September 17, l979 saw the passage of the Department of the Interior's final rules on captive - bred wildlife. Gone was the suggestion provision for Captive Self-Sustaining Populations rules, and with it any allowable "trade" in pet wildlife. Ocelots and margays, which were so plentiful, were now in total government control and permits for interstate commerce were not being issued. The decade of the 80's demonstrated just how final these rules were. A stable nucleus of ocelot and margay founding stock were quietly dying off. The result has been a government imposed genetic bottleneck of these magnificent felines.

By 1982, it was obvious times and attitudes were changing. So too were the demographics of the Long Island Ocelot Club. There were more other cats than ocelots among the membership. And that membership was no longer centered in Long Island, rather it had become international. It was no longer enough just to have a pet; we must also breed those we possessed and conserve those that remained in the wild. To this end, the Long Island Ocelot Club ceased to be. Keeping the initials LIOC (to honor our Founder and our roots) we added, Endangered Species Conservation Federation, Inc. and incorporated as a non-profit organization. As LIOC's founder felines grew old, members began sharing the medical history and final departure of their beloved companions.

In May of 1982 the Treanor's reported the passing of Tuffy Margay. Tuffy was born in 1964, produced 8 kittens, and was originally from Columbia S.America. Ralph Ferrer wrote of the passing of his 18 year old ocelot. 1982 brought some births to LIOC, Don & Connie Shole had 2 sets of Geoffroys born in April and Penny Andrews reported 2 cougars and 4 servals born in May.

In the 1984, September/October Newsletter, Danny Treanor wrote of the passing of Poco and Sundae margays, who both succumbed to Feline Leukemia. Richard & Evelyn Dyck wrote about the necessity of euthanizing Teager margay, who suffered from arthritis and diabetes. Herb Wilton shared the passing of Chili ocelot whose kidney's finally failed. A Geoffroy named Rosy, belonging to John Perry passed on. The "Births" column reflected the species shift in private ownership. Two bobcats from Gayle Schaecher; cougars, bobcats, & an ocelot for Jean Hatfield; caracal, siberian lynx, and bobcats for Penny Andrews; twin servals for Suzi Wood; 4 lynx for Murray Killman; 2 cougars for Kim and Geri Henry, and Jeanne Maynard reported quads! Siberian tiger cubs, 3 males & 1 female.

In 1985 Births were in abundance, Lil Smith had twin Margays and Jean Hatfield had 2 ocelots in May. In Sept John Perry had geoffroy babies, Jean Hamil had 3 bobcat kittens, the Marshall reported a litter of cougars and jaguars, and Dale and Shirley Jackson had 2 male oncillas. Sasha and Lefty Margays, belonging to Fred Boyajian accompanied Fred to 4 national LIOC conventions passed on in the fall of 1985.

LIOC breeders continued producing cubs each year. In 1986, Gayle Schaecher reported a litter of 5 bobcats. John Perry another male geoffroy. The Exotic Feline Breeding Compound announced the birth of Chen-chi Jaguar only #15 of his sub-species in the USA and #98 world wide. Jean Hatfield reported 2 more ocelots and 2 bobcats. Pat Quillen's oncilla produced twin boys. In the Nov/Dec Newsletter Dale and Shirley Jackson reported a population explosion of oncillas, 2 litters of twins. Beejay Lester lost her Margay named Gigolo, to old age and Wendy Wulff lost her Geoffroy to a home fire.

More births came in 1988 with Donna Amos having her first litter of 3 female servals. John Perry had 2 more geoffroys and Fred Boyajian had a bobcat litter. In 1990 Kurt Moltner of Canada reported losing his 18 year old Margay and Art Human lost his 18 year old Geoffroy. Danny Treanor announced the passing of 21 year old Critter margay. Critter had sired 9 kittens. The 1990 births were plenty still. Jeff & Scarlett Bellingham, John Perry and Wendi Wulff all had Geoffroy kittens, the Bellingham's also produced a litter of servals, Jim Craft had a margay kitten, Lynn Culver produced Cougars, and Jean Hatfield had twin geoffroy's.

Nineteen-ninety-one was a year of losses. A wildborn Margay owned by Harriet & Terry Davis passed on at 23 ? years old. Jean Hamil reported the passing of her 19 year old bobcat and JB & Reva Anderson lost thier 13 year old jaguar to cancer. LIOCs last remaining jungle caught geoffroy owned by John Perry, passed on in July. Sean Puma, owned by Herb & Barbara Wilton died quietly on Oct 2nd at 18 years of age. Sean was a gentle cat that posed for many artists which won national awards.

In October 1990, Harrods, the most famous department store in London, announced that effective April 1991 it would stop selling furs. This was in response to the outcry from people who cared about the animals. There are many LIOC members, not mentioned in this history, who have contributed considerabley to LIOC and the exotic cats, both in breeding and sharing their learned experiences. We are all so very fortunate to have 5 decades of history.

