Fine Art of Romance donates $5,000 to Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge

(Eureka Springs) After successfully achieving their mid-point goal of recovering 34 big cats from the Riverglen Tiger Sanctuary in Mountainburg, Arkansas, Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge (TCWR) efforts have been recognized with a matching funds grant from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and local businesses.

The Fine Art of Romance of Eureka Springs is one of the first local businesses to take advantage of IFAW’s matching fund program with a donation of $5000 to help build new habitats for the Riverglen transfers. Elise Roenigk, owner of the Crescent Hotel, will also make another donation to move the refuge closer to their goal.

The new funding will be dedicated to building twenty new habitats and offsetting transportation costs to complete the rescue effort. Members of IFAW will be visiting TCWR soon to view the new enclosures and participate in future relocation operations.

“This additional funding from IFAW is excellent news. We still need $80,000 in donations for new enclosures for the remaining animals. We encourage everyone to make a contribution to bring this monumental effort to save these endangered animals to a successful conclusion,” said TCWR president Tanya Smith.

“This is not the first time we’ve seen a situation like this, where a big cat sanctuary becomes a rescue mission due to the financial or medical complications of the owner. Providing properly for big cats is a huge commitment that time and again proves to be too much for caretakers. IFAW is pleased the owner of Riverglen has recognized this need and is voluntarily surrendering the animals to a licensed facility like Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge,” said Kelly Donithan, IFAW Wildlife Rescue Program Officer.

TCWR and the Crawford County Sheriff's Office started the nation’s largest big cat rescue operation on November 1. To date, eighteen tigers and one cougar have been moved to TCWR. In addition to cash donations, TCWR also needs volunteers and in-kind contributions to finalize new habitat construction. For full details and donation information, visit www.turpentinecreek.org.