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On May 17th, 2025, Lions Tigers & Bears founder and director Bobbi Brink took the stage at Wild in the Country 2025 - the sanctuary’s largest annual fundraiser, to share her powerful vision for rescuing wildlife and ending the exotic animal trade. Below is her full speech, a rallying cry for compassion and action that inspired attendees to stand with us in this critical mission.

Thank you, Maria. Good afternoon, everyone!

Thank you all so much for being here today.  Your presence means more than I can express—not just to me, but to every animal who has found safety, healing, and love within our sanctuary. Today, we’re not just gathered for a fundraiser—we're gathered for a cause that touches the wildest corners of the world and the deepest parts of our hearts.

When I founded Lions Tigers & Bears, I had one mission:  to provide a safe haven for abused and abandoned exotic animals.  Animals who were taken from the wild, bred and sold in secret, kept in backyards, locked in basements, paraded around as trophies or pets. Animals who were exploited, neglected, abandoned and then forgotten. But today, they are not forgotten. Today, they are at the heart of everything we do. 

This sanctuary has grown because of people like you. Whether you’ve been with us from the beginning or are just learning about our mission, your presence here sends a powerful message : that every life counts.

Your support helps us provide shelter, expert veterinary care, proper nutrition, enrichment, and—most importantly—safety to animals who have nowhere else to go. You are helping to turn cages into habitats, fear into trust, and survival into thriving.

This sanctuary is more than a safe haven. It's a promise. A promise that wild animals  like tigers, lions, and bears will never again be treated as property. A promise that we will fight for the voiceless—not only by rescuing animals one by one, but by pushing for laws that prevent this cruelty in the first place, and by shining a light on the black market trade—a hidden industry that brings in billions of dollars every year at the expense of suffering animals.

Because no matter how hard we work, we cannot rescue our way out of this crisis. 

Real, lasting change means exposing the systems that exploit these animals and dismantling them. It means standing up to say that apex predators do not belong in cages, in backyards, or in the hands of private individuals.

Together, we can help end the private ownership of these majestic animals, and move toward a world where they are respected, protected, and truly wild—just as nature intended.

I want to thank our volunteers, our team, and our generous donors who have gone above and beyond to make today possible. To our sponsors who continue to believe in us, we are eternally grateful.
And I invite you all to join us on our mission of rescue, healing, and hope, as we fight for the voiceless, care for the forgotten, and give second chances to those who never should have needed one.  Let’s make a difference……..  together.

Thank you.