Another FCF conference has come and gone with great success and much positive feedback from our members.  It all began on Wednesday, July 22, 2009 with the basic husbandry and educator’s courses with 11 and 15 members in attendance, respectively.  The conference was held at the Laurel Inn, Salinas, California.
 
Ron DeArmond, Director of Marketing for the FCF, is also the Executive Director of Pella Wildlife Company and Vice-President of the Association of Professional Wildlife Educators (APWE).  Ron did a fantastic job presenting the first ever FCF educator’s course and I think all of us walked away with invaluable information that we can incorporate into our training and educational programs. 
 
Mindy Stinner has been a certified instructor for the FCF since 2004. Mindy is also the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Conservator’s Center, Inc.  I first met Mindy at the 2008 FCF Conference in Myrtle Beach, S.C. during the Basic Husbandry Course.  I was very impressed with Mindy’s knowledge and the information presented.  She truly has a passion for wildlife, particularly exotic/wild felines, and she also did a great job presenting the husbandry course.

As secretary for the FCF I am proud to express my participation and excitement in helping the organization to move forward to persuade others to join.  It is very important that we, as an organization, be responsible and professional owners of exotic animals, particularly wild felines and also to share our knowledge and experience with anyone willing to listen and learn.
 
As the director of a new zoo I now know the hurdles anyone in the private sector faces and truly believe that we can collaborate to assist each other in facing those opposed to the private or public sector ownership of exotic animals. 
 
It amazes me how many private facilities and non-wild feline owners have become FCF members with willingness to share their knowledge and expertise.  Believe me when I tell you the FCF truly appreciates your support and without the many caring members who have contributed to the FCF in so many different ways, including the Rare Species Fund and Andean cat conservation, we wouldn’t have been able to achieve this success in such a short period of time.
 
As members of a professional organization we all need to abide by a code of ethics and standards and to practice what we preach.  Last year the FCF participated in a visit to T.I.G.E.R.S. Preserve and everyone was very impressed with Doc Antle’s FCF accredited facility.  I think we can all agree that he is truly a professional who follows the code of ethics and is educating the public in what we as professionals can appreciate and share with others.
 
This year we had the opportunity to visit Charlie Sammut’s Wild Things/Vision Quest Ranch and enjoyed another wonderful facility and how to operate as a professional educator with wild felines and other exotics.  The directors and operators of these facilities have much to offer in expertise and we all need to be thankful for this. 
 
Our first day at the ranch consisted of visiting many beautiful species of exotic animals from around the world, all of which were obviously loved and well cared for.  We saw baboons, a capuchin monkey, lions, tigers, leopards, a hyena, a raccoon, macaws and cockatoos, horses, emus, zebra and many other types of animals including Charlie’s five elephants. 

It was amazing to see the relationship Charlie and his staff has established with the resident elephants Butch, Christy, Paula, Buffy, and the ever so special Malika.  Charlie’s staff walked the elephants from their enclosure to the top of hill where there was a large open field.  FCF members had an opportunity to get up close to an elephant and to have their photos taken if they wished.  I’m sure this was a first time experience for many of the members.

Saturday morning consisted of series of presentations from some very experienced professionals:  Mindy Stinner, Director Conservators Center- “Managing Your Public Image--Positive Press and Proactive Publicity”; Tom Harvey, Director of Safari Zoological Park, “Never Give Up, Never Surrender”; Dr. Jim Sanderson, FCF Conservation Advisor- "Conservation of Wild Cats: A Historical Perspective"; Liz Hatton, Volunteer, Panther Ridge - “Utilizing Internet Social Networking Sites”; Dale Anderson and Wendy Debbas, Sierra Endangered Cat Haven- “Hear them Cry: Conservation Starts with You”; Dr Martin Dinnes, DVM, Natural Balance Zoological Formulas - "40 Years of Zoological Medicine”.  Lunch was provided by Natural Balance Zoological Formulas.

In the afternoon came a special treat for those registered handlers who signed up for the registered handler’s course.  We visited with Charlie’s 7 year old male lion, Jake, who was blessed with a gorgeous mane.  Jake couldn’t wait until Charlie opened his enclosure to come out and show his typical adult lion trait of rubbing his head up against him as a sign of affection.  Then Charlie educated us on proper training techniques and we all watched a 500 lb lion respond to Charlie’s commands.  Every little detail was discussed including observing the lion’s body language and behavior (ear and tail positions), universal commands, rewards and dismissals if commands or behavior was not appropriate, where to properly position the belt which contained a removable container of chicken, and the safety of the trainers and trainees.  For those who want to work and train large cat I urge you to please seek the advice from a professional facility, such as TIGERS or Wild Things, to learn what you need to know in dealing with large carnivores, especially cats.  It will be the best thing you ever do.  Exotic animals, especially large wild felines, are not for everyone.
 
Saturday evening was the banquet dinner and auction held in the large tent on Charlie’s ranch.   During the banquets certificates were given to those FCF members who completed the Registered Handler’s Course, Basic Wild Feline Husbandry Course and Educator’s Course.  The FCF also presented a check in the amount of $14,037 to Dr. Jim Sanders as a donation towards his Andean Cat Conservation and Monitoring Center.  Tom Harvey stood up and announced he wished to add another $63 to the project to round the amount up to a total of $15,000.00.  Way to go Tom and FCF members!