” and then sell the animals back into the trade.  USDA’s comment period is only open until December 22, so if you have friends who are willing to sign and send these, it will really help.  Feel free to make copies if you have more people who care about animals in your circle . 

There are only three ways to shut down places like Yates’. 

1.    Catch him breaking the law with evidence like photos.
2.    Get laws passed that end the trade in exotic animals.
3.    Educate people about why it is so bad to have cats on display so that they don’t hire him to bring tigers to schools and parking lots.

None of these is easy, but all of them are critical.

As you know, Florida’s laws are very lax and enforcement is almost non existent.  The reason is that Florida’s Wildlife Commission is a 10 member board of hunters who do not want to hear anything about animal protection.  They are the ones who make the rules in FL and are responsible for enforcing them.  Vernon Yates is their buddy and he brings cougars, bears and other animals to their display at the fair where they are tormented by crowds for days on end.  The FWC knows that if they have to confiscate an exotic, Vernon will come pick it up for them.  Problem solved.  They don’t care that he sells the animals.  They don’t care and don’t want to know what he does with them, as long as he meets their very minimum standards of cage size and barriers. 

He can have them at his yard sale, as long as he has a rope between the big cats and the public.  He can drive around with tigers in the bed of his truck if he wants to.  You are right to fear for the bunny’s life.  One of his former volunteers told me that when he “rescues” bobcats, he sets up a fund on TV for people to donate to and then once the spot light is gone he feeds them to the tigers.  That is the main reason we branched out into rehab;  just to save the bobcats from ending up being fed to his cats. 

Even doing that, as awful as it is, doesn’t break any rules that I am aware of.  Catching him in the act would only help in educating the public so that they might think twice about paying him 1500. to bring a tiger to their party.  He almost never allows volunteers and has no paid staff, to my knowledge.  I keep hoping one of his many women will turn him in.  He has gone through quite a few since I have known him, but they are usually as hostile as he is and this one is even more so.

Sending a copy of the letter you sent me to USDA and to the FWC would give them a little insight to what the public sees when dealing with him.  It would be good to post on the www.911AnimalAbuse.com site too. That site comes up when people google his name, to let them know what kind of person they are dealing with. 

I wish I could wave a magic wand and all the evil people would become full of goodness and love, but I can’t.  These devices are all we have at our disposal.

For the cats,


Carole Baskin, Founder 

Hi Carol,

I just received your response to my letter of Oct. 3rd regarding our horrible experience with Vernon Yates.

I am so happy to have had a reply from you and would like to ask you to please post our letter on the www.911AnimalAabuse.com web site, as I keep getting an error message whenever I try to access this site.

Thank you also for enclosing the 10 copies of the letter to the FWC to help end the trade in exotic cats.

I can't tell you how much I despise this Vernon Yates!  My sister and I will do our best to get people to sign and mail in the letters before December 22nd.

I wish so badly that we could shut this sorry excuse for a human being's 'rehab' place down forever!  When I read your letter about his feeding the bobcats to his tigers, my mind just cannot compute this kind of evil. He is so disgusting.  I only wish I could do more.  If I lived closer to this depraved individual, I would stake out his place and try to get photos of him breaking the law.

It is appalling to me to learn that the FWC board members are all hunters and do not care about animal protection.  I am going on their website and see if I can leave a message.

Thank you so much again for responding to our letter and the information you provided.  I still get so very upset when I recall our experience with that evil man the day we took that poor innocent bunny to him.  I should have gone back and said give me that rabbit  back -- but I was afraid that my sister and I would truly anger him to the point that he would have called the police.  

Anytime I can do anything to help your cause, please let us know.

Sandy