Is Big Cat Rescue Having Their Cats Skinned?

When many people think of a sanctuary, they think of a place where animals can live in peace until the day they ultimately pass away. The question of what happens to the deceased animal's body isn't something that normally enters someone's mind. So it might come as a surprise that Big Cat Rescue has taken multiple cats to a taxidermist to have their pelts and skulls preserved so they can be displayed in their party pavilion. 

Below are a few snippets from a testimonial Carole Baskin, CEO of Big Cat Rescue, wrote in support of "The Secret". She writes about what she did with some of the cats that have passed away (emphasis added):

Beginnings of Big Cat Rescue Museum

"As our cats have died over the years, I have preserved the skulls and pelts because one day I dreamed to build a museum dedicated to the history of exploitation of big cats . . .
Over 15 years I had a number of artifacts; remains of old friends, stored in boxes . . . The best price I could find for a 4 foot case was $600.00 and I needed four of them to start. I wasn't about to spend that kind of money, so I put it out to the Universe and said, "You know what I am looking for and I am sure you will find it and bring it to me." Then I put the thought out of my head...

Within a few days I got a call from one of our supporters who said he had four, lighted, locking cabinets that were still shrink wrapped on pallets that he wasn't going to use and he would like to donate to the cats, if we had any use for them. They have now been installed in our Lion's Lair Party Pavilion, where summer campers will come each day and where groups from all over come to have their parties and meetings . . ."

We assume they have quite a large collection of their cats remains. We're basing that off of the fact that Carole wrote that testimonial around 2007 and said she had been collecting her cats remains for 15 years. Where she writes, "remains of old friends", it links to this page. That page contains a long list of deceased cats.

Big Cat Rescue is supposed to be a sanctuary yet they took their deceased cats to a taxidermist just to display their pelts and skulls in a party room? Wouldn't a true sanctuary honor their animals by burying or cremating their remains instead of using them as party decor?

​​​Allegedly, Carole once delivered around 20 dead cats to taxidermist, Bo Reed, in Bushnell Fl. The taxidermist reportedly said many of the cats were smaller cats of the same species. 
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​If true, how many pelts of the same species of cats would Carole need to educate people? Wouldn't one skin of each species be enough? Most importantly, what happened to the rest of the cats body parts? There is a market for tiger body parts and Carole apparently only kept the skins and skulls of them.

​Lastly, why are the display cases located in The Lion's Lair Party Pavilion, a building rented out for parties, weddings, and corporate meetings? If the goal is to educate tourists, wouldn't it make more sense to make the exhibit part of the main tour?
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Click the image below to view to room in Google Maps​.
CLICK HERE to view pictures Big Cat Rescue has posted.