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Feline Conservation Federation
FCF Basic Exotic Feline Husbandry Course Draws National Audience
Article published in the Mena Star December 11th, 2002
On December 7th, the N.O.A.H. Feline Conservation Center in Cherry Hill, hosted the latest in a series of the Feline Conservation Federation's eight-hour intensive learning course, titled Basic Exotic Feline Husbandry. This event was held in the Tower Room of the Rich Mountain Community College. Certified instructors from Pleasureville, Kentucky and Searcy, Arkansas taught the course. In attendance was 32 students, including an inspector from the USDA Animal Care inspection service, and local Arkansas Game and Fish law enforcement officers Jimmy Martin and Lt. Bonner from the Crawford Co area.
The audience included a wide mix of captive husbandry interests. A licensed educational exhibitor flew in from California. Prospective wild cat owners wishing to obtain more husbandry knowledge flew in from Massachusetts and others drove from Illinois and Nebraska. Also in attendance were wild feline sanctuary owners from Louisiana, Alabama and North Carolina, breeders and pet owners from Texas, Arkansas, Michigan, Florida, Kentucky and Missouri and a commercial importer/exporter from Indiana.
Rudy Timmerman of the Rich Mountain Community College was on hand to video the event and interview those attending. The RMCC cable TV channel will air highlights of the Exotic Feline Husbandry Course at a later date.
The Feline Conservation Federation is an international organization which has been in existence for nearly 50 years. It began as the Long Island Ocelot Club. Last year the membership voted to change the name to the Feline Conservation Federation.
This course was developed to improve the captive husbandry of wild felines and increase the compliance with state and federal regulations governing possession of these animals. FCF has been putting on this course across the county for the past four years. The N.O.A.H. Feline Conservation Center agreed to host this event and share our community with those who arrived from afar.
The following day, Bart and Lynn Culver, owners of the N.O.A.H. Feline Conservation Center lead an educational tour of their wild feline breeding and refuge center for the students. Over four dozen felines reside at this Cherry Hill location. The Culvers have successfully bred six species of wild feline, including the small South American Geoffroy's cat, which is now being managed in a Species Enhancement Strategy co-developed by the Culvers. This small feline species is no longer found in municipal zoos and the captive survival is entirely dependent upon private breeding facilities such as theirs.
Geoffroy's cats have a limited gene pool in captivity. Recently the Culver's reported a birth from a pair originally imported from an English zoological garden. This was the first time the male had sired a litter on either continent, making this event especially important. However, the mother of this litter abandoned the kittens shortly after giving birth. They are currently being foster-raised by a domestic queen that was loaned to the Culvers for this purpose.
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On December 7th, the N.O.A.H. Feline Conservation Center in Cherry Hill, hosted the latest in a series of the Feline Conservation Federation's eight-hour intensive learning course, titled Basic Exotic Feline Husbandry. This event was held in the Tower Room of the Rich Mountain Community College. Certified instructors from Pleasureville, Kentucky and Searcy, Arkansas taught the course. In attendance was 32 students, including an inspector from the USDA Animal Care inspection service, and local Arkansas Game and Fish law enforcement officers Jimmy Martin and Lt. Bonner from the Crawford Co area.
The audience included a wide mix of captive husbandry interests. A licensed educational exhibitor flew in from California. Prospective wild cat owners wishing to obtain more husbandry knowledge flew in from Massachusetts and others drove from Illinois and Nebraska. Also in attendance were wild feline sanctuary owners from Louisiana, Alabama and North Carolina, breeders and pet owners from Texas, Arkansas, Michigan, Florida, Kentucky and Missouri and a commercial importer/exporter from Indiana.
Rudy Timmerman of the Rich Mountain Community College was on hand to video the event and interview those attending. The RMCC cable TV channel will air highlights of the Exotic Feline Husbandry Course at a later date.
The Feline Conservation Federation is an international organization which has been in existence for nearly 50 years. It began as the Long Island Ocelot Club. Last year the membership voted to change the name to the Feline Conservation Federation.
This course was developed to improve the captive husbandry of wild felines and increase the compliance with state and federal regulations governing possession of these animals. FCF has been putting on this course across the county for the past four years. The N.O.A.H. Feline Conservation Center agreed to host this event and share our community with those who arrived from afar.
The following day, Bart and Lynn Culver, owners of the N.O.A.H. Feline Conservation Center lead an educational tour of their wild feline breeding and refuge center for the students. Over four dozen felines reside at this Cherry Hill location. The Culvers have successfully bred six species of wild feline, including the small South American Geoffroy's cat, which is now being managed in a Species Enhancement Strategy co-developed by the Culvers. This small feline species is no longer found in municipal zoos and the captive survival is entirely dependent upon private breeding facilities such as theirs.
Geoffroy's cats have a limited gene pool in captivity. Recently the Culver's reported a birth from a pair originally imported from an English zoological garden. This was the first time the male had sired a litter on either continent, making this event especially important. However, the mother of this litter abandoned the kittens shortly after giving birth. They are currently being foster-raised by a domestic queen that was loaned to the Culvers for this purpose.
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