In the early 80s, Jean Hatfield stated "Ocelots and ocelot breeders are not considered rare anymore." What Jean said, may never again be true. The founding felines of LIOC have passed on and with them the decade of irony. In a time not so long ago, a generation of Americans shared their lives, their homes and their hearts in a magical, unrepeatable experiment. Pet ocelots and margays, those were times both of joy and pain, with lessons to be learned by all. Natural diversity is being destroyed forever. Rainforest destruction encircles the planet, nature is being slowly destroyed. An extinction crisis is upon us. At the same time though, the technological society that precipitated these tragedies is also working to reverse the trend. Captive husbandry of wildlife has become more professional, sophisticated and technological. Embryo transfers, artificial insemination, Specie Survival Plans, all in the name of conservation.

The LIOC-ESCF is the largest organization of private owners of exotic felines. The 1960 LIOC cat census totaled 79 cats and in 1999 the census totals were 1466 cats. The 1999 species held with the most numbers, were cougars at 222, servals at 198, tigers at 155 and bobcats at 145. One might assume that the 155 tigers are accounted for within the large compounds, but reality is, most of the LIOC tigers are living in 1-3 cat facilities. Cats held within 50 to 100 quantity are lions, caracals, and lynx. Athough Ocelots are somewhat unattainable, there are 31 ocelots still in the LIOC membership. The remaining 4 popular cats within the 1999 LIOC census are the geoffroy, leopard, chaus, and snow leopard.

Today's LIOC-ESCF member is more likely to be a care giver for a lion, tiger, cougar, bobcat, serval, caracal, or geoffroy. The species within LIOC may have changed but the love affair with the cats will never truly change. And as more pressure is applied to wild populations, more caring persons feel compelled to breed, house, and attempt to save the feline. An army of contemporary "Noah's Arks" are still needed. The 90's have been christened the "Decade of the Environment", and as we face an extinction crisis of huge proportions, private owners of exotic felines work to preserve felines by propagating priceless genetic material and the future promise it holds.

Today's LIOC members are made up of people with a wide range of feline facilities. There are those who have large compounds (50-200 cats) that are open to the public, either for free entrance accepting donations, or for a small entrance fee. These large private facilities could not survive without its volunteers and food donations. The volunteers clean enclosures, change water, feed, and give enrichment to the animals. Within LIOC there seems to be two types of large compounds, some that are breeding mostly the smaller species and others that are strictly rescue centers. The rescue facilities provide homes for mostly abused or abandoned cougars, lions, and tigers. There are plenty more of these larger cats that need homes with responsible people who can provide the needed space, because the existing facilities can't take them all in.

The next group of current LIOC members are those who have 10-20 cats. These members are usually on their own financially to provide food, vet care, and enclosures for their cats. Some of these members are breeding very successfully. Today, there are many good breeders of several species, who very carefully investigate any buyers applications, to be sure they have proper licencing, a good veterinarian, a proper habitat/environment, and are educated in the proper diet and handling of the cat.

Another group of today's LIOC members are those who have 1-3 cats. These members usually have an indoor and outdoor area for their cats. Many of these members have their cats spayed or neutered, depending on the species.

One more group of today's LIOC members are those who don't have any cats, but are interested in either having them or supporting those who do. We have many older members who raised LIOCs founding cats during LIOCs 1st 20 years and they are unable to have cats at this point in their life. But they stick with us, to support LIOC and the cats. Many members want to learn about the different species before making the commitment to raising one. Two important things for people to learn from LIOC, is which species they don't want, and whether or not permitting is available in their area. The large cats aren't for everyone, just as some of the smaller more active species aren't for others. Physically spending time with these cats at LIOC conventions and local facilities, gives members first hand experience to make an informed choice of an exotic feline. Many members choose to stick to domestic cats.

There is still a great need for talented and dedicated persons to provide the husbandry needs of captive species. Towards this end, and to honor our first President Kenneth Hatfield, it was decided in 1995 to establish a scholarship fund to encourage veterinary students to take courses in exotic medicine. This will ensure knowledgeable veterinarians in the future who will be familiar with the special needs of our charges.

In 1997 the LIOC adopted a Code of Conduct for private owners of Wild Felines. This Code of Conduct carries with it an obligation to ensure that the health and safety of the animal, the animal species, and the public are not significantly or unnecessarily threatened, and whenever practical enhanced by actions.

Things come around full circle, just as the private sector and the zoological institutions worked together in the 1970s, it appears that the future holds a promise that they will again work together in efforts toward conservation of captive born exotic felines. In 1998, the LIOC established a private sector database to improve cooperation and coordination between AZA and private sector captive conservation and husbandry efforts. LIOC also adopted a policy to encourage private owners to register their felines either directly with ISIS or the private sector feline database, and the applicable PMP Stud Books. The LIOC created an appointed position to act as a representative for individual owners of wild felines, on the AZA Felid Tag Private Sector Liaison Committee, and this appointment is currently held by George Stowers. LIOC also adopted a policy of encouraging private owners to provide permanent identification of their cats by tattoo or transponder chip.

Wildlife needs human allies, both in the wild and in captivity. Persons who understand responsible husbandry, and can teach others. Today's care givers are expected to be knowledgeable about their species, both it's captive needs and the environmental factors that affect it's survival in the wild. Just as each domestic born exotic feline is an ambassador for its cousins in the wild, each caregiver must have a mission as teacher and educator. We can not love what we do not know, it is our duty to share these wondrous creatures with others. How else can humankind be convinced to reduce the relentless pressures that we exert upon nature?