BARTOW -- A Polk County resident is suing Big Cat Rescue and the husband of Carole Baskin, as well as the entire Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, over the custody of a four-year-old lioness.
The 200-plus page complaint, filed in Polk civil court on behalf of Roy Pinson of Edgewater in April, claims that FWC illegally took "Juma" from him March 2nd, giving it to Big Cat Rescue, which has renamed the lioness to "Koda" and has rejected demands to return her to Pinson, who claims he lost custody because of paperwork issues.
The lawsuit claims that the action forces the lioness to "live in an emotionally abusive environment for online voyeurs, donors, and the legacy corporate media" and to be exploited by Big Cat Rescue for "false and misleading Marxist anti-private property ideology" and legislation funded by "venture capitalists" and others to advance a "globalist agenda for the Great Reset" of agritourism. The claim names FWC, Howard Baskin, and Big Cat Rescue, which is led by Carole Baskin.
In an update on its website, Big Cat Rescue claims Pinson doesn't have the proper license to own the lioness and may want to breed her. So far neither BCR or FWC have filed a legal response to the lawsuit.
No hearings have been set in the case.
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